Website vs App?

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ColinM
 
 
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Website vs App?

Post by ColinM »

Hi All,
If there's one thing we can depend on in the unpredictable online world is the predictability that it unpredictable and changing at an exponential rate.

Look at the huge advances in hardware and software technology, the death and emergence of massive browser and search engine companies, the emergence of "Socials" (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pininterest, etc) and of course, the development of websites.

Another exponentially increasing change is the use of non (traditional) computer platforms - tablets and mobile/cell phones with the two dominant OS being IOS and Android.

This has underpinned the need/demand for responsive websites with the old std 970 pixel wide website no longer "cutting the mustard".

Which brings me to that other development - Apps.

Even a cursory search will reveal two elements:
1) More and more people are using mobile/cell phones.
2) The web is littered with websites extolling the virtues and advantages of Apps over websites.

Perhaps debatably, some of the pros are:
Responsive Website:
1) Generally cheaper.
2) OS platform independent.
3) Update is server served - no app download is required (although, dependent on the Users browser settings, some content download may passively occur.
Apps
1) Some or all functionality available offline.
2) Tailorable to a User experience goal.
3) Not dependent on browser rendering engines.
4) Dynamic capture of Client data for ecommerce.

I love website design and WYSIWYG Web Builder and ardently believe their remains a huge need and demand for good websites.

Given the current stage of generational flux, is there a need for both Websites and Apps?

I would be interested in your constructive thoughts?
Yours truly
Colin M
Western Australia
lummis
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by lummis »

A thought provoking post, Colin. I believe that technology moves forward in a generational pattern. My background is in banking which demonstrates this quite well.

In the early 1970's I was involved with the installation of the 4th cash machine in the UK that dispensed varying amounts of cash and everyone said that it wouldn't catch on as people wanted to be able to be served by a human being. Move on 30 years and over 80% of cash withdrawals were from a cash dispenser.

In the 1990's I was having a beer talking to a well respected Chief Executive of a major British Bank when he asked me my views of the emerging internet banking. He was of the view that people would always want to know that their money was safe and going into a bank gave them that reassurance. I countered that with the example of cash machines and said that within 30 years most people would be using internet banking.

Move on another 30 years and now banking apps are starting to overtake internet banking using the traditional website, and I am able to pay in a cheque using the camera on my phone which I cannot do on my desktop! Not only that, in recent times some banks have been set up that only use an app to carry out transactions.

So as a fresh generation comes along there seems to be something new that comes to the fore and my guess is that within 30 years websites will be history and people will be questioning if apps are still useful.

The big shame is that I am unlikely to be here to see if my prediction is right unless I reach the age of 105!!

Brian
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ColinM
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by ColinM »

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your post engagement :D
An interesting story and great analogy and forecast.
And I doubt I'll find out if your prediction is right either - I'd be 104 years and 9.5 months :lol:
Yours truly
Colin M
Western Australia
alan_sh
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by alan_sh »

I think you're wrong. After all, what is a web site? And, indeed, the whole internet? It's a very large client-server operation.

For an APP, the client sits on the local device (phone etc.) and requests data from a server which it interprets and displays for the user.
For a web site, the client is a browser, which is just an app - but a very generic one. It receives data from the server, which may be a web site (but doesn't have to be) and interprets it (html code) in order to display it to the user.

So, in both cases, you have a client which interprets what it received. The difference is that an app does a specific thing using a specific set of codes designed by the author and a browser can do anything as long as it received HTML (OK, and PHP) code.

SO, why would one triumph over another? An app can be very useful if you know exactly what you want the customer to see (e.g. banking apps). A browser can be very useful if you are unsure what the customer wants but you can offer him things (e.g. web sites) and let him decide if it's what he needs to see.

Also, browsers exist for all platforms. You only every have to write the server (HTML/PHP) code and it will work everywhere. You can't say the same about apps. You have to write the client app for every platform the customer has. And we know how well that has worked out.

I don't think the analogy with equating cash machines with apps works out. It would be as if the cash machine at Tescos (Windows) needed to be designed as a separate thing from the cash machine at Sainsburys (apple Mac). But that doesn't happen.

And I won't be 100 in 30 years time (just 98), so if I am still around, I could update this post to say I was right or wrong. :D :D

Alan
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ColinM
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by ColinM »

LOL Alan - A good contra point of view and only time will tell.
SO, why would one triumph over another? An app can be very useful if you know exactly what you want the customer to see (e.g. banking apps). A browser can be very useful if you are unsure what the customer wants but you can offer him things (e.g. web sites) and let him decide if it's what he needs to see.
Good point! 8)
Yours truly
Colin M
Western Australia
MGD4me
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by MGD4me »

Well Colin, you do pose interesting thoughts!

I guess we need to look to 'the kids' today to see where they are heading. They will drive the market, not us. But the two technologies are quite different. I think of the website environment as a "one to many" topology. That is, I can have one browser which can communicate with hundreds, or thousands, of websites. On the other hand, apps operate strictly "one to one".

Many apps these days are 50-100MB in size. As the price of memory continues to drop, this won't be a problem, but Apple (in their wisdom) bakes in the amount of memory, and is not upgradeable. That is one issue for now, but will be overcome as "we" throw away perfectly good smartphones every couple of years to buy that shiny new thing. I am a bit more frugal than that, but they don't make them to last as long as that old wooden piece of furniture mounted on the wall, called a telephone. So, I'm good with a 5-6 year cycle.

But, just like the multitude of websites, there certainly is no shortage of apps a person can download these days. The weird thing is, a couple I seldom use I almost forgot were there! Time for my meds, now. Carry on, doctor... :D
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ColinM
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by ColinM »

Hey Norm,

Thanks for the engagement. Look for you and the world that I'm selective with what thoughts I share :lol: :roll:

Some valid points.

One thing Websites and Apps have in common - if you wanted one that addressed one armed nocturnal application of a lop sided polka dot second hand bow tie on a captive female pregnant armadillo - you'd probably find one. :shock: :lol:
Yours truly
Colin M
Western Australia
alan_sh
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by alan_sh »

ColinM wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 6:09 am Hey Norm,

Thanks for the engagement. Look for you and the world that I'm selective with what thoughts I share :lol: :roll:

Some valid points.

One thing Websites and Apps have in common - if you wanted one that addressed one armed nocturnal application of a lop sided polka dot second hand bow tie on a captive female pregnant armadillo - you'd probably find one. :shock: :lol:
Nope - I found one for a WILD female armadillo, but not a captive one :D :shock:
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ColinM
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by ColinM »

alan_sh wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:25 am Nope - I found one for a WILD female armadillo, but not a captive one :D :shock:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Yours truly
Colin M
Western Australia
MGD4me
 
 
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by MGD4me »

I found one for a WILD female armadillo, but not a captive one
Never discount off-the-wall thinking. That's how space exploration 'got off the ground' (sorry, bad pun). Without out-of-the-box and forward thinking warped minds (mine included), we would still be living in caves. :lol: :lol:

Norm
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by wwonderfull »

You spoke my mind friend. It is true that the current generation and demand is moving from website to app. Because people sit less on browsers looking for goodies and they go more to app store and play store and write the app name where no seo optimization is necessary the result comes on top. I hoped that some one would build a WYSIWYG app builder but dreams don't come true 😄
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Re: Website vs App?

Post by basstuuk »

An app or a website, Apples or Pears.
Don't think you can compare that
Groet Bas
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