Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide today.
This also applies to the participants of your professional events. They are very likely to interact with your event’s content from their phone.
You need to adapt your event marketing strategy accordingly.
Several challenges need to be addressed to offer an optimal mobile experience: the marketing device, the investment, the UX, the availability of data, etc…
One question frequently comes up when thinking of a participant’s mobile experience: ”Should we create a mobile app, or offer a responsive web experience?”
In this article, you’ll find an answer as we explain the differences between web app and native app, to help you make the best decision.
Native app or web app: the organizer’s dilemma
While the use of mobile devices (tablets, smartphones, etc.) is now widespread, the downloading and use of a mobile app is much less so.
Professionals are increasingly reluctant in multiplying the download of apps on their smartphones and even more so if the use of these apps is temporary (for example: an app for a short and specific event).
Depending on the audience, the format, the duration, and the recurrence of the event, native app adoption can be a real challenge.
Creating an aesthetically pleasing native app won’t be enough! A mobile app must bring real value to your audience if you want to engage your participants and get significant adoption and use rates.
Besides, it is wise to give your audience the choice (web app or native app), so that downloading an app is not perceived as mandatory.
With inwink, you give your audience the choice, by offering the same experience on both a web app and a native app.
Of course, the richer the program of your event is, the more this mobile interface must be both powerful and intuitive.
Native app or web app: what are the differences?
While the web app is simply the responsive version of the event website generated with inwink, the deployment of a native mobile app has some specificities.
The differences between native app and web app are summarized as follows:
| Native app | Web app |
| Requires updates according to version evolutions and content updates | Always loads the latest version of the content |
| Requires a deployment of versions on the targeted operating systems | Accessible from all types of devices |
| Publishing time varies according to the stores (Google Play and App Store) | Can be deployed and available instantly |
| Content is downloaded, which is useful when internet connection is lost | Content is cached to ensure continuous access even with no internet connection |
| Allows push notifications to be sent to the participant’s smartphone or tablet | Offers in-app notifications only |
| Allows camera control to scan participant badges (in a Lead Gen device) | Cannot access the various functionalities of the mobile device, such as the camera |
Whichever option you choose, we advise you to measure the audience engagement with your app (web or native) using your analytics tools and your event intelligence platform.
