If you’re one to follow technology news, as I do, you’d probably notice that “mobile” pretty much dominates the chatter these days. Thanks to the iPhone, of course, first introduced in 2007, we’ve all witnessed an ever-increasing craze for mobile gadgetry, which can be explained by both innovation in smartphone technology and its head-on collision with our other tech obsession: social media—or, more specifically, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and location-based services, such as FourSquare, which all thrive on mobile platforms.

As our personal and social lives radically change before our very eyes, what are the implications for small businesses? Does your business need a mobile website now? Or, even more daunting, an iPhone app? An iPhone app AND an Android app? What about an iPad app?

Before we go any further, lets make sure we clear up any confusion between what a mobile website is versus a mobile app.

A mobile website is just that—a website. It’s built just like any other website (i.e. in HTML) and is hosted on a web server somewhere, just as your “regular” website might be hosted at Newtek Web Services. The difference, however, is that a mobile website is optimized for a small screen.

For an example, check out ESPN’s regular website compared to it’s mobile version. If you’re on your PC right now (and not your mobile phone), you’ll get the full affect of how dramatically different the two versions are. A mobile website will typically lay all of its navigation in a single, vertical column, and remove much of the pizzazz that you would normally see on a regular website.  And when you visit a website that has a mobile version available, it will detect whether or not you’re on a mobile device, and then automatically route you to the appropriate version.

A mobile app, on the other hand, is a piece of software that is installed on your smartphone, just as, say, Microsoft Word is installed on your PC. While many of the most popular mobile apps are video games or social tools, like the Facebook app, there are businesses that do offer a mobile app as an alternative to its website. For example, Ebay has an iPhone App and a mobile website, both of which serve the same purpose.

So which one of these does your business need—a mobile site, an app, or both?

Well, the answer is perhaps neither. Here’s why:

1. You sort of have a mobile website already

If your business already has a “regular” website, you pretty much have a mobile website already, too. On most next generation smartphones—the iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, or a recent Windows Mobile or Blackberry—the included web browser can render a website in nearly the same fashion and quality as the web browser on your PC can. The main difference between the two, of course, is the screen size. And as time goes on, mobile browsers will only get better and faster.

2. Your business type may not warrant the effort

There are only so many apps a user is able (and willing) to have installed on their smartphones. Until recently, iPhone users could only have 180 apps installed at any given time. The most popular apps are games, social media tools, news, and utilities that help you get through your day. So unless your business fits into one of these categories, you’ll want to really think about the return on investment before putting any money on building a mobile app.

As for a mobile site, unless your website is content heavy, and involves a lot of pages, categories, and navigation (such as ESPN), acquiring a mobile website is probably not necessary. You’ll notice that just about every website that does offer a mobile version will be a pretty “big-time” company or webiste (other than ESPN, think Wikipedia.org, Amazon.com, etc.), and this is for the simple reason that “regular” websites with a lot of navigation and content can be a bit more difficult to experience on a 4-inch screen.

3. Your “regular” website needs more tender loving care

The smartest thing to do, especially if you’re watching your budget, and unless you have a website that fits into one of the niche categories that would warrant a mobile site or app, is to put all of your web efforts into your business’s primary website. After all, in this day and age, your website will continue to be the face of your company.

So if you’re looking to expand your web presence, be sure your “regular” website is up to today’s standards. If you have an ecommerce site, you’d be better off investing in a dedicated SSL certificate, finding a better shopping cart, acquiring a more affordable merchant processing solution, and making sure your website attracts visitors and is easy to navigate.

Not sure about these things? Have one our experts give your current website a free analysis. Give us a call today or email us at community@newtektechnologyservices.com.

Let us know what you think. Have you been considering a mobile site or app for your business?

Tags: Android, app, IPad, iPhone, mobile, Yelp Inc.