The Complete Guide to Converting Your Website Into a Mobile App in 2023

In today‘s mobile-first world, having a website alone is no longer sufficient to effectively engage your audience and grow your business. While a responsive, mobile-friendly website is a must, many companies are now also choosing to launch companion mobile apps to elevate their mobile presence and provide an enhanced experience to their customers.

There are numerous advantages to launching a mobile app in addition to your website. Here are some of the top reasons to consider converting your site into an app:

  • Improved User Experience – Mobile apps offer a more immersive, intuitive interface optimized for the smaller screens and touch-based interactions of smartphones and tablets. Key content and features are easier to access versus a website.

  • Offline Access – One major benefit of apps is that they allow users to access content and perform certain functions even without an internet connection. This is very useful for travelers and those in areas with poor connectivity.

  • Push Notifications – Apps can send push notifications directly to a user‘s device to alert them of important updates, promotions, new content, and more. This is a highly effective way to boost engagement.

  • Integrations – Apps can leverage device capabilities and integrations not possible on websites. This includes the camera, GPS, fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, augmented reality, and much more.

  • Competitive Advantage – Having an app in addition to your website can set you apart from competitors who only offer a basic mobile site. It shows you are investing in providing the best possible mobile experience.

So how do you go about converting your website into an app? What factors should you consider and what is the development process? In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll break down everything you need to know to successfully turn your site into a user-friendly mobile app.

Factors to Consider When Converting a Website to an App

Before diving into app development, there are several important variables you‘ll need to think through first:

Target Platform(s)

One of the first decisions you‘ll need to make is which mobile platform(s) you want to launch your app on – iOS, Android, or both. iOS and Android use very different programming languages and have separate codebases, so building an app for each requires essentially double the development work.

In an ideal world, you‘d launch your app on both platforms to maximize your addressable market. However, if you have limited resources, you may need to choose one to start. Consider these factors:

  • iOS has a higher market share in western markets like the US and UK
  • Android dominates globally and in emerging markets like Asia and Africa
  • iOS users tend to monetize better (spend more and engage with more paid apps)
  • Android has a wider variety of devices and OS versions to account for

Required Features & Functionality

Beyond the platform, you‘ll also want to think through which specific features and capabilities you want your app to have. What is the core purpose and value proposition of your app? Which elements of your website are essential to replicate?

Keep in mind that you don‘t need to include every single feature of your website in the app. In fact, the most successful apps often do a few key things very well versus being bloated with rarely used features. Focus on the essentials.

Make a prioritized list of must-have features, nice-to-haves, and stretch goals. This will help you effectively scope the initial version of your app and add new features over time.

Some examples of common app features include:

  • User login/registration system
  • Personalized content and recommendations
  • Ecommerce and mobile payments
  • Social media integrations
  • Multimedia (video/audio streaming, image galleries, etc.)

Development Approach

Another key consideration is how you will actually build your mobile app. The three main approaches are:

  1. In-House Development – In this model, you hire or assign internal designers and developers to build your app from scratch. This gives you the greatest control and ability to customize, but it also tends to be the most expensive option and requires significant technical resources.

  2. Outsourced Development – Alternatively, you can hire an external agency that specializes in app development to build your app for you. This allows you to tap into expert talent without adding headcount. Outsourcing also tends to be cheaper than hiring in-house, especially if you use an offshore development team, but you‘ll have less direct control and oversight of the process.

  3. App Development Platform – The third option is leveraging an app development platform that allows you to build an app powered by your existing website content and functionality. Platforms like BuildFire, Appy Pie, and others make app creation accessible to those without coding skills through visual editors and templates. You‘ll have less flexibility to customize than coding from scratch, but app builders can drastically reduce costs and time to market.

The best approach for you will depend on your budget, timeline, and the complexity of your app. We‘ll compare the pros and cons of each in more detail later.

Budget & Timeline

Of course, you‘ll also need to weigh your budget and desired timeline for launching your app. The approach you choose and the complexity of features will be the biggest drivers of cost and development time.

According to Clutch‘s survey of app development companies, the median cost range is $37,913 – $171,450 but can reach over $500,000 for highly complex apps. For timelines, the median is 4-6 months, but very simple apps can be built in under a month while enterprise-scale apps can take a year or more.

Align your plans with your available time and monetary resources. You may need to start with a simpler version 1.0 of your app and then gradually add more advanced features in subsequent versions as budget allows.

How to Convert Your Website Into a Mobile App

Now that you‘ve thought through the key considerations, let‘s dive into the step-by-step process of actually converting your website into an app.

Step 1: Validate The Need For an App

First, confirm that your business truly needs an app and that there is both internal buy-in and market demand. Some questions to ask:

  • Do our customers and target market rely heavily on mobile devices?
  • Could an app significantly improve our user experience versus our website?
  • Do we have gaps in the mobile customer journey an app could fill?
  • Do we have content/features that would be elevated through native app capabilities?
  • Are our competitors finding success with apps?
  • Do we have analytics showing significant mobile traffic to our site?
  • Would having an app strengthen our brand image?

If you answer yes to most of these, an app likely makes sense for your business. Conducting user research and looking at industry mobile benchmarks can inform this decision.

Step 2: Define Your App‘s Features & Requirements

With the need for an app validated, the next step is specifying exactly what you want that app to do. As mentioned in the previous section, make a prioritized list of required features and nice-to-haves.

For each feature, note the following:

  • User stories – How will a user engage with this feature? What is the ideal UX?
  • Integrations – What 3rd party tools or APIs will need to integrate with this feature?
  • Designs – What should the interface look like? What is the flow between screens?
  • Acceptance criteria – How will you know when the feature is complete? What are the edge cases to account for?

Involve representatives from product, design, engineering, and marketing in these discussions. The clearer and more specific your requirements are upfront, the smoother development will go.

Step 3: Choose Your Development Approach

Now that you know what you want to build, it‘s time to decide how you‘ll build it. Let‘s recap the three main options:

  1. In-House Development
    • PROS: Total control over features, UX, and code; no external collaboration needed
    • CONS: Very expensive; requires significant technical expertise; longer development cycle
  2. Outsourced Development
    • PROS: Access to specialist app developers; lower costs; faster launch timelines
    • CONS: Less oversight of process; potential communication/timezone challenges; technical debt
  3. App Development Platforms
    • PROS: Significantly reduced costs; no coding skills needed; very fast turnaround
    • CONS: Less customization; reliance on 3rd party roadmap; some technical limitations

If you have the budget and technical resources, building fully custom in-house will produce the highest quality product. If you want to get to market quickly and cheaply, app development platforms are your best bet. Outsourcing offers a balance of the two.

Step 4: Design Your App‘s User Experience

Regardless of development approach, thoughtful UX/UI design is essential to creating an app users will love. Your app‘s interface should be intuitive, visually engaging, and optimized for the mobile context.

Some mobile design best practices to consider:

  • Streamline your app‘s user flows and navigation
  • Leverage common mobile gestures like swiping, tapping, and pinching
  • Design interfaces that adapt to varying screen sizes and device types
  • Incorporate your brand‘s fonts, colors, and overall aesthetic
  • Follow platform-specific design guidelines from Apple and Google
  • Make touch targets large and easily tappable
  • Keep forms and input fields simple
  • Use progressive disclosure to avoid overwhelming users

Work closely with your design team, or the designers provided by your development partner or app platform, to craft the ideal experience. Developing clickable prototypes and testing them with users is very valuable to do before writing any code.

Step 5: Develop & Test Your App

With the UX designed, it‘s finally time to bring your app to life through development. Your team of engineers (in-house, outsourced, or provided by your app platform) will translate your requirements and designs into a functional mobile app.

Throughout the development process, ensure your team is:

  • Using a modern, well-supported tech stack
  • Adhering to development best practices (e.g. SOLID principles)
  • Writing clean, readable, maintainable code
  • Regularly committing code to a version control system
  • Frequently deploying builds to a staging environment
  • Conducting code reviews and using static analysis tools to catch issues
  • Checking for proper functionality across devices/OS versions
  • Performing comprehensive manual and automated testing
  • Optimizing the app size, memory usage, and battery consumption
  • Monitoring performance and addressing bottlenecks

Agile development methodologies like Scrum tend to work well for mobile app projects. By developing in short sprints with frequent releases, you can deliver value incrementally and adapt to feedback or requirement changes.

Step 6: Launch & Maintain Your App

After thorough development and testing, you‘re finally ready to launch your app! But before releasing to the general public, you‘ll first need to submit your app for review by the app stores.

Both Apple‘s App Store and the Google Play Store manually review apps submitted to their platforms. They check for adherence to their design, functionality, and content guidelines. Strict requirements like having a privacy policy and avoiding buggy, bloated, or copycat apps are enforced.

To avoid rejection, carefully review and adhere to each platform‘s guidelines:

If your app is rejected, you‘ll receive notes on which guidelines it violated. Make the necessary changes and resubmit. Once approved, your app will be published and accessible to billions of app store users!

But the work doesn‘t end at launch. Like your website, your mobile app is a living product that requires ongoing maintenance and updates. You‘ll need to fix bugs, address user reviews/feedback, keep up with new mobile OS releases, and regularly add new features and enhancements.

Most successful apps update every 1-4 months. Building this ongoing investment into your plans and budgets from the start is essential.

Successful Examples of Websites Turned Apps

Finally, let‘s look at a few examples of companies who have found great success by converting their websites into mobile apps:

Instagram

Now one of the most popular apps in the world, Instagram actually started as a simple photo-sharing website called Burbn. But the founders quickly realized the mobile app format was a much more engaging way for users to share and view photos on the go. By pivoting to a mobile-first experience, Instagram rose to dominance.

Evernote

The popular note-taking and productivity tool began as a website and desktop application. But as smartphones grew in popularity, Evernote wisely adapted their product into mobile apps for iOS and Android. The ability to capture notes, photos, and audio and sync them across devices propelled Evernote‘s growth and made it a must-have tool for millions.

Yelp

Yelp made the leap from a website directory of local business reviews to a mobile app focused on helping users find great places to eat, shop, drink, and relax on the go. By leveraging mobile device capabilities like location awareness and adding features like reservations and food ordering, the Yelp app has become an indispensable companion to its website.

Etsy

The ecommerce platform for handmade and vintage goods had a loyal following on its website for years. But by expanding to mobile apps, Etsy made it easier than ever for its users to shop unique items right from their phones. The apps bolstered Etsy‘s sales and growth and helped compete with other major online retailers.

Bringing Your Website to The Mobile App World

As you can see, converting your website into a mobile app can reap major benefits for your business and customers alike. By following the steps and advice laid out in this guide, you‘ll be well on your way to launching an app that elevates your mobile experience and attracts a wider user base.

Of course, building an app from your website is a significant investment that requires careful planning, skilled execution, and ongoing support. But for most brands, it‘s an investment that will pay large dividends in increased engagement, loyalty, and revenue.

The mobile app world is waiting. Start converting your website today and give your users an enhanced, on-the-go way to interact with your business and content. Good luck!

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