When you need a mobile app, and when a website is enough

“We need an app” — I hear this a lot. Then I ask, “Why?” Most often the answer is, “Well, everyone has one.” That’s not a bad reason, but it’s not a good enough reason for an app either.

Why an app costs more

An app is really two apps: one for iPhone and one for Android. Today you can build both from a single codebase, but testing and publishing to the stores still happen twice. On top of that come the App Store and Google Play rules, their reviews, and resubmitting every update.

And most importantly — people have to download the app. That’s the hardest step. A website opens with one link; an app means going to the store, downloading, signing up. At every step some people say “later” and drop off.

When an app pays off

• Customers use you several times a week: taxi, delivery, gym, café.
• Push notifications matter: “your order is on its way”, “discount today”.
• You need the phone’s features: camera, GPS, working offline.
• The app is for your staff: couriers, sales agents, repair technicians — they use it for work every day.
• You already have loyal customers and want to keep them.

When a website or Mini App is enough

• Customers come to you once or twice a year.
• The main goal is finding new customers, not keeping them.
• You’re still testing the idea and don’t know whether people will pay for it.

My advice

If you’re not sure, start with a website or a Telegram Mini App. See how often people use it. If customers keep coming back several times a week and start asking “don’t you have an app?” — then it’s time.

Then you won’t be guessing which features the app needs — you’ll know. And that’s the biggest saving of all.

An app isn’t for finding customers. It’s for keeping the ones you’ve found.