Apps are often suggested as the next step after a website — but for most small businesses, a well-built mobile-friendly website does the job better and at a fraction of the cost.
A website is accessed through a browser — on a phone, tablet, or computer — by visiting a web address. A mobile app is a piece of software downloaded and installed on a phone or tablet from an app store. Both can be used to deliver information, take bookings, process payments, and interact with customers, but they work in fundamentally different ways and suit different purposes.
The question of which you need — or whether you need both — depends almost entirely on what you want to achieve and how your customers will interact with you.
A modern, well-built website is designed to work equally well on a mobile phone as on a desktop computer. This is not optional — it is a standard expectation, and Google penalises sites that are not properly mobile-friendly. A good mobile website can:
For the majority of small businesses, a properly built mobile-friendly website covers every requirement without the need for a separate app.
There are circumstances where an app provides capabilities that a website cannot match, or where the nature of the product demands it.
Apps make sense when customers will use the product repeatedly, every day — banking apps, fitness tracking apps, food delivery apps. The friction of opening a browser and typing an address is removed, and the app can integrate with the phone's native features. For a business where customers visit once or occasionally, that convenience is not enough to justify the cost and effort of building an app.
Apps can work without an internet connection. If your product needs to function offline — a field engineer logging work, a delivery driver updating statuses in areas with poor signal — an app may be the right solution. Websites require a connection.
If your product needs deep integration with phone hardware — the camera beyond basic access, GPS tracking running in the background, Bluetooth connections to other devices, push notifications — a native app provides more reliable access to these features than a website.
For some businesses, the app is the product — a software tool, a game, a service that only exists in app form. In these cases the question answers itself.
App development is significantly more expensive than website development, and the costs do not end at launch.
| Website | Mobile App | |
|---|---|---|
| Build cost (typical small business) | £500 – £5,000 | £10,000 – £50,000+ |
| Platforms to support | One — all browsers | Two — iOS and Android |
| Updates | Instant, no user action | Must be submitted and approved; user must install |
| App store fees | None | Annual fees to Apple and Google |
| Discoverable via Google search | Yes | No |
| Customer barrier to access | None — just visit the address | Must find, download, and install |
Most small businesses that commission an app do so because it sounds impressive or because a sales pitch made it seem essential. Before committing to the investment, ask a straightforward question: what can the app do for my customers that my website currently cannot? If the answer is not compelling, the website is the right choice.
