In today’s highly advanced world, a massive population is using mobile. Most of the internet traffic is now through mobile devices. People now prefer to use mobile for their everyday tasks such as booking movie tickets, hailing a cab, appointment booking, etc. A mobile application for your traditional website is definitely a need of the hour. As per the recent report, mobile accounts for more than half of the overall traffic on the web. Hence, it would be a wise decision to convert your website into an iOS mobile application to gain more users.
In this article, we are going to discuss why it would be a great idea to convert your site into an iOS app and how you can convert them.
Market Stats:
Closeup of businessman and woman discussing on stockmarket document in office
There are millions of websites on the web, and you can find hundreds of websites of the same niche. To stay competitive and the preferred choice of users you need to be profitable. Since there are thousands of mobile devices, a mobile application is really helpful to engage users.
But before developing an application it is better to analyze the market. For e.g. reading large articles or checking small details is more comfortable at the desktop rather than an iPhone. You shouldn’t forget that every major company such as Amazon or Airbnb begins their journey with a website and after getting great revenue they moved to creating a mobile application.
There are many different reasons why you should create an iOS application for your website such as:
- An average American spends more than 2 hours daily on his/her mobile. Mobile apps are more comfortable to use on the go.
- On mobile apps, you can send push notifications which are helpful to bring back the customers on your app and keep them informed & engaged.
- With a website, you can reach customers through emails, however, users receive so many emails that barely read them.
- Mobile applications are capable of using in-built device features such as camera, microphone, etc.
- iOS mobile apps can also work in offline mode. However, some features are limited, but it is completely impossible to access a website without the internet.
- Mobile apps offer a better personalization
What are the differences between responsive website design and a mobile application?
As we have already mentioned, a huge portion of traffic on the web comes from mobile devices, therefore every website should be responsible to run smoothly through different mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, iPads, etc. These devices have different screen resolutions so the website should work accordingly with that.
But still, there is a huge difference between the user experience that customers get through an iOS application and a website. Firstly, the speed of an iOS app is much more than a website. It can also work offline. Also, the users are attracted to a user-friendly and attractive design. They can spend more time on beautiful and understandable products. So being responsive is not a choice but a need. Additionally, if you want to gain more traffic and increase revenue, you must convert your website into an iOS app.
Benefits of a Native iOS application over a Web application:
There are many significant benefits of building a customized iOS application to your standard business. Some are the highlighted benefits are:
1. Personalized User Experience:
Native iOS applications come with an exciting user interface and interactive user experience. They have better performance and can provide a highly personalized user experience to the users. They can analyze the users’ activity, touchpoints, and engagement. After that, this data is analyzed from the backend to provide recommendations or suggestions based on this data.
2. Access to device hardware:
If you are developing an app for a particular platform and follow some particular guidelines then you will realize that the user interacts with an app in a more natural way. Additionally, the applications are able to access the hardware of devices such as Cameras, GPS, microphones, etc.
3. Scalability:
If you are developing an app from scratch then you can also modify the application. Therefore, it would be quite easy for the app to integrate new features or improve the existing ones. Also, it is easier and faster to fix the bugs in a scalable application.
4. Security:
Most of the web applications are dependent on many different technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript which can’t guarantee full protection. While mobile applications are completely secure and can protect all users’ personal information. You can also integrate multi-factor authentication in the mobile application.
5. Better Customer Engagement:
One more benefit of a mobile application is that it can attract more users. As applications are more compact, the users can spend hours while using them. As a result, you can achieve better results, like increasing revenue per user, and so on.
The best strategy for converting a website into an iOS application:
If you search a phrase on Google “How to convert a website into an iOS app“, you will find a lot of online converters. These online converters promise you to convert your site into an iOS app, but you will not be happy with the end results.
The general working of these websites is to place a site in a WebView-wrapper. Hence, the UX is not so interactive as with native apps so the users will stop using your app and look for alternatives elsewhere. Also, you should know the fact that you can’t change anything about this application.
In the end, Apple may reject these apps to launch on the App Store. They prefer to publish unique apps with the best features.
In simple words, this strategy is not reliable for converting your website into iOS apps. However, there is an alternative and most reliable solution. You can choose for an iOS app development company like Amplework, which will study your current website, and will develop an iOS as per the website features and additional requirements.
A highly qualified iOS developer would be able to develop a unique iOS app that can boost your business. There are 3 different strategies that you can follow:
1. Figure out the important features and develop an iOS app
2. Develop an iOS app with similar features to the website
3. Build an iOS application with several different functions
It is your choice which strategy you want to follow.
Steps for turning a website into an iOS application:
Step 1: Consider important features
Your website will have very exciting features so your app should have them. But many features of the website can be useless for an app. Hence, it is best to divide the features into two categories: primary and secondary. The first category is mandatory for the app while the second category is optional. For e.g. parts such as Blog can be eliminated into an app.
Step 2: Project Estimation:
If you are choosing an iOS app development company, then they will provide you with a proper time and cost estimation for the project. Also, some documentation will be needed at this stage.
Step 3: Build the Design:
The design of the app should follow some aspects of the website design such as color palette, style, fonts, etc. However, you can reorganize many elements for a better user experience.
Step 4: Application development:
At the time of iOS application development, the iOS developer will code on the Xcode in the iOS programming languages such as Objective-C or Swift. There are many different tools and SDKs that developers can use. The time for development depends upon the complexity of the app, tech stack, and developer’s experience.
Step 5: Final launch to the App Store:
After resolving all the bugs and issues, the app will be ready to launch on the App Store. Some guidelines can assist you in publishing the application to the App Store. At Amplework, we assist clients with submitting applications at their request.
Tech Stack for developing an iOS store:
The mobile applications are divided into two main categories: native and hybrid. The main difference between them is that native applications are built for one specific platform. Hence, there are some particular tools that an iOS developer uses for building an iOS application.
The hybrid app allows building one code base for different platforms, but they still have some drawbacks. Native applications provide a rich user experience.
Some of the popular technologies for native iOS applications are:
- Languages: Objective-C, Swift
- Database: CoreData, Realm, Firebase
- Networking: Reactive Cocoa, RxSwift
- App Building: Fabric, Fastlane
Why Choose Amplework?
The iOS application developers at Amplework are highly proficient and have more than 7 years of experience. You will get quality services at very affordable rates. The iOS department in our company works with both Objective-C and Swift programming languages. We use Agile development methodology in order to provide our customers with a high level of flexibility and transparency. This methodology allows customers to see the result after each sprint. You can get a free consultation for your idea. Just let us know your requirements.
