Native app or web app: which one does your business actually need?

Native apps are installed from the App Store or Google Play and live on the home screen. They are the right answer when people use the thing often, when it needs the phone itself, or when the icon being there changes the relationship with your customer.

Loyalty programmes, delivery and driver apps, and anything that has to work in a signal dead zone all belong here.

• Push notifications straight to the phone
• Works offline and syncs later
• Camera, GPS, maps and file access
• Your icon on the customer's home screen
• In-app purchases and subscriptions

Build the web app first, get real people using it, then add a native build once you know exactly which parts are used daily and need the phone's hardware.

That order costs less, gets you feedback sooner, and stops you paying for app store features nobody turned out to need.