Which Comes First: the Mobile Site or the Mobile App? [Infographic]

Businesses face an important decision when marketing to a mobile audience.

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Ricky publishes and manages the content on BizTech magazine's website. He's a writer, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all-around digital guy.

Planning a mobile offering leaves small businesses with a challenging dilemma: Does the mobile site or the mobile app come first? Should you do one over the other, or do you need to offer both?

The truth is that mobile computing is in a transitional state. The mobile web appears to be the future, but users really, really like their apps — and for good reason. With an app, the user experience can be tightly controlled, and there aren’t any unknown variables to interfere with the product. The other advantage: Many mobile apps can be used offline. The same can’t be said for the mobile web.

So what’s the best answer? It depends. Different businesses have different needs, and the best way to make a decision is to research the behaviors of your customers.

Advertising agency MDG compiled the trade-offs between a mobile site and a mobile app to help organizations make the decision that’s best for them. MDG’s research shows that users prefer apps over mobile sites for certain activities: