Why a web application will revolutionise your business

Consumers don’t just want to consume content from brands passively; they want to engage with them actively.

That means responsive web application development is critical for creating a web app that customers can interact with as if they were using a mobile app.

Unlike a static HTML website that displays unalterable information, a web app provides content that users can interact with and alter to complete tasks, whether that’s completing financial transactions with a banking app or buying products through an ecommerce platform.

Below we’re going to look at six ways that building a web app will revolutionise your business, from opening the door to closer interaction with consumers to providing you with cross-platform reach and new monetisation options.

Building a web app will revolutionise your business by:

1. Providing you with closer interaction with consumers 

One of the biggest advantages of responsive web app development is that it provides you with a new channel to interact with your target audience to provide personalised content and services.

By creating a web application, you can offer users interactive services such as online shopping, banking, and instant messaging through a web browser, making these features available to users on any platform.

Offering interactive features in this way offers greater interaction with consumers and helps increase engagement. For instance, progressive web apps (PWA), have an average bounce rate of 42.86% compared to the average mobile bounce rate of 60%.

In addition, PWAS also have a 36% higher conversion rate than native apps. One of the key reasons for this is that mobile apps have a poorer user experience, with users unable to open multiple tabs to compare goods or different areas of the app.

2. Offering cross-platform reach 

Modern consumers, particularly those from younger generations like millennials and Gen Z, are device agnostic, and engage with brands from all types of devices, from desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones.

Creating a web application enables you to reach these users, no matter what device they’re using and whether they have your app downloaded or not. In short, a web app provides you with more opportunities to engage them and attract their business.

Reaching out to a wider target audience can have a substantial impact on your business.

For instance, when Adidas launched a PWA in 2018, the company increased its global revenue by 36%, in part due to the fact that it was able to reach a wider audience of users and connect with users who hadn’t downloaded its native apps.

3. Providing new monetisation options to generate revenue 

A web application can be monetised much like a website, and provides a valuable channel for you to generate revenue.

Subscription fees, pay to remove adverts, premium content, advertising, paid content, physical products, and virtual products, pay-per-use of the app, are all monetisation models you can use to make money.

Simply having a web application unlocks the door to potential revenue opportunities that you wouldn’t have if you just relied on a website or mobile app to interact with your target audience.

4. Giving you a competitive advantage

Another benefit of responsive web application development is that it provides you with a competitive advantage over other companies that are relying on websites or mobile apps to interact with their customers.

By offering users interactive experiences across multiple devices with high performance, you’ll be able to offer a more enjoyable and compelling experience than organisations trying to reach customers through native apps and static websites.

At the same time, by having a single piece of code to underpin your web app, your maintenance costs are much cheaper than they would be if you were managing a website and native mobile apps for each platform.

5. Providing a better user experience

On any digital channel, whether it’s on a mobile or desktop device, providing a solid user experience is essential for keeping customers engaged with your brand. Web applications and PWAs offer the most effective way to do this due to fast loading times and interactivity.

For instance, Washington Post created a PWA that delivered an 88% improvement in load time for AMP content versus traditional mobile web and increased the number of mobile search users who return within 7 days by 23%.

In other words, creating a web app or PWA enables you to get your massage out there and offer users the best user experience possible.

6. Not tying you to an app store

Another advantage offered by responsive web application development is that you’re not subject to the requirements of an app store. There are no native guidelines or requirements you need to follow when developing your app, and there’s no one taking a cut of your revenue.

Building a web app means you’re free to design your app however you see fit and interact with your target audience in the way that’s best for your business, not an app store provider.

As an added bonus, you’re also not experiencing the challenge of trying to maintain different app versions across each of these stores. You can simply maintain one single web application and communicate with all of your users.

Give your users the experience they want to see

Every day, consumers connect with brands online. If you want to engage these users, then you need to offer the experience they want to see on their preferred device, whether that’s on a smartphone, laptop, or tablet.

While you can try and reach users with a native app approach and build apps for iOS and Android, this is a time-consuming process, and it’s easier to use responsive web application development to build a single app that all your users can access through a web browser.

Want help building a web application that will revolutionise your business? This is something our expert team at Make IT Simple would be delighted to do for you! Contact us today to get started.

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