I work in a digital transformation role and people within our business often approach me and say: ‘we should build an app’. I also deliver quite a bit of digital training and a common question is: ‘should I build an app for my business?’
As consumers, we all use apps on our phones every single day of the week, so it’s perfectly reasonable to think that we should build an app for our own customers — or is it?
In some cases, it is entirely appropriate to build an app, but in many cases, it is not going to be a wise undertaking.
Here’s why you should think twice about building an app:
Reason #1 – Stop thinking up ‘solutions’ before understanding the ‘problem’ (if indeed there is a problem)
When you say ‘we should build an app’, you are focusing on the ‘solution’ before understanding ‘why’ an app is required. As Simon Sinek says, always ‘start with why’. What is the problem you’re trying to solve? Who are the people that you are seeking to serve? When you say ‘we need an app’, you are glossing over all the important considerations – the plethora of who / what / why / how questions that need to be asked up front. Once you have answered all of these questions, only then can you settle on an appropriate technology solution to meet the need. It might be that an app is entirely the wrong solution – perhaps it is a series of YouTube videos, a Facebook group or a campaign website that you need instead? Build a solution that is going to solve the problem – do not preconceive the solution before you know what the problem is. Who knows, there might not be a problem to solve at all.
Reason #2 – What you might perceive as an ‘app’, isn’t really a useful ‘application’ at all.
Apps are ‘applications’ – there’s a clue in the name. By definition, they are supposed to ‘do’ something useful. You cannot book an Uber without the Uber app – that is an app that ‘does’ something useful. And that is why you will find it on most people’s smartphones. Unless you have got a specific, useful ‘application’ to provide your customers, then it is best not to consider an app. If you are just publishing content, then a website is a much better bet. There are far too many content websites masquerading as ‘apps’.
Reason #3 – You actually need to develop at least TWO apps, not one.
Half the world uses Apple. The other half uses Android. To reach them all, you have to build two apps. And maintain two apps. And upgrade two apps every time the operating system is updated. I hope you have got deep pockets. Alternatively, you could focus on building a single, high-quality website. Websites are device agnostic: they are accessible on any device, whether it is a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone; you can use them on any operating system (PC, Apple, Android, Mac etc); and you can use them in any web browser (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc). You will reach the biggest audience with a website, because everybody can access websites.
Reason #4 – Apps are inherently inaccessible (and dispensable)
Want people to use your app? There are so many obstacles. You have got to convince them to visit the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and search for the app. You have got to convince them to download and install the app. You have got to encourage them to use it more than once. You have got to convince them to keep the app on their phone and not uninstall it. Guess what? The vast majority of apps are dispensed with soon after installation. Unless there is a compelling reason to keep it, most apps end up on the scrapheap. Will yours be any different?
Reason #5 – Apps are largely invisible to search engines
The vast majority of internet sessions the world over begin with a search on a search engine. Circa 90% of these searches are on Google. Whilst Google does provide some app listings in its results these days, most of the content within apps is completely invisible to search. If you are publishing content, a website is always going to be a better vehicle for being found in search. Unlike a website, the goodness within your app will not be easily discovered – you will need to convince people to install it first before they discover what is inside, and that is often an insurmountable hurdle.
Reason #6 – Apps are really expensive to build and maintain
App development is more specialised than web development, and more costly. You will need a specialist iOS developer and an Android developer to build your suite of apps, and they are harder to find than web developers. You will need to simultaneously invest time, effort and money in your website and in your new apps (which serves to fragment your focus and funding), and each will need management, maintenance and development. New Android and iOS operating systems are released regularly and you will need to make sure that your app remains compatible, secure, and that it keeps pace with new functionality offered in these updates. Building and maintaining apps is not a cheap undertaking.
Reason #7 – Apps are actually in decline
The number of apps in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store has been in decline since 2018. Two thirds of US smartphone users do not install a single new app in a month-long period, and 23% of all apps installed are only used once. And these stats have come to light at a time when smartphone use has skyrocketed. It seems that we all have the apps that we need on our phones and there’s little need to get more. Will your app be so compelling that it will buck these trends?
Is an app ever worth it?
Yes, of course, there are situations where apps are absolutely worth investing in.
Apps are better at utilising the in-built, native functionality of the device – eg. The camera, biometrics, GPS, NFC chip, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi – and many of these functions cannot be accessed by an equivalent website in a web browser (although this is changing).
Apps typically provide a more graceful user experience (UX) than a website, because the app is tailored for use on that specific device. For example, apps in the Apple App Store are built and optimised to run on iPhones and iPads.
If you are a internet-only behemoth, like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google or Uber, then clearly there is value in developing apps. We all have apps from these companies on our smartphones.
If you are a bank, a betting company, a video-on-demand service, a food delivery service, a major supermarket, or a national online classifieds advertising company, then you have probably got good reasons to publish apps, too. These sorts of companies are routinely represented among Australia’s top 100 apps. Those businesses have the market share and the resources to build and maintain quality apps.
But if you are a small-to-medium organisation, or a business that is not ‘internet-only’, then you had be best served thinking twice about developing an app.
If you do choose to proceed, you had better make sure that your ‘application’ is a good one, otherwise it could be costly white elephant.
