When founders come to us with a new consumer product, the first question is usually: web or mobile? More often than not, the answer is mobile — and here's why.
Push notifications alone change everything
A mobile app can nudge users back. A website can't. For any product where retention matters — and it almost always does — this is huge. The difference between a 10% and 40% day-7 retention can come down to one well-timed push notification.
Users judge apps differently
A mobile app that works is judged against other apps. A website is judged against every other website on the internet. The bar is different — and often lower in the ways that matter for an MVP.
When web makes sense instead
- Your target users are primarily desktop workers (B2B SaaS, for example)
- The core action requires a keyboard and large screen
- SEO is critical to your acquisition strategy from day one
The right question isn't "web or mobile" — it's "where do my target users spend their time and what device are they on when they'd use this?"
Our recommendation
Start with Flutter if you're building a consumer product. You get Android and iOS in one codebase, you can iterate fast, and you can learn from real user behaviour before deciding whether to build a web version too.
// About the Author
Written by the founder of CodeHonors — a mobile developer with 8+ years building Android, iOS and Flutter apps. If you found this useful, reach out.