Having a mobile app can sound like the natural next step for a growing business.
Customers use phones.
Apps feel convenient.
Competitors may already have one.
But none of those things automatically mean your business needs to build an app.
At Nort Labs, we would start with the problem rather than the technology.
A mobile app makes sense when it solves something that a normal website or web application cannot solve well enough.
If it does not, building one can create unnecessary cost, maintenance and complexity.
A Mobile App Is Not Automatically Better Than a Website
One of the easiest mistakes to make is assuming that an app is simply a more advanced version of a website.
It is not.
A website and a mobile app are different tools.
A well-built website can already allow customers to:
- browse products and services
- request quotes
- make purchases
- book appointments
- manage accounts
- submit information
- access customer portals
Modern websites can work extremely well on mobile devices.
In some cases, a web application can provide an experience that feels very similar to traditional software without requiring the customer to install anything.
So the first question should not be:
“Can we build an app?”
It should be:
“What would the app allow customers or staff to do that they cannot already do effectively?”
When an App Starts to Make More Sense
There are situations where an app can provide clear advantages.
One of the strongest is frequent repeat use.
If customers need to interact with your business several times a week or several times a day, having the service directly on their phone can become genuinely useful.
Examples might include:
- booking or managing regular appointments
- tracking ongoing jobs
- communicating with a service provider
- accessing personalised information
- managing orders
- using a tool that forms part of their daily work
The more frequently somebody needs the service, the stronger the case for giving it a permanent place on their device.
An app becomes much easier to justify when it supports an ongoing behaviour rather than a one-off visit.
Device Features Can Be a Strong Reason to Build an App
Apps can also make sense when the product needs deeper access to the capabilities of the device.
That might include:
- camera functionality
- location services
- biometric authentication
- Bluetooth
- offline functionality
- push notifications
Web technology can support some of these features too, but native or dedicated mobile applications may offer a more controlled experience when they are central to the product.
For example, if the service depends heavily on location tracking or regular background interaction, an app may be much more appropriate than a normal website.
Push Notifications Can Be Useful — but They Are Not a Reason on Their Own
Push notifications are often mentioned as one of the main reasons businesses want an app.
They can be useful.
A company may want to notify users about:
- appointments
- order updates
- messages
- important account activity
- service reminders
But notifications should support something customers already value.
Building an entire app mainly so you can send marketing messages to somebody’s phone is a weak reason to invest in one.
Users can disable notifications.
They can also delete the app.
Access to someone’s home screen only has value if the app gives them a reason to keep it there.
How Often Would Somebody Actually Open It?
This is one of the most useful questions a small business can ask.
Imagine the app is built successfully.
A customer downloads it.
Then what?
Would they open it:
- every day
- every week
- once a month
- once a year
- once and never again
For some businesses, infrequent use is completely fine.
An airline app may only become relevant around a journey.
An insurance app may only occasionally be needed.
But for a small business considering a significant software investment, low expected usage should make you question whether an installable application is genuinely necessary.
If the customer only needs the service occasionally, opening a website may be easier than installing an app they rarely use.
Customers Have to Be Willing to Install It
A website has a major advantage:
there is almost no commitment required to access it.
Someone clicks a link and they are there.
An app usually requires more steps.
The user may need to:
- find the app
- download it
- wait for installation
- create an account
- grant permissions
- remember that the app exists
That is not necessarily a problem for a service the customer already uses regularly.
It can be a significant barrier for somebody interacting with the business for the first time.
This is why apps often work best deeper into an existing customer relationship rather than being the first point of contact.
An App Creates More Than a Development Cost
The budget is not just the initial build.
An app needs to continue working after launch.
That can involve:
- bug fixes
- operating system updates
- security maintenance
- backend infrastructure
- new features
- device testing
- app store management
- support
If both iOS and Android are supported, there may also be additional development and testing considerations depending on how the product is built.
Nort has previously covered areas such as cross-platform mobile app development, but the more important business question comes before choosing a framework.
Is the value of having the application likely to justify maintaining it?
You May Need Software Without Needing a Mobile App
This distinction is important.
A business may genuinely need a new system.
That does not mean the system needs to live in the App Store.
Imagine a company wants software that allows staff to:
- manage customers
- track projects
- create quotes
- update job statuses
- upload files
- generate reports
A responsive web application might solve all of those problems.
Staff could access it from a laptop, tablet or mobile browser without requiring separate installed applications.
This can be particularly sensible for internal business tools.
The software still needs to be designed properly for the devices people actually use, but an installable app may add little benefit.
A Progressive Web App Can Sit Somewhere in Between
There is also a middle ground.
Progressive Web Apps, commonly called PWAs, use web technology but can support app-like functionality.
Nort has previously looked at Progressive Web Apps in more detail.
Depending on the project, a PWA can offer features such as:
- installation to a device home screen
- responsive app-style interfaces
- some offline capabilities
- access through a normal web URL
A PWA is not automatically the right answer either.
There are still differences between web-based and native mobile applications, particularly around certain device capabilities and platform behaviour.
But it is another reason the decision should not simply be:
website or mobile app.
There may be several technical ways to solve the underlying problem.
Do Not Build an App Just Because a Competitor Has One
Competitor behaviour can be useful information.
It should not become your product strategy.
A competitor may have an app because:
- their business model is different
- their customers behave differently
- they have a larger development budget
- their app solves a specific operational problem
- they made a poor investment
You cannot tell which explanation is correct simply by seeing the app in a store.
Instead, ask what customers actually need.
If people repeatedly struggle with a particular part of your service and an app could remove that problem, there may be a real proposition.
If the argument is mainly:
“other companies have apps, so we should too”
the proposition needs more work.
Start With the Simplest Version of the Problem
Businesses sometimes approach software projects with a long list of potential features.
That can make the project appear much larger than the original problem.
Before deciding to build an app, define the smallest genuinely useful version.
For example:
Problem: customers cannot easily see the status of their jobs.
The solution might eventually become a full mobile application with messaging, documents, payments and notifications.
But the first version may only need:
- secure login
- a job status screen
- basic updates
Once the problem is defined clearly, it becomes much easier to decide whether the solution should be a website, web application, mobile app or something else.
This is one of the reasons starting with an MVP can be useful.
The objective is to prove the important part before investing in every possible feature.
When We Would Question the Need for an App
We would be cautious if:
- customers are only likely to use it once
- the same experience could easily be delivered through the existing website
- there is no clear reason somebody would install it
- the business has not defined the problem the app is solving
- the project only exists because a competitor has an app
- the ongoing maintenance has not been considered
None of those automatically makes an app a bad idea.
But they are signs that the business case needs more thought before development starts.
So, Does Your Small Business Really Need a Mobile App?
Possibly.
But not simply because mobile usage is important or because apps feel like the next stage of digital growth.
A good reason to build an app usually involves a specific behaviour or capability.
Customers use the service frequently.
The product needs device functionality.
Users need reliable offline access.
Notifications have real operational value.
The app simplifies an important recurring process.
Those are much stronger reasons.
If customers simply need to learn about the business, make an occasional booking, submit an enquiry or purchase something that already works well through the website, an app may add cost without adding enough value.
At Nort Labs, we would rather build the simplest technology that properly solves the problem than recommend a mobile app simply because we can build one.
Sometimes the right answer will be an app.
Sometimes it will be a web application.
And sometimes the website you already have just needs to work better.
