Why Mobile Apps are Preferred Over Web Apps

Apple and Google have catalyzed the era of mobile computing. The mobile apps including both Android applications and iOS applications are endeared by users. There are numerous applications that are available in the app stores and play stores and there are many yet to come.
Gone are the days, when there were few mobile users and massive desktop users. We all know that the incredible features of mobile has drive people crazy and made them to spend more time over mobile rather than on desktop. Now, the browser enabled Smartphone are there in the market so, what has caused ignorance towards web applications?

Mobile apps vs Web apps

The stats and figures of past few decades, clearly epitomizes a substantial gap between the number of users involved in web apps and mobile apps, and this gap continues to widen. From using web browsers on desktop to running apps on Smartphones, the transition has occurred in really short span of time.

When both mobile apps and websites can be accessed on a handy device then what has made mobile applications more liked and preferred over web apps? For this, let’s have a look on the following illustration and know exactly what does the two terms signifies.

• Mobile Websites and Web Applications

With the advancement in wireless technology, websites that can be easily accessed over portable devices are in demand. The Internet-enabled devices including, Smartphone (like iPhone, Android phone, Windows phone or Blackberry), feature phone, iPad or Tablet, etc., have become lifeline for many of us. They can be connected to a wireless network or a mobile network like 3G networks, 4G networks or Wi-Fi. And offers access over Internet and other web features with a breeze.

Nowadays, the websites are designed to adhere touch screen interface and easily accessibility on the small screen of a handy device. Based on ongoing market trends, website designs that exemplifies a perfect blend of Responsive, Simple and Storytelling designing styles are tend to attract viewers. The website that can adapt itself to the screen of a device and offers easy navigation throughout is preferred more.

The web apps were designed to be accessed over a browser. They are browser applications, which requires some downloading, each and every time when they are run. These apps include applications for banking, gaming, education, security and many more.

With these device agnostic apps you can experience more interactive interface and manage your work conveniently on the go. Example of mobile web app is Safari browser, Chrome browser, simple office softwares like online spreadsheets, Google docs, cloud computing apps for chatting, gaming, sharing any data, etc.

•  Mobile Applications

Accessing Internet and loading web pages have become a tiresome practice. To overcome this and to meet the upcoming market demands, mobile applications were designed. Lending an astonishing experience, the emergence of mobile application has defined new dimensions for the wireless technology. For running these apps, we need to download them once from an app store or play store via Internet; it runs smoothly on the device’s operating system (iOS, Android, etc.). It can be used for applications like games, reading desired data or managing content. Unlike web apps, these applications does not require full-time Internet support. They user-friendly and attractive Graphical User Interface (GUI), which further enhances their functionality.

There are various categories for mobile applications like gaming apps, education apps, security apps, Photo editing apps, entertainment apps and many more.

Both the applications have some pros and cons. Then, what has attracted users toward mobile apps and why they are avoiding web apps? Answer to this question lies in the comparison below; let’s see how mobile applications are dominating web applications.

Web Apps Versus Mobile Apps

I’m comparing the two applications on the basis of certain factors listed below. This will give you a pellucid difference between the two.

#1. Speed and Performance

Speed and performance of an application are really crucial. Clunky apps are dumped as soon as they are released, while the one, which offers instant processing and results, rule the market. The code that is used to build mobile app is tuned for great speed, while the code used for web apps is fundamentally, not for optimal performance. And thus, it makes Mobile application a better option.

The speed factor is highly affected in the case of web app, since they are required to be downloaded before running, which consumes a lot of time and lead to low speed. The speed of web apps also depends on the connected network, so, when the network signals are poor, your web app will automatically slow down.

 #2. Offline Support

Users love simple and effective apps that can run instantly with smooth functionality. Mobile apps offer great offline support and are preferred over web apps, as they uses the device’s content and doesn’t require any downloading.

Most of the time, running an app offline reduces the run time and its complexity. Web apps that are created using HTML5 can store data offline, but, it comes with two interregnums; firstly, it offers limited storage of 5MB data, which is not sufficient and secondly, it provides an option to the user to turn off or on the mobile storage; when you offers customer support for task like this, then it could lead to sleuthing and training challenge.

Both the apps can have offline as well as online support. You can use mobile applications to access both online and offline content. But mobile apps are considered more useful for offline use and web apps are apt for online applications.

#3. Access to Device’s Specific Features

Using your device’s camera as a scanner or writing messages by dictating not typing are some of the features that tempt the users and compel them to go for mobile apps, instead of web apps.
Since, the mobile applications are stored in device’s memory and work with the built-in features of the device, they perform faster and facilitates greater convenience.

#4. User Experience

Don’t you like to work on a user-friendly, trendy and optimized interface? Everyone does. Better layout and presentation will obviously attract more users. The mobile apps are designed to offer great user comfort, navigation ease and smooth functionality.

There are different mobile apps for different operating systems like App store contains applications for iOS users, Google play store has applications for his Android users, etc. These device specific applications augment accessibility ease and make them an absolute choice. While, the web apps are meant to be used by various groups of users, they have to follow some standard design or layout.

#5. Security

Every one wants to keep their device safe and secure from bugs and viruses. They can hamper your stored data and cost a lot for repairing. Security is a prime issue in IT industry. Especially, while dealing with online content, you are open to loads of threats that can destroy the installed softwares, data or can cause privacy issues.

As we know, the mobile apps are stored in device and run on device’s operating system and web apps are downloaded every time and executes on browser, the latter one is less secure and prone to bring virus to your device. Therefore, rejecting web apps and selecting mobile apps is a judicious decision.

Wrapping up:
If you are a developer, then it is very imperative to check the latest market trends and requirements before selecting between mobile apps and web apps. As far as users are concerned, I would rather recommend them to experience and make their choice. Currently, mobile apps are preferred over web apps but, bear in mind that IT is one of the unstable markets, so, stats may change anytime.