Because of the fierce competition these days, businesses are always looking for new and interesting ways to get and keep customers’ attention. Statista (2024) says that there are more than 5.35 billion unique mobile users around the world. This is a big part of the market. Having a site that works well on all devices is the first important step to getting this huge customer base. But the next big step for the best user experience and engagement is converting to a mobile app.
In addition to a WordPress site, a dedicated mobile app will ensure higher user engagement and better retention, which will ultimately result in increased revenue. Businesses, blogs, e-commerce stores, and service providers all have reported increased user engagement after mobile app conversion.
In this guide, we will explore the transformative power of mobile app conversion and how you can turn your WordPress site into a mobile app.
The Limitations of a Standalone WordPress Site
With 43% of complete websites made up of WordPress sites, there is no denying its power. It is a go-to choice for many bloggers, businesses, and media companies. However, when such sites are accessed from a mobile, they have limitations, even for the most optimized ones.
As compared to the dedicated apps, they have slower loading times and offer little offline functionality. Apps offer higher user engagement and repeated usage as compared to websites. Lastly, the browser also has distractions like the URL bars and notifications. All these factors are contributing to the mobile app conversion for many.
Why Should You Convert Your WordPress Site into a Mobile App?
Here’s why mobile app conversion from sites matters:
· According to Statista, with over 5 billion unique mobile users, all of them spend just 7.5% of their time on a mobile web browser. While mobile apps account for 92.5% of mobile time for these users.
· According to an eMarketer report published in 2023, the average U.S adult spends 4 hours a day on mobile apps, contrary to only 30 minutes on mobile websites.
These numbers show an unprecedented trend of user experience shift. You may have a very responsive site, but if you don’t partake in mobile app conversion for your business, you are missing out on a major market share. Users now demand an app-like experience, which is fast, personalized, and seems familiar.
The following are the benefits of mobile app conversion from a WordPress site.
1. Improved User Experience
With abilities like cache content and user-centric preferences, apps make every usage of the app seamless and personalized. Apps offer smoother navigation, faster loading, coupled with offline capabilities.
2. Push Notifications
Push notifications are a very powerful feature of mobile apps, with a reported open rate of 90%. The push notifications feature of the app outperforms traditional email marketing. This helps in user engagement and increases conversion later.
3. Increased Retention
Mobile users have a 2x higher retention rate than mobile web users after 30 days, as per a report by Localytics. Apps usually keep their users engaged by timely updates and personalized content.
4. Competitive Advantage
There are millions of WordPress websites online, but having a dedicated app sets your business apart. App offers increased functionality, branding options, and you get direct and all-time access to the home screens of your users.
5. Higher Conversion Rate
According to Business Insider (2023), mobile app users have 1.5x higher conversion rates than mobile web users. Apps streamline the user experience with features like one-click checkout and saved preferences. This ultimately increases sales and subscriptions for the businesses.
The Mobile App Conversion Process
For converting your WordPress site into a mobile app, you can either hire a dedicated developer or you can also do it yourself. With development advances in no-code and low-code tools, mobile app conversion has been made easy for people without a strong foundation in development. Here’s how you can go about making your mobile app.
1. Analyze Your Site’s Traffic
First, you must analyse what percent of your site’s traffic stems from mobile apps. You can use tools like Google Analytics for such traffic analysis. If your mobile traffic is more than 50%, the mobile app conversion of your website is vital.
2. Identify a Suitable Approach
Depending upon your time and resources, you can convert your WordPress site in three ways.
Progressive Web App (PWA): They offer app app-like experience but are browser-based and cheap to deploy. However, they lack full native functionality.
Hybrid Apps: With the help of platforms like Ionic or Flutter, you can use web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JS wrapped in a native shell.
Native Apps: For best performance and user experience, go with Native iOS and Android apps specifically built for your business needs.
3. WordPress App Builder
For non-developers, multiple platforms make creating a mobile app seamless and hassle-free. These tools work by directly connecting to your WordPress site. With real-time sync, they ensure your app remains up to date. These tools include AppMySite, MobiLoud, AndroApp, and WPMobileApp.
4. Publishing to App Store
With your app ready, you can publish it on the App Store or Google Play. While publishing, make sure to use an optimized app listing with keywords, visuals, and an engaging description. All these things will drive your app downloads for maximum customer reach.
Case Studies
There are multiple success stories of businesses that converted their websites into dedicated apps with measurable benefits.
Case Study 1: WooCommerce App Conversion
WooCommerce is a leading e-commerce platform that has transitioned its WordPress site into an app. They used MobiLoud for site-to-app conversion. After six months of this mobile app conversion, they had a 40% increase in repeat purchases. They had a 25% higher average order value and 3x more user engagement thanks to the push notifications of their app.
Case Study 2: New Portal App
A news website used AppPresser to transform its site into an app. With this mobile app, they had 60% more daily active users. They had higher reader retention, which ultimately doubled their ad revenue.
Final Thoughts
With all the data presented and the case studies shared, it is evident that having a mobile app, as compared to a website, only drives your user engagement. When we talk about developing a mobile app, many businesses and individuals have doubts, such as that mobile app development is too expensive. However, this is not the case, and you can develop a highly interactive app within $5000.
You can also develop an engaging app without any coding skills. Most importantly, it is a false pretext that only businesses need mobile app conversion. Blogs, ecommerce stores, and local service providers are all reporting great ROI with their mobile apps. There is no denying that maximum user engagement lies in the development of a dedicated app. So, get started with your mobile app conversion from your website today and increase user engagement many times over.
