App or web app
Ask me before you build an app.
Building an app feels like proof that the product is serious. But for most early products, a mobile website is faster, cheaper and more flexible than a native app. A short check looks at which form fits what you want to learn in this phase, and when an app does become the right choice.
Check this before you commit
What I check first.
- 01
Does the first version actually need native functionality (camera, BLE, offline)?
- 02
How often per day does the target audience use the product?
- 03
Can a mobile-friendly web version ship in weeks?
- 04
Which test cycles do you lose to an app release process?
- 05
What wins for distribution, a link or an app store?
Common patterns
What I see happen most often.
- An app is planned before the problem is validated.
- Two codebases (iOS + Android) double maintenance and cost.
- App store reviews delay critical updates.
- An installed base on old versions makes change more expensive.
What the conversation produces
What you leave with.
- 01
Clarity on native, hybrid, web app or simpler first version.
- 02
A plan that fits what you want to learn in the first months.
- 03
A timeline for when a native app does become the right call.
Further reading
Articles on this challenge.
- 6 min read
Why a Mobile Website Often Beats an App
For many early products a mobile website is faster, cheaper, easier to test and easier to change than a native app. When a native app does become the right choice.
- 7 min read
When Should You Not Build an App?
An app is often the most expensive answer to a problem that can be validated more simply first. When a mobile website fits better, and when an app does become the right call.
- 8 min read
What Should Be in Your MVP and What Should Wait
A decision framework for keeping the first release complete, credible and much smaller.
Ready to talk?
Do you really need to build all of this?
Most MVPs are much larger than they need to be. The faster you learn, the faster you discover what matters.