Guide: Apps
Do you need an app or a website?
An honest way to decide between a website, a progressive web app and a mobile app for your business.
- By Digital Flips
- Published 2 October 2026
The short answer
Most local businesses need a good website first. A mobile app is worth the extra cost when people will use your service often, need to log in, or need things a browser handles poorly. In between sits a progressive web app, which is a website that behaves like an app.
The three options
- A website works on every device and is found through search. It is the right base for nearly every business.
- A progressive web app (PWA) is a website that can be added to a phone’s home screen and opens full-screen. It is built once, works anywhere and needs no app store.
- A mobile app is installed from an app store and can use more of the phone’s features. It costs more and needs updating as phones change.
Questions to ask yourself
- Do customers need to find you? If so, you need a website, because apps are rarely found through search.
- Will people use it often? Daily or weekly use justifies an app. A once-a-year booking probably does not.
- Do they need to log in? Accounts, order history and saved details suit an app or a PWA.
- Do you need phone features? Push notifications, the camera or working without a signal can point to an app, though a PWA covers some of these.
- Is it for customers or for your team? An internal tool for staff on the move can be a simple PWA or web app.
- What is your budget? A website or PWA is quicker and cheaper to build and update than a native app.
A common pattern
Many businesses start with a fast website, add a booking or ordering feature as a web app when they need it, and consider a mobile app only once customers are using that feature regularly. Each step builds on the one before.
What we build
We build websites, web apps in React, progressive web apps and mobile apps in React Native, so one codebase runs on both Android and iPhone. We will tell you honestly if a website is enough.
Next step
Tell us what you want the app to do and who will use it. We will suggest the simplest option that fits and give you a free, fixed, written quote.
Keep going
Related service
Mobile apps
Mobile apps for your customers or your team, built with React Native so one codebase runs on both Android and iPhone.
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