Mobile app development for UK businesses
Apps for tasks a mobile website handles poorly
Web Works Rise builds mobile apps for UK businesses when a specific task belongs on a phone: something customers repeat, or something staff need while they are away from a desk.
A responsive website is often the better first version when the job is to explain services and take an enquiry. An app is the right brief when that website keeps getting in the way of the task.
Apps are built with React Native when they should run on both iOS and Android, and with Android Studio when the app is for Android or needs Android-specific work.
If the first need is a clearer mobile website, start with web development.
Problems an app can address
A task is fiddly in the mobile browser. The person knows what they want to do, but the website makes that job slow or easy to abandon on a phone.
Staff need the system on site. The information required for a visit, a job or a booking is back in the office system, and the person on site is working around it.
The mobile website has become the product. Customers expect to repeat an action, such as a booking or a status check, without walking through the marketing site each time.
Two platforms are being planned as two projects. The business wants iPhone and Android users covered, and needs a sensible way to build both rather than commissioning two separate native codebases.
What mobile app development includes
The first version is the smallest set of tasks that makes the app worth installing.
Customer apps. An app for something customers do repeatedly, connected to the website or the system behind it when that connection is needed.
Apps for staff. A tool for people working away from a desk, showing the job, the visit or the next action they need.
React Native for iOS and Android. One codebase that produces the iOS and Android apps, used when both platforms are in scope.
Android Studio. Android development when the app is Android-only, or when part of it needs the Android toolchain.
Device testing. The flows are tested on phones before the build is prepared for release.
Store submission. The build is prepared for the Apple App Store and Google Play. The store accounts stay with the business.
Mobile apps for a specific job
An app is worth building when people need to finish a task on a phone that a normal website makes awkward.
Web Works Rise builds these apps with React Native for iOS and Android, and with Android Studio when the work is for Android.
A typical app project can include:
- A short list of tasks, rather than a copy of the whole website
- Screens designed for a phone
- A connection to an existing website or system, when the project needs it
- Testing on devices before release
- A build prepared for the App Store and Google Play
- A later feature, once the first version is in use
If a responsive website would do the job, we will say so. Web development is often the right first step.
How an app project runs
The decision to build an app is part of the project, not something assumed at the start.
01 App or website
Whether the task needs an installed app, or a website that works properly on a phone.
02 The tasks
Who uses the app, what they must be able to finish, and what can wait for a later version.
03 Screens
The interface for those tasks, on the phone sizes the audience actually uses.
04 Build
React Native, Android Studio, or both, with a connection to an existing system if the brief includes one.
05 Test and prepare for release
The main flows are tested on devices. The build is then prepared for store submission on the business's own accounts.
Technologies
Platform choices are made for the audience, not added by default.
- React Native
- Used for apps that should run on both iOS and Android from one codebase.
- Android Studio
- Used for Android apps and for Android-specific work.
- Node.js
- Used when the app needs an API shared with a website or another system the business already runs.
Describe the task on the phone
Tell us who would open the app, what they need to finish, and whether a website already tries to do that job. We will say whether an app is the right build.
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Why Web Works Rise
App design, the API and the website can all sit with one UK-led team, with development support from our hub in Tunisia. That matters when the app has to show the same booking, job or enquiry as the site.
The first question is whether an app is justified. A mobile website is recommended when it would serve the customer just as well.
Frequently asked questions
Do you build for iPhone and Android?
Yes. React Native is used when the app should run on both iOS and Android. Android Studio is used when the app is for Android, or when part of it needs Android-specific work.
Can the app use our website or another system?
Yes, when that connection is part of the brief. The app can read and send data through an API, including one built in Node.js alongside the project. The fields and the rules are agreed before the build.
Do you publish the app?
The build is prepared for submission to the Apple App Store and Google Play. The developer accounts belong to the business. Store approval is decided by Apple and Google.
Should we start with an app or a website?
Start with a website when the main job is to explain services and take an enquiry. Choose an app when people need to repeat a specific task on a phone, in a way the website handles poorly. We will recommend one of those paths after hearing the task.
Related services
These services are often useful alongside this one.
Web Development
Custom websites and rebuilds for UK businesses, with content your team can edit.
View ServiceUI / UX Design
Brand identity and interface design for websites and the tools behind them.
View ServiceSoftware Development
Bespoke systems for quoting, bookings, dashboards and day-to-day operations.
View ServiceTalk to the team
Tell us what you need, what you have today, and what a good result looks like. We will reply with a practical next step.
Book a Free Consultation