The IT leaders and key decision makers we engage on a daily basis are often confused when it comes to selecting the type of application for their business. The plethora of options available in the market can be tempting and at the same time, confusing. This leaves the stakeholders and decision-makers to look for expert guidance, who can help them to choose the right app for their business.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of choosing an app type for your business, let’s cover the basics.

The Different App Types for Your Business

Web Apps 

Web apps convert your online experience into an interactive affair. These apps are mobile optimized for enhanced user experience. An advantage is that they do not require app store submission and hence, makes it easy for distribution among users. Lately, web apps have additional capabilities including geolocation and microphone access. 

Pros

• Faster development
• Low development costs
• Easy distribution
• Multi-platform capability

Cons

• Limited device accessibility 
• Slightly less intuitive
• Restricted performance 

Mobile Apps 

Apps that can be downloaded and used on mobile devices are called mobile apps. These mobile apps can be developed native or hybrid. These mobile apps do not always require an active internet connection to access the device capabilities. 

Pros

• Interactive and user-friendly
• Access to device capabilities
• Better personalization and performance
• Offline performance 

Cons

• Dedicated app store submission
• High-security standards 
• Continuous support and maintenance

Native Apps 

Native apps are mobile operating system-specific apps, built to utilize the platform’s native capabilities. Once the app is built for a specific platform such as an app on iOS, it cannot function on any other platforms like Android or Blackberry. These native apps have their specific programming languages and tools. 

Pros:

• Access to native API’s
• Better User Experience (UX) and performance
• Reliable and robust

Cons:

• Limited code reusability
• Dedicated maintenance and support
• High security and privacy measures

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid apps are web apps packaged to function as mobile apps. These type of apps are built using standard web technologies such as HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS and run in Webview. These apps are basically the combination of web and native apps. With Hybrid apps in place, businesses earn the competitive advantage of accessing a wider audience with minimal efforts and time.

Pros 

• More code reusability
• Access to multiple platforms 
• Less expensive 
• Quick development

Cons 

• Comparatively low performance & scalability benefits 
• Restricted access to native features 
• Dependency on other frameworks and libraries

Modern & Reactive Framework Apps 

These modern, reactive framework apps are similar to Hybrid apps. However, these apps offer better security and performance compared to Hybrid apps. In this scenario, Flutter is a popular reactive framework by Google that’s conquering new heights in App Development. These apps have access to native features and SDK’s.

Pros 

• Low development costs
• Broad audience reach
• Flexible and increased code reusability

Cons 

• Limited personalization
• Tool constraints

Mobile Technology Options - A Comparison

Choosing the right app for your business

Once you have made up your mind to develop an app for your business, there are few questions that you need to ask yourself. These questions are in a way the answers to helping you choose the right app for your business. If you are in the restaurant and food delivery industry, then your answers are already here. Check out our recent blog!  

For others, here are the questions:

Objective: Why are you designing this app and who is the target audience? If your target audience is limited to a particular platform, then you need to concentrate developing app only to that particular platform. So, check if you need a mobile, web app or both to meet your business objectives.

Complexity: What are the business challenges that you are trying to address with your app? If your app needs high-end functionalities and UX specifications on mobile, then choose a native app for your purpose. For simpler solutions, hybrid apps are your mates. 

Time-to-market: When are you planning to reach the target market with your app? If your app s complex, requires to be present on multiple platforms, and the time-to-market is less, then your ideal choice is to opt for Hybrid apps.

Budget: What is your allocated budget for developing the app? If you want an inexpensive proposition, then go for web apps or hybrid apps, provided that these categories meet your app objectives. 

Conclusion

The bottom line is: 

Understand your end users, their needs, and the app objective to get it right the first time!