Not long after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats won the UK elections in May this year, the usual suspect newspapers were filled with stories of alleged ‘wild abandon’ scandalous squandering uncovered across government.

One story that stood out latched on to that quite a lot of government departments seemed to be commissioning iPhone apps (or, for those of us who have been around long enough to remember when we didn’t automatically abbreviate words of more than two syllables, ‘Applications’). Some of these apps, which were ridiculed in some quarters, cost the UK taxpayer an astounding £10,000!

Anger aside, what annoyed me a bit was that, in part, and for all the wrong reasons, the ‘app critics’ had a bit of a point. While I’m sure many of these apps will have saved far more money than they cost to create, there are also likely to be others that just cost.

But what creative agency would really pass up the opportunity to sell a lucrative mobile app to an app-hungry government department, NHS manager, quangos, NGOs etc, each desperate to reach the iGeneration?

And how many government or Quango managers, seeing their peers earning raves and accolades for implementing their latest engagement program through the ultra-attractive iPhone and iPad platform, perceived that their peers were leaving them in the dust and clamored for get in that car?

A deadly combination of people who really aren’t very aware of what they’re buying (but have convinced themselves that they simply must have what’s on offer), along with skilled salespeople with an incredibly desirable, attractive and popular product, packed with of cool menus, integrated Google Maps, GPS positioning and more, and certainly no business incentive to turn away business. Can you really blame either party when inappropriate apps come out?*

So do you need an app?

This depends on your goals, circumstances, aspirations, your brand; In short, choosing to build an app over other forms of communication can be just as complicated as building the item itself. Sometimes the solution will be obvious, other times it will require careful research to determine the best route. Sometimes, even if there is a more profitable route, your brand values ​​simply dictate that a premium, exclusive route is the way to go.

Applications versus the mobile web

While some alternatives to apps may even be offline activities (such as billboards, brochures, meeting people, word of mouth), the most suitable and cost-effective option versus dedicated app development is simply using the mobile web. .

Especially on iOS devices (ie iPod, iPad and iPhone in English), a Javascript-enabled mobile-format website can feel incredibly ‘app-like’ and offer similar functionality. If you’re simply looking to deliver information you already have on your website, for example, you may not even need new web development, just a smart conversion or addition to what you already have to make it mobile friendly. Take a look at Facebook, or even BBC iPlayer, on your iPhone to see how it works.

So what are the pros and cons of apps vs mobile web?

Well, for one thing, as we’ve seen, you don’t necessarily need to develop both the web and the app; sometimes you can (economically) kill two birds with one stone. Also, keep in mind that any changes to your app can be costly to make and require it to be resubmitted to a third-party store, taking time to get to market, whereas with mobile web, the change can be immediate.

A second consideration that is not often thought of is scope. It is often assumed that having an iPhone app offers much greater reach than using the web. Well this really depends! There are millions and thousands of apps in the iTunes app store, all vying for attention. What is the appeal of your product? Are people really going to hunt him down? If it’s on the web, at least people can find it by searching the way they do every day. Your mobile website can have more reach than a dedicated app.

It also doesn’t make much sense to pay to develop an iPhone app if the majority of your target audience are Blackberry users. A mobile website should work regardless of platform.

The argument by Applications

There’s a lot of smart stuff going on in today’s mobile devices, most notably the ability to determine location using GPS and use the devices’ built-in camera (and even combine the two to create an interesting ‘augmented reality’ effect!) ‘!).

Your app can also be available offline, storing information on the device itself and taking advantage of other aspects of the phone, such as its graphics capabilities, to create rich 3D games.

In short, you can create amazing products for phones that can blow away everything the mobile web has to offer today.

Conclusion: Avoid App Rage

The key to deciding if you need an app is to first have a discussion with your chosen technology/design partner. As a guide, if your project has relatively simple needs, the mobile web should be a competitor, or there should be an understandable explanation why it isn’t.

Exploratory talks are always one of the really fun parts of any design or technology project, so any quality partner will be happy to sit down with you and patiently listen to your ideas and requirements and help you understand all of your options. These options are always changing, and with the arrival of HTML5, the lines between the mobile web and mobile apps will blur even more.

*The answer to the seemingly rhetorical question above is ‘yes, sometimes there is someone to blame for waste’. A good agency should be able to take stock of all your possible paths, tell you what they think is best for your aspirations and why. Trust your gut, and if in doubt, get a second opinion.