Guide to where apps make sense and how they actually differ from the web.

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This coming from an app agency can stir up a lot of hesitation about us being biased. Both on the day and in this article, I’d love to put out disclaimer: We have it. We simply love apps and think they are great. But more importantly we love apps that make sense and people enjoy interacting with. We like to look the person using the app, or a stakeholder directly in the eyes and be proud of the result. You can’t do that with a product that doesn’t make sense. We are not blind towards bad UX, mis-scoped projects or a flow that would 100% benefit from being a website. And this is what we “push”, the making sense part. We have been in this business for way too long to be satisfied with mindless work.

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We’ve been part of some pivotal moments in our client’s businesses - when the decision had to be made either towards an app or web. And that was.. well a lot of things. Risky and strange at first, but good in the midst of it and satisfying when the digits (downloads or other magic of analytics) showed the desired impact. 

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These good moments include Coop deciding on a super app strategy with the  Coop App where the scenario was either to keep maintaining all their digital/print offerings in silos as is or to create a synergy inside the business as well as for the end-user. They went for the latter of course, and it was the right thing to do but you know what they say about hindsight. 

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Another place where the digital strategy of leveraging app capabilities played a role was at DR LYD. By innovating beyond what DR used to be, the app makes for a delightful listening experience on many levels. Thanks to OS integrations such as Apple Watch complications, carplay, Siri shortcuts, widgets and OS accessibility features people can enjoy DR content more effectively whilst commuting, exercising, on the plane, in the car, and many others. 

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In the industries where the standard product offering became an app, we had it relatively easy - there was almost a blueprint of what the right course of action was and we could get straight to building. (For example, imagine a broadcasting, transit or a publishing industry without an app? Exactly. You can’t.) But then there are times it is not as black and white and the proof is in the pudding scoping. There were occasions where a business added a product into their offering. In those instances, what you want is a partner that helps you tap into the knowledge buried somewhere in your business, use their expertise to know where to look and who to talk to to get it. This then actually allows for your business to stay on track whilst the right kind of technology is deployed and your audience is delighted in such a way that they want to insert-your-desired-goal-here (could be ‘engagement’ - stay longer, such as read/watch; could be ‘retention’ - come back more often, such as exercise, travel more; could be ‘acquisition’ - getting new users, task completion, such as filing insurance claims; could be ‘conversion’, such as subscribing to a premium version etc - once I start I have troubles shutting up, can you tell?)

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