Do you need an app, or is a web app enough?

Not every idea needs to be in the App Store. A web app (often called a progressive web app, or PWA) runs in the browser, can be added to the home screen, and is often quicker and cheaper to build. A native app is installed from the App Store or Google Play and can use everything a phone offers. Which one you need depends on what your users will do with it.

What a web app does well

• No install. People open a link and start. Great for things used once or occasionally, like booking an appointment.
• One version for every device, phone and computer, with updates live the moment you publish them.
• Found on Google. Web pages can rank in search; apps cannot.
• Lower cost to build and maintain, and no store review.

What a native app does better

• Being on the home screen. Apps people use often belong there, and an app icon is a constant reminder.
• Notifications that work reliably on every phone, including iPhone, where web notifications still have limits.
• Deeper phone features: background location, widgets, Bluetooth, health data, and smoother camera use.
• Performance and feel, especially for rich interfaces, animation and offline use.
• Trust and discovery through the stores, and in-app purchases.

A simple way to decide

Ask how often someone will use it:

• Once or a few times a year (booking, ordering, checking something): a fast website or web app is usually the right answer.
• Weekly or daily (a community, a habit, a tool for work): a native app earns its place on the home screen.

And ask what it needs from the phone. If the core of the product depends on notifications, location in the background or widgets, it needs to be native.

The best of both

Many products do both: a web experience for discovery and one-off use, and an app for regular users. That is what we did with Lorenly: clients book through a fast web page without installing anything, while business owners run their day from an app. Building both from shared foundations keeps the cost reasonable.

Still not sure which you need? Ask us; it is a five-minute conversation.