At a time when apps are all the rage, I would like to share a few views on apps and mobile WAP websites, hoping they will be of reference value to my colleagues:

First point: from the perspective of the platform they rely on:

Mobile WAP websites: Supported by the browser on mobile devices. As long as the mobile device supports internet browsing, users can basically open the website anytime and anywhere to find the information they need.

Mobile App clients: Supported by the operating systems of smart mobile devices, of course including the current mainstream Android and Apple operating systems, as well as various secondary development systems based on Android.

The two different natures determine the differences between the two forms in terms of interaction, performance, features, etc. For example, iOS's push notification mechanism is conducive to promptly waking up users, while the timeliness and speed of WAP websites are unmatched by apps.

Second point: from the perspective of promotion channels:

Mobile WAP websites: More channels, convenient for tracking user sources, and diverse forms of traffic entry points.

Mobile App clients: Fewer channels, sources are inconvenient to track, and promotion can only be carried out through single app marketplaces.

WAP can record and track sources through identifiers carried in URLs (similar to the method under PC browsers), allowing precise statistics of user behavior. However, traffic brought by App promotion is difficult to track accurately, but Apps are superior in precise user control.

Third point: from the perspective of the user's usage threshold:

Mobile WAP websites: Users do not need to install anything; they can access by entering a URL, so the usage threshold is relatively low.

Mobile App clients: Requires a certain amount of download waiting and installation time, so the user's usage cost is relatively high.

Fourth point: from the perspective of user exposure rate:

Mobile WAP websites: Exposure is reflected through the user's browser history, frequently used sites, etc. During the process from desktop to browser, the user's attention is likely to have already been diverted, so exposure is relatively low compared to Apps.

Mobile App clients: Directly displayed on the user's mobile device desktop, so exposure is relatively high.

Of course, technical means can be used to encourage users to create shortcuts to WAP sites on mobile devices, thereby increasing the exposure rate of WAP sites.

Fifth point: from the perspective of the impact cycle of promotional activities and response interval time:

WAP: Promotional activities can quickly bring growth in various related metrics, but once the promotion ends, the metrics decline noticeably.

App: After a promotional activity brings a certain amount of installations, the installation volume will affect user visit frequency over a longer period, thereby having a positive effect over a longer time span. Since the promotional activity directly affects installation volume, the growth of metrics such as actual traffic often has a certain time delay.

Sixth point: from the perspective of using data analysis to promote sales or adjust strategies:

WAP: Can basically match the statistics of regular sites under PC browsers, making it easier to analyze and adjust products based on statistical data.

App: Can obtain some information through certain statistical tools, but is limited to user behavior or total e-commerce orders, etc., with limited capability for detailed channel statistics.

Seventh point: from the perspective of the agility of responding to product adjustments:

WAP: The site server is self-controlled, ensuring a relatively agile response time to users.

App: Because each app platform requires a review period for releasing applications, after product adjustments are made, the cycle of responding to users is relatively long.

Eighth point: from the perspective of e-commerce, the feasibility of promotional activities:

WAP: The cost of technically implementing some promotional activities is relatively low, and adjusting promotional activities has a relatively small impact on the entire WAP site. It is easy to promote promotional activities through online channels.

App: Implementing page jumps between application pages and specifying certain product categories and catalogs is relatively complex, with relatively high development costs. Promoting promotions through online channels may be basically impossible.

WAP users have very broad coverage. The time they spend using mobile phones definitely far exceeds the time on computers. Their phone models may not be as convenient as iPhone and Android. In addition, with the emergence of touch-screen versions and these technologies, when users browse any website or open a page, the process will be made very convenient in the future - they can place a cash-on-delivery order with just two clicks. Its cost efficiency is much higher. Mobile WAP websites are definitely indispensable and definitely a main force. However, in terms of App, user activity and contribution value are higher, so both must be pursued.

WAP can generally be accessed through a mobile browser. As a scaled-down webpage, compared to the PC-side webpages with extensive and comprehensive content, it shows the advantage of being less but better. In addition, compared to the currently popular App clients, WAP also has the following advantages:

Ninth point: Rapid product update and iteration:

Internet products iterate at an astonishing speed. On the WAP platform, after product updates, design, and development are completed, you only need to publish to the online server. Users can see the latest modified webpage by accessing WAP through a browser. The cost of update and iteration is lower than that of clients (Android/iOS), and the speed is also faster.

Tenth point: Cross-platform support, no installation cost:

Accessing WAP only requires the phone to have internet browsing capability. A single browser satisfies any need, without distinguishing whether the device platform is Mobile Phone, Android, or iOS, etc. Similarly, WAP does not require downloading and installing like a client; you can view it simply by entering the corresponding URL in a browser.

However, WAP's disadvantages are also obvious: With the combination of HTML5, CSS3, and JS, although some complex functions and interactions can already be implemented, the implementation of relatively complex functions and interactions is still not as good as clients, so the user experience is worse than that of clients. This is also the reason why many applications (such as Facebook, Lofter, etc.) choose to switch to Native APP. Young users of these applications have demanding requirements for design experience, which is different from the pursuit of smoothness in the trading process by trading websites such as B2B. For them (business people), what they first focus on is whether user browsing is smooth and the number of successful transactions, and only then a beautiful interface and gorgeous animations.

Source: http://www.shaizhao.com/?post=8