4 most common app concepts to differentiate and compare

Now there are many concepts about mobile applications: Native app, responsive web, web App, Hybrid app, it's important for designers to know the difference between these concepts and their pros and cons, this article explores these concepts in a more comprehensive way, which is worth reading for beginners, You are also welcome to put forward your own views.

Translator: Chen Lingxian Liz Chen, University of Washington Human centered design and engineering graduate student in the study, now frog design frog designed to do interactive designs practice.

Translator Note:

In view of the Chinese context, some English nouns are used directly, and there is no uniform standard for Chinese translation. In order to facilitate readers to read, the translator first take these nouns out of the translation, only to convey the general meaning, and not necessarily a standardized name. In view of the translator's limited understanding of technical terms, there are places where translation is not in place and please point out.

App: Application (Program)

Mobile apps: Moving apps (apps)

Mobile responsive Web: Moving Responsive Web page

Web applications (also known as Web App): Web Application (Program)

"Do not reprint without the permission of the author"

　　Mobile applications and mobile response Web applications

Mobile applications are a powerful tool for connecting markets, collecting customer data, and providing services on new platforms. But what exactly is a mobile application?

In essence, mobile apps are computer programs that run on smartphones, tablets or other mobile devices. They can be obtained through the application market, such as Google Play or Apple's app Store. These platforms are now running in the Cloud (cloud-based Solutions), meaning that if your phone gets hit by a truck or falls into the water, you can buy a novice, log in, and all your apps will be automatically reinstalled.

Figure: When you need to set up a new iOS device or restore the data on an existing device, your icloud backup will make it easy to implement.

　　Applications and mobile responsive Web pages

Moving apps and mobile-responsive web pages don't really hold up, they're completely different concepts. Let's see why this is.

The use of the Internet on the mobile side has become a trend of steady growth. Users are increasingly used to searching and browsing Web pages on their smartphones. To cater to this demand, organizations are paying to hire Web engineers to boost users ' online experience on mobile devices. You may have seen this distinction, such as Amazon on your smartphone and desktop computers.

Image: The same Web site, when viewed on different sizes of devices, does not look the same.

In fact, mobile-responsive web pages and mobile apps are the relationship between Apple and oranges (ie, both Bishi). Mobile Web pages are a variant of the browsing experience. Mobile response pages Change the way you browse the Web. A more accurate comparison is the emphasis on the difference between mobile apps and Web apps (think of Pandora, Spotify, Google Docs Google Docs, Facebook): Students who can't flip a wall can think of netease cloud music, shrimp music, Sina Weibo. These are the kind of websites that act like computer programs, because they do. Web applications are interactive (Web-page) computer programs (applications).

　　Application and Web application

We can compare these two. I sat down with Michael Wahlstrom, who worked for kitchen digital, to compare their strengths and weaknesses.

　　Advantages of mobile applications

Stand-alone (Internet independent) and caching (Caching), which can run even without network connectivity, is one of the most important advantages of mobile applications. That is, if you want to make an application that lets users search for information, play games, or take photos in a database, it can be done by mobile apps. Data can be stored in a mobile device until the network resumes connectivity, and the information is then transported back to the network.

Interactions (interactivity) and games (gaming)-although browsers have been progressing in terms of interactivity and gaming, they are still lagging behind the native programming languages of computing and mobile devices. So, if you're going to make a product with a super interactive experience, like a game, mobile apps might be a better choice.

People are spending a lot of time on mobile devices and mobile apps. A study of--salesforce suggests that 85% of respondents said mobile devices were the center of their daily lives, with 90% of them at 18-24 years of age. 91% of consumers say it's important to be able to access content in any way. It is clear that in the future it is a sensible strategy to focus on mobile platforms. (Source: Http://www.exacttarget.com/sites/exacttarget/files/deliverables/etmc-2014mobilebehaviorreport.pdf)

The icing on the cake-it's undeniable that Chrome has announced the ability to push notifications on browsers and mobile devices. But the mobile device itself can provide much more functionality: Bluetooth, Proximity system (Beacon), geolocation (geofencing), WiFi, notification push, App checkout (Google's Play support app), and so on.

　　Advantages of mobile responsive Web applications

The programming of Web apps has been completed-as you probably have completed the application of desktop Web apps, the only thing left is to review the user experience at the mobile end and tailor the user interface to make it more user-friendly (mobile friendly). This means that by adjusting the navigation menu, button and font size and the input box to create a better mobile end experience (Translator Note: The actual operation is not only to adjust these are so simple, information architecture, interactive methods need to make some adjustments to better adapt to mobile browser).

Does not rely on any device platform--Web applications are not dependent on the operating system (for example, for iOS and Android needs different applications). Now there is a hybrid technology that allows mobile application developers to use only one set of code to apply both operating platforms, but so far this is a new technology and very expensive. For a Web application, developers are designed for the most common web browsers. Once completed, it can be run on any device that uses those browsers (such as Chrome, Firefox, IE).

Content is not limited by the App Store--web apps exist outside the Apple App Store and Google's Google Play rules, so they can make their own rules. There are no extra steps to get into the market without the shackles of complicated mantra knots.

Web pages or apps can link to each other--this is a new concept in the industry, meaning that you can link different applications to 1 plus 1 or more than 2, or link products that belong to a company.

* Consider the limitations of the WebGL--WEBGL is the Web browser image engine. While it can do many things, it is not the best engine for moving-side CPU-intensive, image-intensive applications.

　　The advantages of having or combining both

Make money-no matter which one you use, you can design a paid subscription and then use the app to make money. Want users to pay 5 dollars a month or a one-time 15 dollar fee? Even if you want it to become expendable (the money paid for downloading in the app), both platforms can help you achieve it.

Combination-both of these technologies guarantee that you can get the information you want from your phone. However, depending on what you want to do with your application, you can even consider designing a hybrid application that combines Web application development with mobile application development.

　　How should I decide?

The best way to make a sensible decision is to consult an expert. Your developers will ask you a lot of questions, even more than the concepts mentioned above, to understand how your application can best be implemented and what platform and technology you are building on. Of course you can consult multiple developers at the same time, but remember: application development is half the art of science. Developers may have different views on how to implement your ideas, and may think in their own direction so that they can provide you with more value in their areas of expertise.

In either case, application development is a lengthy process that requires a reasonable budget. Be prepared to accept a five-digit offer and figure out the ROI and the value to the user before you start development to determine if the application is feasible.