The traditional approach to distributing apps has always been straightforward: develop, submit the app to an app store, wait for its approval, and hope that someone finds it.
And it worked quite well before. But the number of people who are wondering whether this approach makes sense nowadays is growing.
This is far from suggesting that app stores will be gone by tomorrow. However, some things might be too costly to justify anymore.
Friction that no one likes to acknowledge
Application marketplaces solve the problem of distribution, yet they add an element of friction that is often overlooked.
Developers must contend with:
- Delays caused by reviews that affect speed
- Uncertainty related to rejection because of ambiguous policies
- Deductions of up to 30 percent from revenue
- High reliance on platform policies
None of these is a new factor. The difference is that they have gained importance.
When one needs to move swiftly, try out a new approach, and ship products quickly, any delay starts to become noticeable.
The Control Issue
One of the largest changes relates to how control is perceived..
Distribution, exposure, and even monetization processes become governed by guidelines from the platform.
While large companies may handle this issue well, indie developers may find themselves restricted.
Should your app fail to climb rankings, or should changes in policy impact your product, your choices will be limited. You are creating within an environment that you cannot control.
This is leading developers to question whether there is an alternative route.
The web is catching up
However, the web has come a long way.
Web applications today can do a lot of what could only be done using native development in the past.
Offline capabilities, notifications, payment integration, and performance have all seen major improvements.
For most applications, the choice between web and native has become almost irrelevant from the point of view of the end-user.
The choice becomes more nuanced.
Native distribution offers inherent visibility but comes with some limitations.
Web distribution, on the other hand, offers more flexibility but lacks inherent visibility.
This shift is reshaping the mindset of developers about which platform to target.
Distribution remains the key issue
Steering clear of app stores does not eliminate the most difficult question. It merely transforms it.
The core challenge remains the same when you distance yourself from centralized services.
Even if they are competitive and unpredictable, app stores provide visibility. When you become independent, you have to look elsewhere for it.
That is where innovation begins to surface.
Some services are already trying innovative means of distributing web apps. The principle behind this approach involves combining the open nature of the web with structured discovery.
This concept can be witnessed in various initiatives, such as curated web app stores, which target web apps rather than native ones. One example is Unstore, which explores this approach by making web apps discoverable beyond traditional app stores.
Why is this shift happening now
It is important to understand that this is not merely a matter of happenstance. Rather, there are certain circumstances that have led to this change.
The first factor is the emergence of indie development. As more people develop software in small groups, the demand for faster and more efficient development methods becomes more pressing.
Secondly, the web is fast becoming a platform capable of supporting a wide range of applications. In other words, the technological constraints have been reduced considerably.
Finally, developers are also becoming increasingly aware of the challenges of platform dependency.
It’s not about replacing app stores
The traditional app store model still holds its importance. It makes perfect sense in a lot of cases, especially in terms of large-scale consumer applications, games, or applications tightly coupled to device hardware.
However, there is an increasing number of scenarios where this approach no longer seems the most natural choice.
It can be tools, SaaS interfaces, internal applications, and even some experimental applications that can function perfectly well on the web.
A more flexible future
What lies ahead is not a single replacement model, but a variety of possibilities.
Rather than a singular development process, there are now numerous routes for release and distribution:
- Create a web application and deploy immediately
- Utilize alternative means to connect with users
- Explore new discovery systems
- Integrate both web and native approaches
This diversity is changing product development and release.
The Shift
For many years, the app store was the natural way to go from developer to user.
That is no longer the case, as it becomes just one route among others.
For the developer, this means increased freedom and increased responsibility.
Ultimately, what this all comes down to is not just distribution, but flexibility, speed, and control.
What are you doing today? Sticking with the app store, or exploring other options?
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