We all use Apps and Websites in our daily life but what is exactly the difference, what should we use – are Apps overcoming Websites or reverse?

Technology is progressing at a fast pace and makes the human lives and the world much easier. There are plenty of beneficial aspects of technology for the improvement of the standard of living, saving time and just giving people more choices about services, products and accessing information.

The most common way to use those benefits is websites. But the question is if websites are still the easiest and the fastest way to access information? Web sites are far away from what they used to be in the past. As technology is changing, companies should be aware of the transition that the Internet and the globalized world are facing. Many experts believe that soon Apps will overcome Websites referring to easier handling, faster and personalized access and shifting technology trends. However, most companies have a website as their basic online channel. By following the current technology trend, Apps are getting more valuable. In the last 10 years, smartphones and tablets in the combination of Apps are a prospering business industry, which seems never-ending. Adaptation is a key tool to success nowadays and companies must understand that change is no more optional but necessary to survive in the market. For that reason, Apps are considered one of the biggest challenges for the organizations and they are revolutionizing the customer experience with a specific brand, product or company. Hence, many businesses started already to develop Apps to show availability via smartphones or tablets. Big businesses use Apps as ways to supplement their online access, other businesses are only App-based. A statistics shows that 68% of companies have integrated mobile marketing into their overall marketing strategy (Sukhraj, 2016).

The advancing technology is consistently trying to minimize distance around the world. Connectivity is necessary because it can improve the way of making business and it can create stronger relationships with customers. Additionally, technology is searching for a way to make the customer’s life easier; this is supporting the new trend of having Apps in the market. The question is, why go to a store or login to a computer when you can purchase it from your #1 companion? Apps make it possible and have great features and advantages. Successful Apps in the eyes of customers should have characteristics like interactivity, a wide pool of information and consistency. A great example is the number one e-commerce retailer Amazon. Nearly 70 percent of Amazon.com shoppers used the mobile App function to place an order instead of using the common website (Eadicicco, 2015). Consequently, the shifting trend is already positioned in the business world and daily routines.

For a long time, Websites demonstrated the main and most important source in the business market for companies and customers to present or access information. Nowadays, Apps take the spot of Websites and experts even argue that Websites are old school and not featured with the newest know-how. Compared to Apps, Websites are far away from the personalized features and in understanding and assisting customers with their needs. Companies should be aware of that and move forward to the new technologies, which can be the big differentiator from conventional marketing to the actual one. The trend is extremely shifting because 89 percent of mobile media time is spent in Apps and the other 11 percent are spent on Websites (Sukhraj, 2016). People have to realize that the next step in the future and in order for companies not to fall behind is to start developing easier ways to access information, services, and products. Apps make it easy and convenient for the users to pay bill payments, to transfer money, to do online purchasing and make business more personalized. Though why do we need Websites?

Remember the time, when having a website was cool and not all businesses had one? Nowadays, we have the exact same trend with mobile apps. To conclude “Apps overcoming Websites”, the following table demonstrates the benefits and drawbacks of Apps and Websites.

 

Categories	App	Website
Costs	$$$$$	$$
Personalization	Ö	´
Experience	Engaging	Standardized
Complex Calculations or Reporting	Effective	Standard
Location/Navigation	Ö	Less qualified
Notification function	Ö	´
Information in real time	Ö	More complicated
Capabilities	Advanced	Standard
Purpose/Strategy	Action-oriented	Information-oriented
Work status	Online & Offline	Online
Design	Elaborate function	Standard function
Performance	+ + + + +	+ +
Security	+ + + +	+ +

 

Citations:

Eadicicco, L. (2015, December 28). More People Shop on Amazon Using Smartphones Than    Computers. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://time.com/4162188/amazon-holiday-shopping-statistics-2015/
Sukhraj, R. (2016, October 3). 31 Mobile Marketing Statistics to Help You Plan for 2017.         Retrieved January 19, 2017, from https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/mobile-marketing-statistics-for-2016