“Where should we go for dinner?” “Let me check my phone”. It is a scenario that happens time and time again. More than ever, we use our smartphones on-the-go to look up information about local businesses. We browse businesses’ web apps looking for a restaurant or a shopping facility nearby that has what we need.

With web apps being such a major marking tool – one would think that the majority of local companies would be investing in web app development. However, this is not the case. As explained by Jason Fell of Entrepreneur.com:

“Only 26 percent of small businesses have a mobile website. That’s a growing problem — especially for local businesses…

Take, for example, a recent excursion I had with a friend in New York City’s Upper West Side. We were on the move, smartphones in hand, looking for a particular restaurant — which will remain nameless — to grab a bite to eat. I used my Motorola Droid Razr to look up the restaurant’s website but all I saw was a white screen with two links to download PDF files of the lunch and dinner menus.

No contact information. No hours. No easy-to-read menu. Sorry, no business from me.

With more people using their mobile devices to access information about companies, business owners need to think about how their website displays on smartphones and tablets. If content isn’t easy to read and access on a smaller screen, customers might go to the next shop down the block instead.”

Without a web app, companies are missing out on major business. Jason Fell makes an important point – not only do businesses need web applications, but they need quality ones. The best way to ensure your web app has a good UI, loads correctly, and doesn’t contain any bugs is to utilize cost effective testing.

For more information on web app testing, click here.