Native, Hybrid, or Web Apps: What Is the Best Approach for Lasting Success?
Differences, pros, and cons for native, hybrid, and web applications
No surprise in the fact that marketing trends, tactics, and technologies have drastically changed more in the last five years than in the last 50.
Are you wondering what drives someone to use their smartphone like crazy? The simple answer is: “engaging mobile apps”.
Now the next quest. What probably popped up in your mind is: “What kind of mobile apps do users prefer to access?” Or: “How much time do they spent on these mobile applications and downloads?” Look at this graph!
Don’t get confused…We have researched and gathered various facts, stats, and projections that help you understand the current trends of mobile applications. The app type you should choose and why.
According to Mary Meeker, today, Americans are spending 3+ more hours on smartphones than in 2008 (ten times more than today).
According to Statista, the “current statistics forecast that in 2018, consumers downloaded 194 billion mobile apps,” which is quite a bit higher than “in 2016 (143.7 billion)”.
Statista reveals “mobile apps are expected to hit $935.2 billion in 2023”.
According to Comscore stats, “90% of mobile users spend their time in accessing applications, and the remaining 10% on the web.”
Over the years, mobile applications have become the power of habit. The rapid innovations in technology and usage don’t show any sign of slowing down.
And, with the aggressive growth of smartphones in recent years, it has led businesses and companies to the dilemma of which application they should adopt to ensure long-lasting success?
In 2019, the marketing landscape that encompasses various applications from native, hybrid, to mobile web applications leaves businesses sometimes in trouble of projecting the best application to succeed in their efforts.
In the current high-tech and internet-connected era, where multiple technologies are evolving, encountering the best app for your business is a daunting task because what worked for you last year, may not be a good option this year.
While mobile and web applications have become a staple of companies and businesses to enhance business leads and user experience, at the same point the debate over whether you go for developing native, web, or hybrid apps also rages on.
The increasing rate of app downloads and app usage is quickly conquering the next frontier of the internet.
The common conclusion of these debates is always the same; if you have money and time, build native apps. If you have a low budget, choose either web or hybrid app. However, this is the wrong approach!
If you took a second to look around you, I’m sure you will find that 90% of people have their eyes glued to a mobile device. Have you ever noticed what exactly makes them so engaged in their devices? That’s, of course, a mobile application!
The million-dollar question is still in front of you: “What kind of application do you need to develop for lasting business success?”
The first thing to always keep in mind, is to go above and beyond your budget to choose an application that best fits your business needs. But, how do you come to the final conclusion of native, hybrid, or web app development?
Don’t fret! This blog will explain everything about leading applications (native, hybrid, or web app) before making any final decision.
This blog talks about the difference in approach for native, hybrid, and web applications and hybrid vs. native vs. pros and cons. It also includes certain points as to which application is best for ensuring lasting success.
What We Will Cover in This Blog
- Basic criteria for choosing an app type.
- Native applications and pros and cons.
- What is a hybrid application?
- Cross-platform applications and benefits.
- The best approach to choose between native, web, and hybrid applications.
Before we dive into the discussion of the things to consider when choosing an application and how they are different from one another, let’s understand why it is important to carefully choose the right technology to develop mobile apps.
Changing your mind about the platform, technology, or app type can undo hundreds of working hours but can exponentially increase the overall cost.
The hard and bleak truth is, nine out of ten startups fail! Reasons vary but the choice of technologies you are using to manage a business can be one of the major reasons.
After crunching the numbers, it is revealed that 42% of startups fail due to the lack of the market need for their product. However, it doesn’t mean that your company isn’t going to succeed.
The late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, has set the perfect modern example for this.
He said: “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them”.
In that case, you need to take your products to their hearts. If you are equipped with the right one, you will quickly succeed!
Let’s get back to our point….
How to find the best application for your business needs? The stress of getting the best OS on a limited budget is the most troubling question when businesses decide to go for brand promotions.
So you have to face the question of what kind of app to build for lasting effect: native, web or hybrid? What’s the difference between them?
Factors to Keep in Mind When Selecting an App Type
As your ecommerce store is incomplete without having a functional and efficient website, your business success can be greatly affected by unsuccessful apps. Choosing the right type of app is the first and foremost step that enterprises should look at as it will directly affect the user experience.
Before discussing each platform and exploring each type of application with its pros and cons, let’s unlock the factors you need to consider when choosing your mobile app type.
- Programming languages: Which programming languages are they built on? While the native apps support Swift and Java, web-based technologies support HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and native mobile app development can support both.
- Distribution method: This will define the channel through which the app will be located: app store or web.
- Multi-platform support: Different app types have different abilities to run on iOS and Android, so it’s a sensible decision to build an app that meets the needs of your targeted audience.
Before you rush to select an app based on these specific factors, make sure you know the answer to the following questions:
1. How quickly do you need to develop an app?
2. What budget you are working with?
3. What are you trying to achieve with the app?
4. What features do you need to do that?
5. What experience do you want to convey with your app?
The answers to these questions are the perfect guide to choose between the app type based on their unique features and benefits.
“Knowledge is useless without consistent application.” — Julian Hall
In the last few years, we all observed dozens of successes in the history of mobile apps. From Angrybirds to Instagram to Pokemon Go, there are applications that make their owners hit an annual revenue of millions of dollars.
According to Buildfire stats, undoubtedly, the mobile app industry is thriving with over 2.7 billion smartphone users across the world. And app usage and smartphone penetration are still growing at a steady rate without showing any sign of slowing down soon.
While a mobile app can break or make a business, the single most important question for businesses looking to develop mobile apps, is the mobile app development approaches they can embrace for lasting success.
There are three categories detailed in this blog: native, hybrid, and web app development.
Before you hire an app developer, we aim to help you weigh up the pros and cons of each approach in detail.
Native Mobile App Development
A native app is a software application developed, designed, and coded for specific operating systems — iOS, Android, and Windows phones.
You can design an app with a native app development company, capable of writing languages for respective platforms including Swift and Objective-C for iOS apps, Java, C++, Kotlin for Android apps, and. net for Mac devices.
Popular examples of native apps: Pokemon Go, Facebook, and Twitter.
Native app developers can build a native app that can leverage all the features of the device. However, the only downside of native app development is the creation time and constant maintenance.
Let’s understand the pros and cons in-depth:
Pros of native apps
- Enhanced app performance
- Quick, simple, and secure
- Responsive and robust
- Flexible and versatile
- UX/UI support
Cons of native apps
- Requires more time to develop the app
- Need app updates often
- Challenging to offer the same features on different codes
- Use different coding for different platforms.
- Development is expensive
Mobile Web App Development
Confused with the term web app?
Web application is a program running in a browser like Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome. Unlike native apps, web applications can be directly accessed through a web browser.
No downloads are required as they are built using either CSS, HTML, or JavaScript language. Web app development becomes far easier if you hire an android app developer with a good command of CSS, HTML, or JavaScript programming languages.
While web applications can be used on any mobile device that has a web browser, be it iOS, Android, or Windows, it doesn’t mean that codes need to be written for each platform.
Pros of web applications
- Hassle-free maintenance
- A single code base is required to run the app cross-platform
- Doesn’t need updates often
- App development costs are lower
Cons of web app development
- Complex interaction
- Unavailable in App Store
- Slow operating system
- Can’t offer features like push notifications, work offline, load on the home screen, these are not supported.
Hybrid Mobile App Development
As its name suggests, it sits in between native apps and web apps. They feel like native apps as they are downloadable from an app store and work like web apps, as they are easy to browse as well.
Hybrid apps are the combination of both web and native apps and built on web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, for example Yelp, and Instagram.
In short, they are native app codes embedded with web technologies and published via the relevant native app store.
Share your ideas with the hybrid mobile app development company to design an app that fits your needs best. Hire mobile app developers as they are always happy to build a hybrid app because they need to write a single web technology code base to run the application cross-platform.
Pros of hybrid app
- Cross-platform support
- Reach global audience
- Requires fewer app developers than native apps
- Can work offline
Cons of hybrid Apps
- UX is usually compromised
- Less responsive and poor performance
Native, Hybrid, or Web App Development?
Apart from the above picture, which contains a basic comparison between native, hybrid, and web apps, we want you to go beyond that and understand things deeply.
Before making any final decisions regarding mobile app development, let’s come back to the most crucial question that we asked at the very beginning of this blog.
Below are the questions with the answers to help you select the best app for you.
How quickly do you need a mobile app?
Are you in a rush? Assigned to develop an app in a limited period?
Building one native app is faster than one hybrid app, however, if you need both iOS and Android versions, then the finish line will be approximately at the same point.
What are you are trying to accomplish with the application?
Generally, the basic reason for developing an app is to generate revenue. And Cost Per Mille (CPM) for ads in mobile apps is usually higher than in web apps.
However, if you will count on ads for promotion, go for web apps and if you want to monetize through ads, native apps are a perfect choice.
Whom are you targeting?
The choice of application varies greatly depending on your targeted audience.
For example, if you are planning to develop an app that can be used anytime by both Android and iOS users, the best solution is a native app as it seamlessly works both online and offline.
Choosing an OS is a common dilemma. According to stats, iOS users spend more time on mobile apps, the revenue from such apps might be higher.
What features do you want to add to your app?
The more features your app contains, the more difficult the developing process is. If you want to use the maximum features of the device, native apps are the best choice.
Your budget
According to a survey by mrc-Productivity, native applications are very expensive to develop, whereas web applications are meant for low budgets. The cost of app development varies dramatically depending on the application. It usually ranges from $50k to over $1,000,000.
What has the maintenance cost?
This is what you can’t afford to neglect. A Forrester survey found that the average amount spent on the maintenance of native apps is 35% higher than web or hybrid apps.
Conclusion
Nobody has time and money for a bad app experience. That’s why the most successful and in-demand app looks completely different from what they used five years ago.
To conclude this blog, most of the criteria have been fulfilled by native apps that make the most in-demand mobile apps in today’s time.
You may hire an iOS developer to build your native app or employ the best mobile app development company to do the job for you.
