I have had this conversation several times. It usually starts with, “We are considering a mobile app for…” and my answer is almost always the same: in your case, I wouldn’t recommend a dedicated app. Instead, I would make your website feel and work like an app.
This is rarely what an organisation wants to hear. Having an app signals that you take your digital presence seriously, and it sounds modern. However, most small and medium-sized organisations that commission an app end up with something that few people download, and even fewer people continue to use. This costs a lot of money that could have been spent on other things.
What a mobile app costs
Developing a proper app for both iOS and Android typically costs between € 20 000 and € 50 000, and that’s just for the initial build. Apple charges € 99 a year for its Developer Programme, while Google Play charges a one-off fee of 25 US dollars. Both companies also take a commission of between 15% and 30% on any revenue generated by the app. Each time Apple or Google updates its operating system, the app must be tested and often updated. Each bug fix must go through the app store review process, which can take days. With a website, you fix the problem and it is fixed immediately.
A larger cost is that people do not keep apps that they did not actively seek out. According to AppsFlyer’s 2025 uninstall report, based on 1.3 billion installs, 46% of apps are uninstalled within 30 days, with most being uninstalled on the first day. In Germany and Spain, this figure was above 50%. Your app would be competing for a place on the home screen alongside the handful of apps that people use every day. Unless you have a marketing budget to match, nobody will find your app in the App Store in the first place. Websites are much easier to find through search engines and to share via links.
For most LGBTQ+ organisations working on tight budgets, this is not a viable option. Every euro spent on an unused app is a euro not spent on the organisation’s core activities.
An example from a client
One of my clients asked me about developing a walking tour app for the LGBTQ+ community in Amsterdam’s city centre. The app would include route maps, points of interest and audio guides. I advised against developing an app. Instead, the walking tour could be integrated into their existing website, providing a similar experience at a fraction of the cost. And they could also use the WordPress editor they are already familiar with to maintain the content.
How a website comes to feel like an app
In April 2024, WordPress 6.5 introduced the Interactivity API, a standard way of adding interactive features to a WordPress website that is part of WordPress itself rather than a separate framework added on top. It already runs features you may use every day, such as the search block and the navigation menu.
What it changes for a visitor is this. A traditional WordPress website loads a new page every time a link is clicked. With the Interactivity API, one part of the page can update on its own: a list of results changes as you type, a form submits and confirms without leaving the page, a menu opens and closes without a pause. That is what people mean when they say an app feels smoother than a website, and it is what makes a website feel like an app.
For an organisation, this means a directory of LGBTQ+ businesses or members that filters by category and location as you type, event registration that confirms on the spot and shows how many places are left, a library of guides and fact sheets that can be searched and opened without reloading the page, and a mobile menu that responds the moment it is touched. In my experience, these are the features organisations have in mind when they ask for an app.
When an app is the right choice
I am not saying apps are always wrong. If you are a large organisation with tens of thousands of active members, or if you need push notifications, offline access to complex features, or a connection to the phone’s hardware, then a native app may be the right choice. For most LGBTQ+ organisations, however, a website built with the Interactivity API delivers most of what they expected from an app, at a development cost that is typically 60 to 80% lower, with simpler maintenance and a faster launch.
Be careful with ‘build your own app’ platforms
You have probably seen the advertisements promising an app in 24 hours without any coding. The app you get is built from templates, so it looks like every other app made on the same platform, and your content and your users are held on the platform’s systems, so you cannot move to another provider later without starting again. Pricing is often per user, cheap at first and expensive once the app grows. Apple’s App Store guidelines only accept an app made with such a service if it is submitted under your own developer account, and they reject any app that is little more than a repackaged website, which is what most of these are.
Where to start
The Interactivity API is not a setting you switch on. A developer has to build it into your theme or a plugin. If you already work with a WordPress developer, ask them about interactive features before you commission an app. If you would like a second opinion, I am happy to look at your current website and suggest which features would serve your visitors. Email me at hello@fourteenrockets.com.
