Assuming that your website is already designed to your liking, converting it into a native mobile app makes a lot of sense for modern businesses. On mobile, apps rslonline.com to websites, and access to native features helps you create more immersive branded experiences.
What does the website to app flow look like, and what options should you pursue? This article lists three popular methods to convert your website to an app quickly.
Code It Yourself
This is the toughest method, but will make sense to many founders. If your company is still at an early stage, no one knows the market better than you. You can customize the app as your business grows and finds new customer segments.
The DIY approach works well if you’re constantly targeting new customer demographics and need to change your app’s user experience quickly. By relying on yourself, you can make these changes cost-effectively without involving lengthy project timelines. This option is also the quickest since you won’t have to spend time educating a third party about your customers, product, and market. You can hit the ground running and release features quickly.
There are cons of course. First, if you aren’t a technical person, this option is a non-starter. You could spend time educating yourself, but this isn’t realistic since you have a business to run. One option to overcome this is to work with a technical co-founder who can bear the load. This way you can split work and get tasks done quickly. Alternatively, there are code-free platforms that you can use to create an app based on your website.
If you’re with a larger business, you could use your in-house development team to build an app. However, this has costs. Aside from monetary ones, your team will be removed from its core tasks, potentially damaging existing customer experiences.
If you have a tightly scheduled product roadmap, using internal developers is a problem. However, if you can afford to massage that schedule a bit, using internal resources is a great way to convert your website to an app and leverage the SEO benefits that come with it.
Workflows and coordination are two other facts you must consider. If you’re releasing to Apple and Google’s stores, your team will have to follow different processes, effectively creating unconnected yet parallel schedules. Project managing these tasks is challenging as a result. However, if the pros outweigh the cons, choosing to build an app in-house is a great option.
Hire A Freelancer
Smaller companies are probably best served by hiring a freelancer. Freelance developers cost less than an agency and tend to offer more flexibility. One-to-one communication also gives you the chance to build a good relationship, leading to better quality work.
The good news is plenty of developers offer freelance work, meaning you won’t find a shortage of talent. Freelance gig marketplace platforms or even your business networks can put you in touch with good developers who can get the job done.
However, freelancers do come with some shortcomings. For starters, your freelancer will likely work on multiple projects at once, meaning you can only rely on their attention for so long. They might also have unexpected events taking place in their lives, delaying your project.
Project management and onboarding can also pose problems. When working with a single person, you’ll have to onboard them to your system and give them your procedures to work with. These tasks take time. You also have to help them understand your audience, which adds to delays.
Still, these are not insurmountable challenges. Add some leeway into your project schedule to make sure your freelancer has enough time to familiarize themselves with your product and audience.
When done right, freelancers offer flexibility and a cost-effective path to turning your website into an app.
Hire An Agency
Hiring an agency is an upscaled version of hiring a freelancer. If your app requires several custom features, bringing an agency on board is likely a good idea.
Agencies can get the job done quickly and will project manage your work. The downsides are similar to a freelancer. Given multiple clients, you might get stuck with an account executive who doesn’t understand your needs, jeopardizing your project timeline and deliverables.
Onboarding an agency also takes time. Make sure you verify their credentials and ask for client references. This will help you avoid any nasty surprises.
Before screening agencies, make sure you’ve finalized all the features you want in your app and grade them by importance. This will save you plenty of time during onboarding and give the agency a head start since they’ll understand your project’s scope quickly.
Many Solutions To Convert A Website To An App
While large parts of this process require significant time and money allocations no matter what route you take, by understanding the scope of your project, it’s possible to select a method that makes the most sense for your situation. With this in mind, you might want to keep your feature list uncomplicated and light, and develop more features as you iterate your app with subsequent versions.
Whatever option you choose, converting your website to an app makes a ton of sense to aid modern consumers. Choose from one of the options in this list, and you’ll have a shiny new app ready in due time.
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