Years ago, the concept of making a mobile responsive site, or turning a website into an app had been thought of. However, as mobile phone usage has increased and online shopping market size is expected to reach 4 trillion by 2023, this has become a requirement for many businesses. In this article you’ll learn why you should consider creating a mobile app for your WordPress site, the difference between responsive versus mobile app, and some WordPress plugins to achieve it.
Why Create a Mobile App for Your WordPress Site?
Mobile apps provide a better user experience, while you can control what specific content you want delivered to customers. The purpose of doing this is to increase engagement and website conversion - in other words, getting people to buy your stuff, especially if you run an ecommerce site. It’s just smart business to consider a mobile app for your website, as 83.72% of the world’s population owns a smartphone, and a lot of people are on the go, so more than likely, they are using their phone over tablet, laptop, or desktop PC.
Sure, you can forgo building a mobile app for your website, and solely rely on your WordPress theme’s responsive design, but unless you do a lot of customization, it will not perform as well as a mobile app.
Responsive, Mobile-Friendly Websites vs. Apps
You’ve probably heard or read that you need to have a responsive and mobile-friendly website, and perhaps have already built one. However, that is different from a mobile app. In simple terms, a responsive, mobile-friendly website is a desktop version of your site that is optimized for smaller devices, like a tablet, laptop, and different browser widths for desktop computers. Mobile-friendly websites are accessed via web browser, and require an internet connection.
As for mobile apps, you can offer a more streamlined experience using the same content you use on your website, but you can offer other dynamic features for users to interact with. A really easy example is Google Maps. The mobile app allows you to view and download maps offline, and even do other things like save your search and mark locations as favorites.
Because mobile apps offer a streamlined experience, they are often faster loading than a responsive, mobile-friendly website. You can also offer push notifications to offer updates to your users.
WordPress Plugins to help turn your site into a Mobile App
Here are some WordPress plugins that can help you turn your site into a mobile app:
Appilix
AppMySite
Appresser
Appful.io
MobiLoud
Please note that all of these options are paid options. However, the cost of paying to turn your mobile app with any of these plugins and services, costs far less than hiring a developer that specializes in this area. Also, most of these plugins require you to have a paid account in order to effectively use the plugin, as it is there to sync your site with your mobile app service. Lastly, the majority of the paid packages offered by each of these companies do help you with submitting your mobile app application, unless specified in their price table.










