“User satisfaction has to be at the forefront of the App Development Process”
Over the years, industry experts and programmers have been discussing the best approach to creating apps for different mobile platforms.
Rationally, there is no single-purpose answer and solution to the query as different business types will have different suited options to proceed with mobile app development.
With businesses placing a laser focus on User Experience with to build brand exposure through each app, the inclination towards developing single-purpose or multi-purpose mobile applications widely varies.
Let’s take a rundown at the two differently purposed application types that bring along distinct pros, cons, and business advantages with them.
Multi-Purpose Applications
Such an app category is built to provide users with everything they need in one place. Multi-purpose applications are considered less dispensable by many as it is believed that users may need to keep an app installed even if they want to access only a single service/feature.
This type of application makes users aware of extra services offered by the brand even when they are in search of a single one. (These apps sometimes are harder to install.)
Purpose: Is to perform multiple functions, offering multiple services.
Advantages: build one super app that serves users with their diverse needs
- Unified Experience
- Aggregated Data
- Single Environment
Different modules working together, sharing data and resources
Minimizes risks of data silos
User needs to be fulfilled under one roof
Single-Purpose Applications
Based on practical experiences, single-purpose applications render a more efficient user experience, orienting their focus on the major highlighted feature of the app. These application types are streamlined by removing additional features and are compact enough to take up less storage within a device.
Single-purpose apps comparatively have fewer obstacles to their installation.
Purpose: Is to perform the function(s) that is centric to one objective.
Advantages: build a single motive app, designed to accomplish one specific thing
- Focused Features
- Rapid Iteration
One app with major functions may let its other crucial features hidden deep into taps and clicks. With unbundling, specific app features can be highlighted and resurfaced via a single-purpose app.
Due to their simplicity and less feature involvement, single-purpose applications allow more rapid iterations.
[*NB: One may choose the advantages from either option as per their business needs and target audience.]
Do Users have a Preference over Single/Multi-Purpose Applications?
With the changing trends and circumstances, users do change their preferences and behavior towards the usage of mobile applications. From a user’s perspective, many surveys state that single-purpose applications become a preferred choice among the masses as they tend to be more convenient and user-friendly.
Talk about Facebook, they unbundled the messaging feature out of the main app and carved it separately. Facebook has more than 8 separate apps in the App Store. LinkedIn and Foursquare are a few more brand names that followed the same trend.
Nevertheless, there also exists a proportion of the populace that is happy to use X-purpose apps that offer all the essential products and services to their doorstep. (Say, one super app can help you move packages, order hot meals/food, objects, medical supplies, and many more essentials.)
Amid the pandemic situation, many businesses shifted their pivot to developing multi-purpose applications for users to have access to all the quintessential items from the comfort of their home with the feature of contactless delivery at their doorstep.
Keeping consumer needs at the forefront and understanding the ongoing circumstances many all-purpose apps were built with the sole motive to fulfill consumer demands and get the necessities delivered to people at their location with easy efforts of a few clicks and taps.
The swapping and switching of user preferences is highly influenced by the changing trends and world scenarios where even businesses tend to amend and redefine their bundling and unbundling strategies in concerns with app development.
Is there a Single Possible and Potential Approach?
Having gazed at the inclination of users towards both the types of applications whether it’s as per convenience or daily life scenarios, most significantly the app experience should never compromise to render what is ultimately important to the user at last.
“It’s about Users and Use Cases!”
Pre-development scrutinizations and market research become inevitable before turning any app idea into life as it helps to understand the real user needs and demands necessary to address and fulfill at their level.
Well, leveraging the unique advantages of both single or multi-purpose applications, App Development Specialists at CodeGlo can assist you in jumping to a conclusion of making an ideal selection between the two.
The app development recommendations would be highly influenced based on parameters of user engagement metrics, app subject, functionality usage rate, market trends, and demands.
About The Author
Richa Jindal
I juggle almost all the aspects of building products and executing projects every day, so I’m the go-to person when you don’t know who’s the go-to person.
