Mobile app or responsive website: what to commission
Almost everyone wants an app; few need one. The hard part is not building it but getting someone to install it and open it twice.
The install barrier
A website opens from a link in a second. An app means visiting a store, downloading, granting permissions — and people drop out at every step, especially for an unfamiliar brand.
Then retention: a large share of installed apps never get a second session. An icon on a screen is not a user.
When an app is justified
When you need device capabilities: offline work, background location, the camera as a core flow, reliable push notifications.
And when users return often and for a reason — delivery, taxi, banking, loyalty with daily use. Regularity is the test; a twice-a-year interaction gets uninstalled.
What to build instead
A responsive website covers the vast majority of cases: it opens for everyone, gets indexed, and costs a fraction. A PWA adds a home-screen icon and basic offline support without app stores.
In Uzbekistan specifically, a Telegram bot often beats an app: no install needed, notifications actually arrive, and ordering or delivery status works well in a chat at a much lower build cost.