It’s no secret that having a high quality and professional looking company website can have a strong and lasting effect on how consumers perceive your brand. However, in a world where anyone and everyone can easily create and maintain a nice-looking, simple website, your business may require something a little more interactive to stand out from the crowd. This is where a website application development company, a company that specializes in application development, can help.
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Website Development Application Companies
People are using their mobile devices more than ever to access relevant information, connect with others and conduct their business. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated at using technology and are demanding a better, more streamlined online experience. A website application development company can help your brand stand out by creating a more convenient and direct way for your customers to connect with your business.
In addition, just as the appearance of your office or physical place of business affects your customers perception of your brand, so does the appearance of your company’s digital place of business. It is therefore vital to your brand that you have an up to date virtual storefront.
Website application development companies can help your business accomplish this. How? By developing specific software for your business in the form of a website application, a mobile application or both. Website applications and mobile applications each offer distinct and overlapping benefits. As discussed below, choosing one or the other requires an evaluation of several factors.
What is a Website Application?
A website application runs off a remote server and is interfaced via your internet web browser. This differs from traditional software that must be installed on a computer hard drive or on the internal storage of a mobile device. Website applications offer many advantages over traditional software. This includes improved cross-platform compatibility, offloading of the processing demands from the users computer to a remote server and instant software updates. As a consequence, a website application can often provide the most convenient and secure means for businesses to connect with their customers.
Website applications used to mainly be used for email and banking purposes. Standardized programming languages such as HTML5 and JavaScript can now offer the consumer instant access to high quality sound, graphics and interactivity. All a consumer needs is an internet-connected device with a web browser. Website applications, which now include email, word processors, tax software, online shopping, media editing and even video games are becoming so ubiquitous that most users don’t even bother to distinguish between website applications and regular static websites.
What is a Mobile Application?
Are you considering making a mobile app instead? Unlike website applications, a user installs a mobile application on their own device. Mobile applications are designed for mobile devices. As a result, mobile applications tend to be lightweight, fast and streamlined. Additionally, like website applications, mobile applications can offload a significant amount of the processing demands from the users computer to a remote server.
Mobile applications provide easy access to a user’s mobile phone GPS, camera and other hardware. Additionally, they can take advantage of other built-in OS functions such as notifications and widgets. Common examples of mobile applications can be found on the App Store for Apple products or the Google Play Store for Android and Chrome OS products.
Mobile Application vs. Website Application
As a general rule, the creation of a mobile application requires a greater investment in both application development and maintenance than a website application. That being said, a mobile application may be the right option for your business. In addition to creating new avenues for advertising, there are many circumstances when the consumer experience can benefit by having access to operating system features and device hardware. Additionally, depending on your type of business and target market, offering a mobile application may even be necessary.
Because the quality of your customers online user experience affects the perception of your brand it is also important to ensure your mobile application is well developed and well maintained. One study showed that after a bad mobile experience, 54 percent of users aged eighteen to thirty-four were less likely to use any of those brands, products, or services ever again. Regardless of whether you choose to develop a mobile application, it is difficult to imagine any scenario where it would make sense for a business to invest in a mobile application without also investing in a website application.
Website Application Companies Can Help Improve Your Customers’ Experience
Website applications can improve your customers’ experience. This is because they can be programmed to perform additional functions that cannot be found on a traditional website. Apps are also immediately available to any user who accesses the website with an internet web browser. Because they require less investment than a mobile application on the part of the user to access, these additional functions can attract more customers.
Website applications also offer security. Cloud storage, instant updates and secure servers means that a customer’s data is safe even when their devices are lost, destroyed or replaced.
Although website applications require less development time and fewer resources than a mobile application, they still require a web server. They also require expertise in programming languages such as JavaScript and HTML5. Website application development companies can design a web application that looks professional. They can also meet the needs of your budget, your marketing strategy, and the services you provide.
Search Result Rankings of Your Website Application Can Be Increased with SEO
Perhaps most importantly, website applications are still websites. That means that they can be shared between consumers like a website. They can also be found on internet search engines, which means search results ranking can be optimized to reach the most relevant consumers through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques.
There is tremendous value for website applications being ranked on internet search engine results. Google alone handles more than forty-thousand searches per second or more than three and a half billion searches per day. In addition, consumers interact with brands on their mobile devices more than any other method and demand a fast and seamless experience.
In 2020, growing trends of using internet technology in the daily lives of consumers were magnified. Website application development companies often offer SEO services which can improve the visibility of your website application. The data and market analysis that is performed as a part of the SEO services should in turn inform the content of the website application.
What are the Benefits of Mobile Applications?
A mobile application can offer many benefits over a website application. However, they do demand a greater investment in development and maintenance. Beyond your budget, the appropriate choice is dependent on your market, your branding and business objectives and your target customers.
Mobile applications offer more options to be personalized by the business and the user with better management of user preferences. In addition, you can use them without a connection to the internet. This means user data can be stored and retrieved locally when there is an internet outage or a weak connection.
Mobile applications can also take advantage of device hardware and native operating system features. For example, notifications, alerts, GPS and camera. They are also more integrated into the native operating system that consumers are accustomed to using. Therefore they are often faster at performing certain tasks than website applications and can provide a richer user experience.
There are also branding and marketing opportunities with mobile applications. They offer more opportunities to connect with existing customers. For example, notification functions like push notifications work even when you are not using the application. This provides a great marketing opportunity. You can provide tailored information to your customer, even when they are not actively seeking it out.
If a mobile application offers good functionality and a quality user experience, customers will come to use and rely on the application, thus strengthening the connection between your customers and your brand. A well-designed mobile application can also reinforce your brand in ways website applications cannot.
Website Application Development Companies Can Improve the Value of Your Brand
Your brand defines the expectations of your consumers. It is more than just the itemized goods and services that you list on a billing statement. In other words, it is what consumers believe they are buying when they decide to do business with your company. It should therefore come as no surprise that the quality and content of your company website reflects upon your brand.
An outdated website conveys the message that your products and services are out of date or of poor quality. It can even signify that your company is on the verge of closing. Perhaps the most important factors in online branding is trust and credibility. One study demonstrated that nearly half of consumers assessed the credibility of a website based on “superficial aspects,” such as its visual appeal.
Why You Should Choose a Web Application Company
The font, color, layout and media on your website application reflects upon your brand as much as its functions. Quality web application development should incorporate design elements that satisfy modern standards. Your website application design should also be familiar to consumers and consistent with your branding. However, it should also be cutting-edge, too.
Whether developing a website application, a mobile application, or both, hiring experts is critical for your brand. If you need help with your online branding, please contact us at SEO Design Chicago today!
FAQs about Website Application Development Companies:
- How does mobile website development help a brand?
- How can a business improve its branding?
- What is the difference between mobile applications and web applications?
- How does a website application help my SEO?
- Which is cheaper, mobile app or website?
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