Thrive! Arts Conference | June 13, 2012

Going Mobile: Websites vs. Apps, and What's the

Difference?

Agenda• Mobile Today • Today’s Mobile User• Mobile Options• Charting a Path• Q&A

Mobile Today

Mobile – We’ve Come A Long Way• 4 billion people with mobile devices today

– 1.08BN are Smartphones – 490M units in 4Q 2011 alone (IDC, Jan 2011)

• 46% of North American population has Smartphone as of 4Q 2011 (Nielsen, 4Q 2011)

– 21% have iPhone (19M)• Average website is accessed by up to 1,000

different devices (CMSWire, Feb 2011)

• Sales of Smartphones will exceed those of PCs in 2012 (Morgan Stanley)

• Mobile use will eclipse desktop by 2014

All Types, Shapes and Sizes• Hardware

– Smartphone vs. “dumbphone”– Don’t forget tablets– Screen sizes & resolutions are all over the

place• Operating Systems du jour

– iOS (Apple)– Windows Mobile (Microsoft)– Android (Google)– Blackberry (RIM)– Palm – remember them?

Operating System Market Share

Source: IDC, June 2012

Hardware Market Share

Source: ComScore

Mobile Users Today

Smartphone Users• 89% use Smartphone throughout

the day• Average user has 65 apps on their

phone (Flurry)

• One in four smartphone apps downloaded are never used again (Localytics, 2011)

• 85% of mobile usage is in the home• One half of all local searches are

done on mobile devices • 47%-53% Female to Male skew

Source: Nate Steiner

Smartphone Users by Age Group

Source: Anson Alex, Jan 2012

What They Use Smartphones To Do

When Consumers Use App vs. Browser

Yahoo!, Ipsos, 2H 2011

App or Browser

(or is there something else?)

What Are Your Options?• Apps used by 50.2% of US mobile

subscribers vs. 49% for browsers (ComScore, Apr 2012)

– Facebook is major contributor to this (Flurry, 2011)

• Four Major Options– “Native” Web Apps

• iOS, Android, etc.– Mobile Browser -Based Sites

• HTML 5, CCS & JavaScript– Hybrid Approach– Mobile Middleware

Source: Wireless Week

Mobile (“Native”) Apps• Purpose driven drivers• Better User Experiences (UX) generally• Better performance than HTML/JavaScript• Apps tend to operate better when off-line• Harness unique capabilities of a device’s

hardware• App store dependent

– Can be a good thing (e.g. payment is usually easier, ad serving as part of monetization strategy)

– Marketing & Awareness• Greater costs – maintenance, development

and distribution– “Expect 150% - 210% higher than reasonably

expected” (Forrester Research, 2011)

– Continual install and update cycles Source: GameFAQs.com

App Stores Overview• Apple – App store

– 585,000 apps (Wikipedia, Mar 2012)

– 378M iPhone downloads in April 2012 (USA)• 79M iPad downloads in April 2012 (USA)

– Higher rejection rate

• Google – Google Play– 450,00 apps (AppBrain, Jun 2012)

– 674M downloads in April 2012 (USA) – Lower rejection rate

• Microsoft – Windows Phone Marketplace– 100,000 apps (AllAbout WindowsPhone, Jun 2012)

– 12M downloads in April 2012 (USA) – In the middle rejection rate

Mobile Web site via Browser• Content delivered via existing sources

and/or refitted• HTML 5, CSS & JavaScript• No downloads or updates required

– Build once, support all platforms– Be wary; there are still costs to support

multiple platforms - 20-25% (Forrester)

• Ability to replicate many app-like features– Icon on the desktop, Auto-scroll, etc.

• Detect & optimize content by device• More nimble to make changes• You control your content (i.e., monetization

strategy)• Easier to find people/agency with the right

experience/skills

A Note About Responsive Design• Optimal User Experience regardless

of device• Next evolution of design, but not

quite there yet• Requires simplified design efforts

– Establish breakpoints

Source: Adobe

Hybrid, Anyone? • Best of Both Worlds?

– Code with HTML 5, CSS & JavaScript– Wrap it in native code

• Tools like Titanium & PhoneGap (Adobe) enable deployment across many platforms

• Ability to access on-device resources, tools and programs (e.g. camera, compass, etc.)

• Still need to submit to the respective Store processes

Source: PhoneGap

Mobile Middleware• A 4th and final solution, even

– Mostly mid to enterprise class solution– Enables more efficient delivery to multiple

devices and operating systems• Write once, deploy everywhere• Greater coverage of device types• Trading labor costs for capital costs

Source: Red Hat Magazine

Where to Start?

Do Your Homework• Get Some Background Data

– Start with your Analytics, surveys, etc.• People

– Who will be using the app/site? Basic audience profiles/personas

– Demographic data (e.g. what type of equipment will they likely be using)

– Likely user stories• Objectives

– What are your goals?– What does the consumer want to accomplish? When,

where, how, etc.• Strategy

– What platforms - App, Browser, Hybrid – What devices to support?– What tactics will promote it

• Technology– What Technology do you have in place already? – With these in place – THEN choose the technology– And who will build it Source: Forrester Research

Process, Timeline & Costs• Typical Build & Timeline for Moderately

Complex App/Site– Architecture & Planning: 2-3 weeks– Visual Design: 3 weeks– Development: 4-8 weeks– QA/UAT: 1-3 weeks– Launch

• Mobile Browser : immediate• App Stores: 1-2+ weeks

• Cost– One Milllllllion Dolllllllars (not really)– Sorry to cop-out, but it depends

Source: Dr. Evil

Some Parting Tips• For most, starting with Browser based solution

makes the most sense• If you go app, think what purpose it serves that

makes it different from your website– Including monetization strategy

• Start small and iterate• Have a plan to promote it

– If you build it, they may not come without one• Plan for extensive testing (and likely a few

obscure complaints)– And no, you don’t have to buy 6,00 smartphones

to do it• Set up tracking to assess how people are really

using it• If you don’t have skills in-house, find a qualified

partner

Source: Garymarsh

A Brief Word From Your Speaker

About Delphic Sage • Full Service Digital Agency

– Focused solely on Interactive– Creative, aggressive, vendor agnostic

approach to technology – Data-centric decision making

• Middle Market to Enterprise Clients– Industry vertical focus – Online ecosystems are critical

• Strong Track Record– Founded in 1995– 4.25 customer satisfaction– Award-winning

• Contact Info– Mark Patten, Principal– mpatten@delphicsage.com 215-508-

1800, x105– www.delphicsage.com