Government's digital advisor asserts that mobile web surpasses applications for providing public services
In a move towards enhancing accessibility and cost-effectiveness of online public services, Tom Loosemore, the deputy director of the UK's Government Digital Service (GDS), has advocated optimizing mobile web services rather than creating native apps.
Loosemore's approach is based on the belief that mobile web optimization ensures greater accessibility, easier maintenance, and cost-effectiveness. The key advantages of this strategy include:
- Universal access across devices: Mobile web services work on any device with a browser, avoiding the fragmentation caused by different operating systems required by native apps.
- No installation needed: Citizens can use services instantly without downloading apps, reducing barriers to access.
- Simpler and faster updates: Changes are deployed instantly via the web without requiring users to update apps through app stores.
- Cost efficiency: Building and maintaining a single responsive website is less expensive than developing multiple native apps for various platforms.
- Better long-term sustainability: Web technologies are more stable and less dependent on app store policies or support lifecycle issues native apps face.
This approach aligns with inclusive design and government digital standards, aiming to serve the widest audience efficiently without forcing citizens to engage with app stores or handle downloads.
In response to increasing demand for online services from mobile devices, the government has been incorporating "responsive design" into online services, using HTML5. From April 2014, all new or redesigned transactional government services are required to feature responsive design.
The new government website, gov.uk, launched in October last year, now receives 25% of its traffic from mobile devices. This is a significant increase from the previous version of the government's cross-departmental website, direct.gov.uk, which received about 10% of its total traffic from mobile devices.
Loosemore is confident that for government services, the mobile web is a winner, both from a user and a cost perspective. This approach allows for quicker iteration of services, minimizes market impact, and is cheaper to support.
When considering the design of a native app, Loosemore presents five questions for civil servants to consider:
- Is our web service already designed to be responsive to different screen sizes? If not, why not?
- What is the user need that only a native/hybrid app can meet?
- Are there existing native/hybrid apps which already meet this user need?
- Is our service available to third parties via an API or open data? If not, why not?
- Does meeting this need justify the lifetime cost of a native or hybrid app?
Loosemore stated that the costs of developing and maintaining apps will rarely justify their benefits for government services, especially if the underlying service design is sub-optimal.
Data-and-cloud-computing technology plays a crucial role in the government's adoption of the mobile web, as it enables the use of HTML5 for responsive design, increasing the efficiency of online public services. The rise of mobile data usage in accessing government services further underscores the importance of this technology, allowing for quicker iterations, minimized market impact, and cost efficiency in service delivery.
