Do you need an app, or just a better website?

Ask first how often one person uses it. Daily or weekly use — attendance, deliveries, a parent checking fees — earns a home screen icon. Once a quarter does not, and an app that sits unopened gets uninstalled when storage runs low.

Second, does it need the device itself? Camera, GPS, offline storage, push notifications, or a barcode scan are real reasons to build native. Browsing a catalogue is not.

Third, who is going to maintain it? Both mobile platforms change every year, and an app left alone for eighteen months starts failing store compliance. A website has no such clock ticking on it.

If you answered no to all three, a fast mobile-first website will serve you better and cost a fraction to keep alive. We have talked several clients out of an app for exactly this reason, and none of them have come back asking for one.