Websites losing ground to Apps but what does it all mean?

[Scottish Business Owner]

Came across the article below on flurry.com which contains some infographics which show that people are spending more time actually using apps than using the web and websites. Now i'm not that convinced that apps could replace websites because I see them in a slightly different way but nonetheless the stats are very interesting.

http://blog.flurry.com/bid/63907/Mobile-Apps-Put-the-Web-in-Their-Rear-view-Mirror

I guess my main question here is what does this mean for small businesses? Should we all be rushing out to build apps in fear of being left behind?

 

[Mike Lewis]

Interesting article, , but not particularly surprising.

In a typical office, most workers will spend more time working in desktop apps than using a web browser. I'm thinking of things like word processors, spreadsheets, accounting systems, email, etc.

The article is saying that's true of mobile apps as well. This doesn't surprise me. When I'm sitting on a bus, I'm more likely to be reading an ebook, reading an article from Wikipedia, checking the news from ITN, checking my email, reviewing my notes for a meeting, etc. than I am surfing the web. I do all those things from mobile apps.

As for your question "Should we all be rushing out to build apps in fear of being left behind?", the answer is No. If your main concern is to promote your business, an informative website is still the finest way to do that. The only people who should be rushing out to build apps are people who are in the app-building business.

Also, no business decision should ever be made only "for fear of being left behind".

Mike