Years later, mobile apps are still trending. And its amazing that you can still hear the echo from Apple’s 2009 ad coining the phrase – ‘There’s an app for that.’ We know, Apple is really convincing.
Take a moment to review:
Even now, business owners harbor FOMO and can often be convinced that a mobile app will be the golden ticket to solving their business’ most difficult issues. Investing in a worthwhile, delightful mobile app is a major expense. And I say ‘investing’ because the design and development is going to cost you. And don’t forget about the cash that you will need for marketing to outshine the competition. And then there is the money you’ll need to actually take care of it, maintain it, and fix all those bugs/send updates and even address user complaints. Who knows if the results and feedback what you paid for?
Yes, it was a beautiful idea – providing just the right tool or information for decision making on the go… But the decision to build a mobile app should not be taking lightly.
**A mobile app is a tool offering to solve one problem. “Checking weather conditions,” “finding … nearby”, etc.
So, do you really need an app for that? Actually: should it really be an app?
Here are some considerations to make your decision easier:
A. Do users care about the info you provide when they are ‘on the go’?
B. Is it for communication? – ok.
C. Is it relevant to the user’s location? – weather, nearby stuff, reservations…
D. Is it for tracking something? – When you are on the go, sometimes there is no where else to write it down but on your phone.
E. Scheduling – sure.
F. Decision making – It needs to simply and quickly answer the question users have at that moment. Can I get a better deal somewhere else? (Amazon prime) How do I get there from here? (Maps) Do you think that we can get a table? (Opentable.com)
F. Simple information – They just want to find what they are asking quickly. Yes its amazing that amount of information that our mobile devices have within our reach at all times. But Apple also knew that it was going to be a pain for users sort through and make sense of it on a tiny screen. So they bookmarked a few tools to get us started.
So if your business has a tool that solves a problem/answers a question that supports users on the go – and promise to show them the answer really easily… Then ok, you have my permission to spend a ton. But don’t forget to make it look really awesome.
Otherwise, just make sure that your site looks great on a wide range of devices.
There is no place that is safe now. Code has creeped into all my activities. Jokes about naming functions with my husband (that he will never fully ‘git). When my mother asks how I am doing I quickly leap into conversations regarding my ‘todo’ app and how it does this or that now- but than it just won’t ‘complete my PUT ajax request’.