There are three ways to turn a website into an app:

• Hire An Agency
• Hire an in-house development team 
• Or use modern tools such as Tapday

The third option outweighs the rest of the two by a wide margin. Let’s explore each one:

App Development Agencies

You can convert a website to a mobile app by seeking the services of app development agencies. However, these agencies bring your idea to life through traditional approaches.

According to current market data on app development costs, agencies usually charge somewhere between $5000 to $50000 for a basic app in the USA. The cost of medium-complexity apps hovers around $50,000 to $120,000 and the same surges to $300,000 for highly-complexed apps. 

It’s not the just cost factor that is on the flipside. The time that it takes to bring a minimum viable product (MVP) is another major concern.

Agencies usually take over a month to build an MVP of a basic app. When it comes to medium-complexity apps, the duration stands at 3 to 6 months. On the other hand, high-complexity apps take over a year or more. 

Then, there are communication barriers as well. These arise from the complex hierarchy: you relay your requirements to the product manager, who then passes them to the team lead, who, in turn, conveys them to the team. Amidst this chain, your vision gets diluted, leading to multiple revisions that extend timelines and drive up costs.

So, if you are bombarding search engines with phrases like how to turn a website into an app in 2025, hiring an agency is not a good idea.

It will cost you a fortune, and the long development time will leave you trailing behind your competitors. So, let’s explore the second option:

In-house Development Team

Your quest about how to turn a website into an app in 2025 reaches in-house app development teams. 

The upside of hiring an in-house app development team is that your vision is not lost in communication. You communicate directly with your team and thus instructions remain clear. 

However, the road to this approach is bumpy as well. 

First, hiring top-notch talent in itself is an extremely challenging task. It involves navigating HR complexities, conducting months of extensive search, managing multiple interviews, and bearing significant costs. And if a single candidate decides to ghost you, the whole process has to start again. 

According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, it costs, on average, $4,129 to hire an employee, and it takes around 42 days to fill a position.

Then, comes the cost factor in terms of payroll. In the USA, the total cost to hire one software engineer can be as high as $248,000 for the first year, after factoring in recruitment costs, salary, bonuses, taxes, benefits, personal equipment, software licenses, onboarding, and training costs.

Your in-house app development team size will solely depend on one factor: the complexity of your project. The more complex the project, the larger the will be team size. It translates into paying hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly to the developers alone. This again is not sustainable. 

Especially, if you have just launched your store, you can’t bear these costs to convert website to mobile app. This leads us to the third option: 

App Builders

App builders are the best tools to turn your website into an app. 

‍Shopify mobile app builders solve all problems that come with agencies and in-house development teams: a) they are extremely cost-efficient with core plans starting from as low as $49 b) you don’t need to wait for months as you can build and launch your app in a day – all thanks to drag and drop features, unlimited themes and customization options. 

The post-maintenance charges are low as well. You need to pay a monthly subscription and that’s all. 

These app builders come in multiple price tiers. Thus, you get the flexibility to pick the one that suits your needs most. You can start from the basic package and can scale to enterprise if need be. 

Another factor that makes app builders smarter choice is their ease of use. You do not need any coding knowledge and thus being a business owner, marketer, or product manager, you can build your app yourself. 

On the other hand, agencies and in-house teams require technical expertise and multiple rounds of communication, adding complexity to otherwise simple tasks.

If you are a Shopify store owner, it’s the best time to convert your Shopify store into an app. With the use of mobile phones continuously rising, you can get an advantage over your competitors through mobile apps. 

Also, the app allows you to send personalized content to your audience through the power of push notifications. It helps you increase sales and retention. 

if you are wondering what makes Tapday superior to other app builders, here are the answers:

• It costs 50% less than other app builders
• It offers unlimited features, customizations
• It offers over 100 integrations (for comparison, Tapcart offers 70+ whereas Shopney offers 30+ only)
• Global brands trust us. 

So, let’s convert your website into an app through a 30-day free trial!