Updated 10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Does my small business need a mobile app?
A direct test for UK owners: when a website is enough, when an app earns its keep, and what a realistic v1 costs.
Start with the job, not the store icon
If customers need to find you, check prices, and enquire, a website wins. It is searchable, linkable, and does not ask anyone to install something.
An app starts to make sense when the same people come back weekly or daily: messages, bookings they manage, offline access, membership, study, or a workflow like Tenlord’s landlord compliance.
A wrapped website is not an app
Putting your site in a WebView and calling it an app will disappoint anyone who has used a real one. If the budget only covers a site, ship a superb site. Add an app when you can do notifications, native navigation and a first-run that teaches the product.
What v1 should include
The one job, accounts if needed, empty states, and store listings that match the product. Not a roadmap of seventeen modules. Ostech’s focused apps typically start from £4,500 because we keep v1 small enough to finish.
Questions
iPhone, Android, or both?
Look at your customers’ phones. A church, a landlord product and a City consultancy will not share the same split. We can start on one store if that is the honest v1.