Smartphones have completely changed the way users interact with a business. Now consumers need not have a desktop or laptop to explore a company website and obtain information. They can access it with a click of their fingers from their smartphones. Over 50% of website visits came from mobile devices in 2021.
If your businesses already have a business website but want to run an extra mile for your mobile audience, you must consider converting your website into an android or ios application to ensure a mobile-friendly interface for your consumers. The most common reason for businesses longing for mobile applications is an unresponsive mobile website design.
A native application is a concrete solution to increase engagement for mobile users and achieve business goals.
How to convert a website into a mobile application?
If you are reading this article, you probably are sure about having a mobile application for your business. However, not all firms require a mobile application. If your website is already mobile-friendly and requires minor updates to improve its consumer experience, you might not need a mobile application. You can consider incorporating some website design trends to enhance the consumer experience instead.
However, even after consulting your team, if you find an application essential for your business, here is a step-by-step guide to approach this initiative.
- Create a list of essential features:-
Web development starts by defining your requirements from your business application. At this point, you need to decide what features and functions you require from your business application. It will give you an idea of what you need to build and how much you need to invest to see desired results.
One of the best ways to determine your potential application features is to spy on your competitors. If your competitors already have a business application, analyze it to understand their approach to app development and use this information to your advantage.
If none of your competitors has a business application, you must ask your target audience through surveys and direct interactions and set particulars for their preferences.
- Hire a web development agency:-
You will need an expert and well-experienced team to obtain desired results from your web development endeavors. In this case, you have two options, hire an in-house team or partner with a reliable web development agency.
Hiring an in-house team can be hectic, time-consuming, and expensive. It is the reason businesses prefer a web development agency to develop an application for their business. With an expert web development agency, you can connect to their expert developers who understand the development process in and out.
We at Mandy Web Design are always looking for new website design trends. We work closely with businesses to develop an ideal application for their business. Professionals at Mandy Web Design aim to enable active client involvement and ensure client satisfaction.
- Estimate your app development cost:-
Once you have determined essential features and partnered with a development team, you must estimate the budget required to develop the application. The primary factor with the most influence on application cost is the complexity of the application solution under development.
Complex application projects are time-consuming and require advanced resources. These applications are best for businesses with diverse product inventories or service offerings. They can create multiple product pages based on different categories to ensure ease of navigation for their visitors.
On the other hand, if you are a niche-specific business, you might not need an advanced solution. It means fewer resources, less time consuming, and expenses. Consult an expert service provider for a better understanding of this subject. We at Mandy Web design provide professional app development consulting. We aim to clarify the client’s vague vision about their development requirements and help them create an itinerary.
- Create a user-friendly UX design:-
The second essential to basic functionality is the user experience. It is the first thing one must understand while building a user interface. You must put yourself in your consumer’s shoes while setting particulars for the user interface. Will your application users be able to navigate easily? Is every vital feature significantly visible?
A small change in your UI design can lead to a huge success. You must get into the details and take care of every hindrance to the consumer experience. A Responsive User Experience helps you increase engagement and retain consumers.
Remember, the sole purpose of developing a native application for your business is to provide a better experience to your website visitors. However, if you do not see yourself yielding a more user-friendly and responsive application than your website, it is better to invest in advancing your website.
- Focus on security:-
Security regarding mobile applications has always been a threat for businesses worldwide. Not taking proper security measures during the development process can put your brand image at risk.
Most mobile applications on the app stores have little to no security standards. It increases the chances of data breaches and cyber crimes, putting your consumer and corporate data at risk.
Businesses must strictly instruct their developers to focus specifically on enhancing security assurance. It helps you build trust in your target audience and nourish lifelong relationships. Some of the prevalent measures to prevent unauthorized data access are as follows:
- Encrypt communications between mobile applications and app servers.
- Eliminate the malware threat by regularly testing the application for malicious behaviour.
- Avoid data caching as it makes it easier for attackers to get hold of cached data and get their hands over sensitive information.
- Testing and analysis:-
It is essential to test an application before introducing it into the market. It enables businesses to fine-tune their application’s features and detect any glitches or flaws that may become a potential threat to user experience in the future.
The best way to test a mobile application is by creating a beta version and enabling the actual users to try it. During this period, actively listen to your brand audience and entertain any suggestions or queries from their side. Reiterate the beta version if needed. Remember, your primary goal is to ensure consumer convenience and provide a quality consumer experience to your users.
It is another reason to search well before deciding on a marketing agency. There can be several uncertain scenarios you might require assistance with. At Mandy Web Design, we value our consumers more than anything and are always there to help them during an emergency.
How can a business benefit from a mobile application?
There are many benefits of mobile applications for both businesses and consumers. Approximately, one-third of small businesses utilize mobile applications to connect with their target audience. Here are some ways your business can benefit from a mobile application.
- Increased engagement:-
Once a user installs your business application, he becomes your permanent consumer. It makes it easier for a user to open that application and engage with your business than to open a browser and fetch business information from the server. A mobile application makes the barrier between your business and the user obsolete.
A recent study found that mobile users spend 83% of their time on mobile applications. The most obvious reason for that is the ease of access. Having an application right on the home screen of their mobile is far easier to access than accessing it through a browser window. However, you must get your target audience to install your business application in the first place.
Security:-
With a website, you are subject to Google algorithms for organic traffic. Google ranks the most relevant results to consumer queries based on their understanding of the relevance. Even if you achieve higher rankings on search engine result pages, there is no guarantee of your website keeping its spot. Your competitors are always on the look for new ways to outrank your website and claim the rankings for themselves.
Native applications enable you to build your independent customer base. It is the easiest way to initiate life-long relations and increase consumer loyalty.
Besides, studies suggest that search engines favour businesses with mobile applications on search engine result pages (SERP). It will display your app as an app pack when someone searches for your brand on their mobile devices. It increases the chances of your target audience installing your mobile application on their handheld devices.
Push notification:-
Push notification is another advantage of mobile applications. It enables businesses to notify their audience about any change, such as an offer, social media post, or event. These notifications appear on the user’s home or lock screens. A push notification is a significant way of driving your consumer’s attention toward your business and achieving your business goal.
Integration:-
A mobile application has more access to device resources than a web browser. You can use it to integrate advanced functionality into your mobile application. Some of the scenarios where this can be helpful are as follows:
- Improvising camera access to integrate scan and pay options.
- Phone contact access for referral marketing.
- GPS integration to enable visitors to locate nearby stores.
Integrating other mobile features ensures an enriching experience for your visitors. It enhances the consumer experience and quality of user interactions.
Offline mode:-
Not every user have access to the internet at all time. However, mobile applications can support offline functionality. It is similar to playing offline games. These games are not dependent on cloud storage and improvise device resources to function. It facilitates your business’s availability to your target audience at all times.
Should your mobile app be Android or ios based?
Both the Android and ios operating systems improvise different code variants. You must decide at this point whether to base your business application on android ios or both operating systems. In ideal conditions, you must provide both options to your users. However, one must understand that there are other factors associated with application development. It includes the availability of resources and budget.
Globally, Android dominates the smartphone market. In 2021, 84% of smartphone users used Android-based devices against 16% ios devices. However, you must go for ios if most of your target audience uses ios based devices to interact with your business application. For example, if your target audience is from developed countries like the US and Japan and ios based application is a better option as most people use ios based devices in these countries.
The primary difference between Android and ios devices is the code base. Android uses APK file, while android support .ipa files. However, if you decide to host your app on both Android and ios, you will require two different applications.
What makes it difficult to get an application approved with apple?
Apple is very strict when it comes to approving applications for the Apple ios store. It approves only high standards and high-performance applications. Your ios applications must have unique features that enhance the consumer experience for its users. Optimized content of your websites must served in ios apps according to the ios format.
Apple also pays extra attention to the user interface. Read carefully the human interface and UI design guidelines Apple provides. Apple rejects the approval request for substandard ios applications. Try to be unique with your ios application design to increase your chances of getting approved.
What to do if you don’t have enough budget for application development?
It is one of the most common questions asked by small businesses. According to a study, application development costs anywhere between $38,000 to $91,000. It can be a huge amount for small businesses. They might have to hold back on their manufacturing and marketing budget.
In such a case, you must optimize your website for a better user experience. You can utilize advanced website design trends such as accelerated mobile pages and progressive web applications to ensure an application-like experience for your mobile visitors. It is better to consult a professional web development agency to determine the best option suitable to your specific business requirements.
Why choose Mandy Web Design for your application development project?
We have been providing industry-leading web development solutions to businesses worldwide. You can choose from various design and development services we provide.
Our primary goal is to ensure client satisfaction. We work day and night to get the hang of the latest application development trends to provide quality services. Employees at Mandy Web Design are trained to ensure quality interaction with the client and understand their project requirements thoroughly.
Once the project objectives are set we discuss the budget requirements and plot the best case scenario for our clients.
Conclusion:-
The target audience is the most essential asset to a business. Companies must provide a quality consumer experience and nurture their audience to build quality relations with them. An application is one of the best ways to personalize every interaction and make visitors feel valued.
There are two popular operating systems, Android and ios businesses you can use to base their application and connect to their target audience. It is essential to understand your target audience preferences to determine the right OS to base your application on.
Consult a professional service provider, such as a web design agency in India, to seek expert assistance and set particulars for your application development project.
