{"id":849,"date":"2014-01-09T07:43:01","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T07:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.instantoffices.com\/blog\/?p=849"},"modified":"2016-11-28T09:33:55","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T09:33:55","slug":"smartphone-app-development-for-smes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.instantoffices.com\/blog\/business-growth\/smartphone-app-development-for-smes\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartphone App Development for SMEs"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the introduction of apps, otherwise known as technology applications, many people have found new ways of using smart phones. Even businesses have started acknowledging the multiple advantages offered by smart phone apps.<\/p>\n

In 2013, global smart phone penetration<\/a> increased to 22% of the world population, up from 5% in 2009.\u00a0 This rise is equivalent to nearly 1.3 billion smart phones in four years. On average, there will be two smart phones for every nine people on earth, or 1.4 billion smart phones, by the end of 2013.<\/p>\n

With the app market expected to reach a value of $25 billion by 2015, the question now becomes: \u201cHow can businesses benefit from smart-phone app development to increase sales and fuel their growth?\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Small business owners need to focus on developing mobile strategies to help their customers find and buy products and services online, no matter what device they are using to connect.<\/p>\n

If you’re planning to establish a mobile presence for your business or organization, one of the first considerations that will likely come to mind is whether you want to create a mobile application for users to download (app) or a mobile website, or perhaps both.<\/p>\n

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Mobile websites and apps can look very similar at first-glance, and determining which is most suited to your needs will depend upon a number of factors, including target audiences, available budget, intended purpose and required features.<\/p>\n

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Mobile Website vs. Mobile App<\/h2>\n

A\u00a0mobile website\u00a0is similar to any other website in that it consists of browser-based HTML pages that are linked together and accessed over the Internet (for mobile typically WiFi or 3G\/4G networks). The obvious characteristic that distinguishes a mobile website from a standard website is the fact that it is designed for the smaller handheld display and touch-screen interface. Like any website, mobile websites can display text content, data, images and video. They can also access mobile-specific features such as click-to-call (to dial a phone number) or location-based mapping.<\/p>\n

Apps are actual applications that are downloaded and installed on your mobile device, rather than being rendered within a browser. Users visit device-specific portals such as\u00a0Apple\u2019s App Store, Android Market, or Blackberry App World in order to find and download apps for a given operating system. The app may pull content and data from the Internet, in similar fashion to a website, or it may download the content so that it can be accessed without an Internet connection.
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Which is better?<\/h2>\n

When it comes to deciding whether to build an app or a mobile website, the most appropriate choice really depends on the type of product or services your business offers and your end goals.<\/p>\n

If you are developing an interactive game, an app is probably going to be your best option. But if your goal is to offer mobile-friendly content to the widest possible audience then a mobile website is probably the way to go. In some cases you may decide you need both a mobile website and a mobile app, but it\u2019s pretty safe to say that it rarely makes sense to build an app without already having a mobile website in place.<\/p>\n

A mobile website will be a better option for your business if:<\/h3>\n