Why are there so many apps that could be websites?
Seriously. I don’t want to install something on my phone when the dev is just using a WebView, if that’s what it’s called. When the app is basically just a website with the browser hidden.
What’s the reason for that? To attach the customer? To sell the app for money? Is there more ad revenue that way? Do you reach more people?
(Are there any good reasons for it, too? Security, maybe?)
Because the majority of internet connections these days are from a mobile device. And if you want to reach the average person, you have to be where they are looking.
I think it’s really a shame that mobile OS’s are so locked down that the only real way for people to download things is through some centralized app store.
A study by Google and Ipsos found that while app stores are a popular destination for finding new apps, they are not the only method. About 40% of smartphone users browse for apps in app stores, and one in four app users discovers an app through a search engine. This suggests that a significant portion of smartphone users are indeed using search engines, rather than just app stores, to find apps and information
Additionally, data from Amplitude Labs reveals that app usage grew by 36% from January 2020 to December 2021, while website usage grew by 57% in the same period. By December 2021, the user base was almost evenly split between apps and websites, with 54% of users on apps and 46% on websites
while me or you might go to a search engine and type in “weather today”, i think there really is a large chunk of the userbase (somewhere near half) who would rather go into the app store and type in “weather”
i think it might be an age thing with older people, but honestly, maybe even younger generations like alpha / z. they grew up in a different OS environment. we grew up on PCs, they grow up on mobile OS
I worked at a company that wanted to kill their app (just a web view for the site anyway) but trying to convince all the users to move proved unfeasible
I suppose having a dedicated “launch this website” button has some level of convenience over typing out the URL
I’ve just gone through this pain with my company. It took 14 months to finally get rid of the app and the pushback from users was horrendous.
We eventually broke the app to the point that all it did in the end was show a page that made users open the site in their mobile browser and use the “Add to home page” feature present in mobile Safari, Chrome and Firefox to put an icon on the homepage like an app.
Absolutely worth it though to not have to deal with Apple’s developer hostile and shitty app tools/ecosystem while paying for the privilege. I don’t miss having to deal with the “moving target” nature of Android and iOS either where everything breaks or has a new API every 5 minutes. Mobile browsers are so capable now with javascript APIs to access most of the device hardware so apps really aren’t as necessary as they once were.
The number I’ve seen floating around a few places is that app users are, on average seven times more profitable than web users. Reasons include:
The app being on the device acts as a reminder to the user to interact more
It’s easier for an app to send notifications to get users to open it and interact more (Android has reduced this by requiring permission; browsers required it long before)
There are more limited options for blocking ads in an app
There are more opportunities to collect data in an app
Are there any good reasons for it, too? Security, maybe?
Security for the user? Probably not. “Security” for the developer in that they can prevent people from using the app in ways that aren’t profitable? Likely.
I built an app like that. It uses a WebView, although all the HTML is self-contained and it only accesses the internet to make API calls.
Mobile app development really sucks, as a developer. The frameworks, the build tools, the specialised languages that can't be used anywhere else - it's a hot mess. Making an 'app' using that method is much quicker and easier for me because I get to use HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which I already know and have the tools for.
But why make it at all? If you want to use HTML, CSS and JavaScript you can do that, and not even have to build and deliver the pointless box that you put the content in, because everybody has Safari, Chrome, or another browser on their device.
Yes, I have built it as a website app also and that is the primary UI. The mobile app is just a read-only viewer for quick access to the information people need on the go. It's not entirely pointless.
A lot of people don't know how to install a PWA (which I also provide, if they want it) and have never done so. They also just expect there to be an app in the app store and when they hear about a tool someone else is using that's their first port of call.
This is definitely part of it. The company I work for sells a service to companies, that their employees need to use. We built a web app, it works perfectly fine. However, people ask for ‘an app’ because they want to install it from their phone’s app store instead of opening the website once through a link in their email and creating a bookmark.
So we added a PWA manifest and clear instructions on how to ‘install’ our web app (it’s literally the same thing otherwise, no added functionality). Yet the users still complain that they want an app…
I’m surprised users find the app store that compelling for a one-time “install” with updates not a factor. Do they cite any other reasons for wanting a different approach?
OP is talking about apps that are basically links to websites.
They design the website entirely, but it’s not available through a web browser – only the app. But fundamentally, it’s a website that a browser would be able to run.
I know that; when you develop a website, you typically design mobile-first and then design the desktop version afterwards. If you’re just building it as an application you can skip a whole lot of CSS and design nonsense that would go into that process.
I always assumed the reason was to get more tendrils into your phone for that sweet sweet data $$$ and allowing themselves more control over shoving notifications in your face.
I'm sure there are some "data harvesting" reasons, but honestly, the simplest is likely the truest:
Most people aren't computer-savvy, and having an app is much easier for most users than going to a website (either directly or through a bookmark that they probably won't ever be able to find again).
One must remember, always and forever: most people aren't us/you. Just because something is easy for you to do doesn't mean it's easy for everyone else.
Is it dumb for me that T-Mobile has an app that just goes to a webview that I could get through my phone browser? Yes. Is it dumb for my parents? Absolutely ten thousand percent no.
The value (in terms of money made/saved/protected) that a company gets from having an app instead of a website only is probably ranked in this order:
1 - ease of use for the majority of customers, reducing tech and customer support calls, angry customers, lost goodwill, bad reputation
2-99 - same as #1
100 - data harvesting
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