Questions to Ask When Considering a Mobile App Maker
by Lilly Thuma | Last Updated: Aug 15, 2020
You can do almost anything from an app. Shop, watch TV, video chat with friends, get the news, scroll through social media, and the list goes on and on. Everyone has an app these days because building apps no longer has to be as labor intensive or as long of a process as it used to be. With the help of mobile app makers you can have an app in a matter of days rather than months. So if you don’t already have an app and want one (which I would highly recommend), a mobile app maker is a great place to start. Here are some key questions to ask when considering using a mobile app maker:
Why a Mobile App?
First things first let's talk about why your company should have a mobile app. There are countless benefits to adopting a mobile app into your mobile marketing strategy. It makes you more visible to customers, gives you a direct line of communication to the customer, can provide them value, and build loyalty. All of these things sound great! So what is holding people back? Well, when you tell someone to go build an app, that is a pretty tall request. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? As technology keeps pushing forward we are seeing that building an app doesn’t have to be as complicated as it used to be. We now have new types of apps and new platforms that let anyone build an app.
The term “mobile app” no longer just refers to one kind of app. In fact, there are many different directions you can go when building a mobile app. There are native mobile apps, web apps, and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). Native mobile apps are apps that can be downloaded from the app store whereas web apps and PWAs are hosted on the web, and therefore do not require a download. Functionality between the two is slightly different, but with PWAs, you can save the app to the home screen, and have the look and feel of a native app while having the light weight and speed of a web app. PWAs also can be built with no code required AKA PWAs can be built by anyone who has access to a computer. So if you are still wondering why mobile apps… here is your short and sweet answer: they work and they aren’t hard to build.
Why a Mobile App Maker?
You may have noticed that earlier I mentioned you can build a PWA without any coding experience… Let's talk about that some more. There are many mobile app maker’s out there that offer low code or no code platforms which means you can go into the platform, see the app, and build the app visually rather than through writing out code. This is a huge advantage for organizations looking to build an app because anyone in the organization can do it. So no more back and forth between marketing and IT and things getting lost in translation. Now, marketers can build an app that fits their specific marketing needs. If you choose to forgo using a mobile app maker, you will have to use code to build the app and this process will take a lot longer.
What Are Mobile App Maker Options?
So what are some options for mobile app makers? Well, this really depends on what you are looking for. A mobile app maker can come in many shapes and sizes. For example, to one brand a mobile app maker might just be the dev tools that are offered by Google and Microsoft. On the other hand, other organizations might not have anyone with coding or app building on the team, and therefore want a WYSIWYG app builder (what you see is what you get). The best mobile app builder will also vary depending on what kind of app a company is interested in making. If it is a PWA, then a PWA platform like Lumavate’s platform would be the right choice. However, if it is a native mobile app, then an iOS app development software or Android app development software is the way to go. Needless to say it is important to have a set of criteria when looking for the best mobile app builder for your company.
There are lots of different app makers out there, so before you dive into the world of mobile apps, it is important to ask yourself these critical questions. You will then have a better understanding of why you want a mobile app, which app you want, and what is the best way for your organization to start building one.
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