“We need a mobile app. Make our website into a mobile app.” The request seems reasonable, doesn’t it? Your website is JavaScript, native apps are JavaScript, why wouldn’t you make your website into an application? In this presentation we’ll give you 5 reasons why your website shouldn’t end up as a native application to give you the tools you need to not only turn down the request, but on how to make a better solution.

1. 5 Reasons Why
Your Website Is[n’t]
a Native App
DAVID WESST

4. WTF? WTF?
I’m such a
genius!

5. What are we doing?
12:38Web page title
http://www.url.com

6. What are we doing?
12:38Web page title
http://www.url.com

9. Goals for Today
 5 Reasons…
 …Why this is a good idea
 …Why this is a bad idea
 Understand and Consider the User Experience
 Examples and Demos of Tools
Get You Thinking About “Why”

10. David Wesst

11. David Wesst
12:38Web page title
http://www.url.com

12. Reason +/- 1
USER INTERFACES

13. Reason +/- 1
Responsive
UI’s are
Great!
Device UI’s
are
different
than Web
UI’s

14. Demo
WWW.PRAIRIEDEVCON.COM

15. Demo
OPAL

16. Demo - OPAL

17. Demo - OPAL

18. Demo - OPAL

19. Reason +/- 2
PAGES VS SCREENS

20. Reason +/- 2
Single Page
Applications
are Cool
Sites aren’t
always SPA

21. Demo
SINGLE PAGE APPLICATIONS

22. Reason +/- 3
DEVICE SECURITY

23. Reason +/- 3
Device
API’s work
in the
Browser
The Web
Shouldn’t
Be Using
Your
Hardware

24. Demo
DEVICE API’S

25. Reason +/- 4
JAVASCRIPT IS JAVASCRIPT

26. Reason +/- 4
JavaScript
Works
Everywhere
JavaScript
is used
Differently
Everywhere

27. Demo
JAVASCRIPT FTW!

28. Git NPM Bower
Package Developers
Package Consumers

29. Reason +/- 5
INSTALLATION

30. Reason 5
 Half Empty
 You Don't Install a Website
 Half Full
 Websites CAN be integrated with desktops!

31. Reason +/- 5
You
Don’t
Install a
Website
You
Don’t
Install a
Website

32. Demo
A REAL LIFE MOBILE/WEB APPLICATION

33. The Point

34. Quick Recap – The Questions
 How will we interact with the website?
 Will our site perform well as an SPA?
 What does the "app" do differently than the site?
 Can we share our JavaScript between projects?
 Do they ACTUALLY want the website to be in a store, or do they
want specific functions added to the website that cannot be
added without native device access?

35. The Point
 Web Apps CAN be Native Apps, under the right circumstances
 Proper planning and architecture
 Not easy if website was originally planned this way
 Web is gaining more ground on device APIs
 JavaScript is JavaScript
 Hybrid Apps are really cool, again with proper planning
 JavaScript can be interpreted anywhere, but that doesn’t mean it’ll
work
 Installation
 You need to “sell” your app.

36. Thank You!
 Bryan Payne (@Lead_Manage)
 Program Manager, UGME – University of Manitoba
 WolframHempel (github.com/WolframHempel)

37. Who am I?
 David Wesst (@davidwesst)
 Application Developer, University of Manitoba