A Case for HTML5

The debate between HTML5 apps and native mobile apps have been going around for quite some time now. It is good that a lot of companies have a choice when they go mobile: they could choose either to have a native app or let their customers use their mobile browser to see their HTML5 powered page.

For online newspapers, however, the playing field is not level. Especially for those newspapers who are looking into creating an app for the iOS, where Apple takes a 30% cut for every subscription obtained via the app.

The Financial Times has come up with a solution to this. They came up a HTML5 mobile web app to help get more revenues.

Just last week, they announced that they now have 1 million registered users. This registered users account for 15% of their new digital subscriptions.

HTML5 is a perfect match for newspaper organizations because they usually require smaller processing power and less hardware integrations, which a native app would require. Also, it does not require users to download anything and could be instantly accessed on different platforms and devices.

The Financial Times also shared that their mobile registrations also led to more subscriptions. And they also have a separate market for their mobile site too. The mobile version is busy between 7am to 8am while the desktop version is busy during midday.

Generally, FT has espoused how mobile helps your business. It gets you in front of your customers, and you are making your site and your business accessible to them anytime, anywhere.

And they took a look at both at HTML5 and native mobile app development. They decided that HTML5 was the best course for them and saw that it was perfect for their needs. Having seen that, they wasted no time in developing their HTML5 site.