Mobile Websites and Mobile Apps

At the Dunham Group we do it all. We're developing Apps and Mobile sites - but be sure not to discount the value of a mobile website.

We do it all – which one should you have?

There is no doubt if you are a viable organization or business that you should be investing in a mobile website and perhaps even a mobile app. Web statistics tell us that mobile viewership is literally growing by the day. This is the time to get in on the action.

A regular website for the most part displays poorly on smart phones such as the IPhone, Blackberry or other Android Devices. The reason is obvious; there is usually too much information. If you have a website developed by the Dunham Group team over the past year, you will find that even if you do not have a mobile site, we do our best to make certain that your site is quite presentable on all mobile devices. We do extensive testing here to make sure that goal is met. However, this does not eliminate the need to do a mobile site properly.

Mobile sites have less information on them and the information that they contain is appropriate to the mobile user. Most importantly we can make use of the GPS functions as well as the built in telephone to make certain that it is very easy to make contact with the company being portrayed by the site. It’s all about the conversion rate and making certain that contact is made!

So what’s the difference between and App and a Mobile website? Well, an App is designed specifically for the device that is receiving it (Apple Apps are different from Android Apps etc.). It is also a piece of software that is resident on your phone. It draws and sends information via the web, but clearly the software sits on your device.

A mobile website on the other hand can be very dynamic (in most ways equal to an App) but there is no software on your phone, it is entirely accessed via the Web Browser. The mobile website can access mobile specific features on your phone, such as dialers and GPS functions.

The Native App, for many companies seems more prestigious even though a Mobile Website would have some significant advantages:

• The mobile website is always and instantly available via the browser and it should work on any device eliminating the need to develop several apps.
• The Mobile site is much easier to upgrade. The work is done on the site, posted on the server and is instantly available to everyone.
• An App update, as everyone knows, must be pushed to the user and downloaded. Of course the Mobile site is really easy to find since it is found on your regular web address. Our servers determine whether the user needs a mobile site or your regular site.
• There is a marketing component to mobile sites – they are found on search engines – and apps are not.
• Some stats show that an app has a shelf life of as little as 30 days and it is then deleted by the user. Mobile sites are always on the server!
• Remember that Mobile websites can be developed just like an App. They are database-driven and interactive just like an App.
• Here’s the most important thing…a mobile website is significantly less costly than a native App – and even more so, if you want the App developed for several platforms.

However, Apps still make sense for gaming, complex calculations and reporting and if the program will be used where there is no internet connectivity.

So…at the Dunham Group we do it all. We are developing Apps and we develop mobile websites. Most importantly, we want to do what is best for our clients. If you call us, we discuss this further with you. The most important thing to remember is that Mobile is here to stay…and all of us need to find our way on board this very important technology.