· Product · 4 min read
We get asked for an app at least once a month. In most cases we say no and propose a well-built website instead — an odd way to sell, but the only one that holds up over time.
The cost nobody puts in the quote
An app does not end at delivery. Apple and Google change the rules every year, and every year the app has to be updated or it drops out of the stores. It is a technical subscription you pay for as long as the app exists, and it needs deciding before you start, not after.
The three cases where it pays off
The first: people come back several times a week and each time need to do the same thing fast — book, check in, check a status. An icon on the home screen removes real friction.
The second: you need push notifications, and you genuinely need them. Not for marketing — to say the order is ready, the shift has changed, something needs attention now.
The third: the work happens where there is no signal. Warehouses, building sites, out in the country. An app works offline and syncs later; a website does not.
If your case is not one of these three, the app you want is a fast website with an icon saved to the home screen. It costs a fifth and nobody notices.