Website or app: how to tell which one you need

People often ask me for an app. Nine times out of ten, I tell them a website will do the job – and cost less.

The difference fits in one sentence. You go to a website. An app stays on your phone.

That’s all there is to it. And that’s what settles the question.

Four situations where an app really makes a difference

Your customers come back often. A restaurant, a hair salon, a gym. The icon on their screen saves them searching for you.

You need to keep them posted. A notification pops up on their phone. An email gets buried.

It has to work without internet. Think of a catalogue someone browses on a train, or down in a cellar.

You use the camera or GPS. Scanning a code, finding your nearest shop.

Otherwise, a website

If none of these sounds like you, an app will cost more and take longer. It will also have to get through Apple’s or Google’s review before it can exist at all.

A website can be live within a few days. It shows up on Google, which an app doesn’t. And nobody has to download anything before they can discover you.

The three questions I ask

How many times a month does a customer come back to you? Do you have news for them on a regular basis? And the customers you already have: how do they find you today?

Your answers decide. Not my preferences.

If you’re not sure, drop me a line. I’ll tell you honestly which of the two will serve you better – even if it’s the one that earns me less.