The number of mobile device users has grown exponentially to the point that they now far exceed desktop users. If you’re not catering your website for these visitors, you are going to lose business and potential leads to your competitors. But how do you convert your website into a mobile app? Let’s have a look at why this should be done, and how to go about it.
Why You Should Convert Your Website Into An App
There are many benefits to converting your website into a mobile app, including:
- Not losing potential customers who use a mobile device
- Showing off your business to a larger potential customer base
- More customer engagement and brand awareness
- Higher search engine rankings
Although apps are often free, they also take time to develop. If you’re not a developer or don’t have a developer on your team, it might be better for you to outsource this work to a developing company (more on that later).
Why Mobile Apps Are Better Than Web Apps
Unless you have a compelling reason to use a hybrid app, an app should always be native. Native apps perform faster and provide the user with a more engaging experience than web apps.
Web apps make it difficult for users to share content, while native apps easily let them do this through social media, email or text messaging.
Native apps can easily be updated, while web apps require a whole new release cycle.
Lastly, web apps lack the potential for monetization through in-app purchases or subscriptions.
How To Convert Your Website Into A Mobile App
Converting your website into a mobile app can be done in different ways. The first thing you need to do is determine what this app will be able to do for you and your business.
Will it be a mobile version of your website, or an entirely new experience?
Depending on what needs to be done, the design process and implementation will vary greatly.
Designing The App
The best place to start is by planning the design of your new app. First, take a good look at your website and determine what elements you want to be included in the app. Is there any particular content that needs to be displayed? Will there need to be user login features or other features that require it?
Designing the app can be done through a process called wireframing. Wireframes are essentially rough drawings of the app’s layout, which will help determine where everything should go and how it should look once built.
Implementing The App
Once your wireframe is complete, you’ll need to decide what platform or platforms you want the app to be built for. For example, if your app is only going to be available on iOS devices, you’ll need to use a different programming language than if you want it to work natively on both iOS and Android.
Native apps are generally considered better because they appear more sleek and less buggy than web apps, but can be expensive and difficult to maintain. Web apps, on the other hand, can be easy and cheap to maintain but are generally considered less visually appealing than native apps.
If you decide that a web app is what you want, there are two main languages that can be used for this: HTML5 or Java. HTML5 will give you more mobile compatibility but is considered less powerful than Java, while the other is considered more robust but may not be compatible with all mobile devices.
Note that it’s important to also consider the costs. If you don’t have a budget for your app conversion project, it may be better to outsource this work so you can get the most bang for your buck and time.
Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. We are a premier software and mobile app development agency specializing in healthcare mobile app development, custom mobile app development company, telehealth software, sales dashboards, custom mobile app development services, retail software development, supply-chain software, ecommerce, shopify, web design, iBeacon apps, security solutions and unified access software.
We are proud partners with Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.
