Do You Really Need an App for That?
As of 2014, we live in a truly mobile world, as this marked the point when mobile traffic surpassed desktop as the primary device utilized to access the internet. As a result, brands seem to be under constant pressure to have a mobile application alternative for their standard desktop website. With apps for everything from Target to Coachella Music Festival, mobile is king. However, an app is not always the best approach to mobile accessibility. This begs the question:
Is a mobile app the right choice for you?
Responsive design offers an alternative to designing a mobile application for your business. Utilizing existing content from the traditional website view, a responsive site reorganizes, resizes, and reflows that content as needed based on the screen size of the device being used. Responsive websites also require less time and money to implement and maintain, as you only need to make changes to the content, layout, or backend system once rather than updating for each device and/or operating system.
The Red Rocks Amphitheatre website was previously outdated and proved impossible to navigate for mobile users. Our team created an intuitive, scalable site that presented beautifully for mobile and desktop viewers alike, retaining all the key information and features of the original site, while also adding online ticket ordering and concert schedule functionality among other things.
While mobile applications can be more time and money-intensive, for certain brands it is necessary
At its core, mobile applications offer an optimized user experience, as they are not only designed specifically for the device and operating system on which they are used, but they also are able to take advantage of all of the mobile device functionalities. Applications also offer improved performance in terms of load time, as elements were designed specifically with mobile in mind rather than a cross-device design.
The Colorado Public Radio (CPR) site performed well for desktop users, however mobile users were missing out on some of the key features of CPR. We mapped out wireframes to match the existing responsive site and apply native operating system capabilities to enhance the overall user experience. The final iOS and Android applications offered a convenient listening option for mobile users while also adding capabilities to download, store, and listen to CPR podcasts.
In today’s mobile world, it is imperative to create an optimal experience for your users. That being said, a mobile application is not always the answer. Contact us to explore which approach is best for you!
