A real app or a website that installs: how to choose

An owner wants "an app." Before we build anything we ask what the phone needs to do that a browser cannot, because the answer decides whether this is a store project or a website project.

The two options in plain words

A native app is built for the phone's operating system, submitted to Apple and Google, reviewed by them, and installed from the store. Testers get early versions through TestFlight on iPhone before the public does.

An installable web app is a website built so the phone treats it like an app. The user taps Share, then Add to Home Screen, and from then on it opens full screen with its own icon, no browser bar. The technical name is PWA, which stands for progressive web app, and all it means is a website that installs.

Both can look identical on the screen. The differences are underneath.

What each one can do

• Push notifications. Native apps have had these forever. Installable web apps can send them too once added to the home screen, with some limits on iPhone. For a driver who needs a shift alert, both work. For an app whose whole value is the alert, native is still the surer bet.
• Camera and photos. Both can take a photo and upload it. Native gets finer control, such as heavy video processing or scanning in the background. For an inspection photo, web is enough.
• Offline. Native apps can store a lot and work fully offline. A web app can cache its screens and a limited amount of data; it will open without signal but it will not do much. If your people work in dead zones all day, that matters.
• Location in the background. Tracking a vehicle while the phone is in a pocket is native territory. A web app only knows where you are while it is open.
• Payments and sign in. Both handle them. Native can use the phone's built in wallet and face recognition more smoothly.

What each one costs to keep running

This is where the decision usually settles. A native app goes through store review for every update. A small fix can wait days in the queue, and the store can reject it for reasons unrelated to the fix. You also need developer accounts for both stores, renewed yearly, and the business identity records to match exactly, which is its own paperwork.

An installable web app updates the moment we deploy. A driver who reported a bug at lunch can have the fix by the end of the shift, with nothing to download. There is no review, no store listing to maintain, and one codebase for iPhone, Android and desktop.

What we built each way, and why

1. Client CRMs: installable web. The builder's CRM, the landscaper's and the advisor's all turn into a native style app on a phone, with a bottom tab bar and one tap to call a lead, and a full workspace on a desktop. Same code, no store.
2. Vehicle inspection app: installable web. Drivers scan a sticker on the van, take photos, submit. It needed the camera and a reliable upload, not background tracking. It also needed to change weekly while drivers gave feedback, which rules out a review queue.
3. Driver handbook: web. A searchable, login gated handbook that drivers open mid shift. It is a website that behaves like an app, and that is all it needs to be.
4. Rider apps for the public: the stores. When the audience is the public, a store listing is part of the product. People search the store, read the reviews, and expect a download. Our transit work goes through the stores for that reason, with TestFlight builds for the people who test before launch.

How we decide

We ask what the phone must do that a browser cannot. If the list is empty, or only contains notifications, the answer is an installable web app, and the money goes into the product instead of the store process. If the list includes background location, serious offline use or a public audience that expects a listing, we build native and plan for the review queue. The owner usually knows the answer the moment the question is put that way.

Either way the result is a system your team opens from a home screen icon, built and maintained by the same people who built your website and your CRM.

Questions people ask