As a software and web design services company, we will start off, by specifying the difference between a software, a website and mobile application. Many people out there can’t tell the difference between the three and they end up paying for one and getting the other. To be fair, the three are loosely related and almost do similar things.

What is a software

In general, A software is a computer program created to do a particular purpose or solve a particular problem. Since a more detailed definition of software will leave you more confused, we will not attempt to expound the definition. All you need to know is that when someone talks about an application, application software, a system or an ERP, they are more or less talking about the same them. A Computer Engineer will not be very happy to see the above terms used to define one thing but for simplicity sake, we will have to leave it at that. An example of a software is Microsoft Office, VLC media player or your Favorite Photo editor. An example of a System/ERP is the programs that companies and Institutions use to store, organize and process all of their information.

What is a website

A website is the easiest thing to understand (and to explain) because you are looking at one. A group of pages grouped together in a domain (e.g. www.icthub.co.ke) or www.woblly.com one of a website we built). Traditionally a website was used to offer information to online users but they have evolved to offer more sophisticated services including integrating a fully functional ERP. We have built a whole ERP using web technologies.

Update! See our latest website client www.kwanzasafaris.co.ke one of The Best Tour Companies in Kenya

What is a Mobile App

A mobile app is a program written to run on mobile devices to do certain tasks and solve certain problems. A mobile App is the new cool when it comes to positioning your business for the future. Although a mobile app has numerous advantages over other platform apps, they still come with some limitations. Please see below the advantages and shortcomings.

Advantages:

• Portability – Mobile apps are more easily accessed that other platform apps
• Rich – Although they are not able to do heavy tasks, they take advantage of readily available hardware e.g. camera, gestures, notifications window to make the app truly rich
• More Customer Engagement – Customers tend to interact more with your application than they do with your website or system
• Easy accessibility – Mobile Apps are more easily accessed to other applications e.g. websites where a user has to open the browser then the site.
• Offline access – Customers are able to access your application even when their data is turned off

Shortcomings

• Mobile apps cannot do very heavy tasks  that require a lot of memory and computing power. This is because mobile devices have limitations of both
• Mobile application cannot do tasks that require very big screen or multiple screens e.g. a video or image creation/editing task.
• Mobile Apps require users to install on their device – Unlike a web based system that can be accessed by anyone without the need to install anything except the browser they already have, you will need to give a customer a good reason to install your app.

Wow, now I am confused. Do I need a Mobile, System or Website for my business?

For a start, it’s always good thing to have a website. That’s what people care about most. It doesn’t have to be sophisticated. Unless you intend to offer online services e.g. online shop, support system e.t.c. With time and as your business grow, you will need to add more functionality to your site to engage more with your customers. Please consider the following scenario.

John has opened a new Fast Foods joint in town. He wants to market his business by handing out business cards and sharing on social media. The first thing a user will be looking for in the business card is a link to the hotel’s website. Not the telephone number or address. Once the user sees the mouth watering delicacies in his site and the offers he has, they will want to go try. Well done!, your website has served its purpose. Later on, John realized that there are too many customers visiting his hotel and there is no easy way of expanding physically. Most of the customers are employees from the neighboring businesses who come on a daily basis. Some of them get frustrated when they find the long queues. It’s about time John expanded his business without opening new branches. He needs to fulfill orders online. At this point. he will need to upgrade his website to enables customers to place orders online. Customers want to track their orders too and possibly pay online. They also want to get online help if they have a problem. For this reason, his website will need to be upgraded to a hybrid eCommerce system with a dashboard. At this point in time John has a successful business venture that fulfills hundreds of offline and online orders. Although John and his clients are happy, there are still limitations the clients face when placing their order: First, they need to remember the website details including their login information. Secondly, they need to keep on checking their browser to track their orders. What’s next for John? You guessed right. A mobile App. This is probably the most engaging platform your customers will have. John’s app will make the customers – who almost, always have their phones – very happy. They will be able to make orders online easily, get notified on new offers and the state of their order e.t.c.

The above cycle has seen John build his online presence systematically without incurring a lot of immediate cost. This is the path most businesses follow.

Our software and web design services with Mobile and  ERP

We take pride in providing comprehensive, timely and affordably software and web design services including dedicated mobile Apps and payment Integrations. When we first meet our client, we take time to understand their business needs and advice on the best way forward. We strike a balance between building a very effective business application and not making an overkill.

Contact us for a quote by 

Email to truweb(at)icthub.co.ke 
call 0716 330 450/0702 332 796