It's a question of wow

Let me ask you a question: do you want to build a mobile website or a mobile app? If your answer is mobile website, then HTML5 is good enough [1]. But if your answer is mobile app then you had better think about user experience [2]. You see, the user experience bar has been set extraordinarily high by a number of stellar native apps. People expect to be wowed and if they aren’t, they won’t use your app. It’s that simple.

How do you wow someone? You make your app easy to use and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. And it has to work correctly consistently. Unresponsiveness, however minor, won’t do.

Can you wow someone with an HTML5 mobile app [3]? Sometimes [4]. But let me tell you: it’s not easy [5]. Don’t think for a second that just because there are a gazillion developers who have an understanding of HTML and JavaScript [6], that anyone can build an app to inspire a wow. No, it’s a tricky business with HTML5 [7] these days.

Yep, there are fewer developers out there that actually can code Objective-C [8] or truly understand Android [9]. They might be costly too. But the wow comes from native apps these days and it looks to be that way for some time. Native apps are close to the bone – they don’t have to rely on browser standards or shivs [10] to work correctly [11] 83% of the time. Coded correctly, they work all the time. They are responsive, fast, and can work offline without a lot of magic.

HTML5 [12] is great for mobile web sites. Not mobile apps. Until HTML5 can produce a significant wow factor, your best bet is to go native. It’s that simple.