Custom vs. Pre-Built Mobile App Solutions for Beauty Businesses

Let’s admit it! The definition of a beauty parlor these days is not restricted to ensuring flawless skin for your clients or creating trendy nails and flawless lashes for them. You also need to dedicate your resources to ensuring a seamless and smooth appointment booking procedure for your clients. For instance, if a potential customer is browsing through the products and services on your website, they must be able to find what they are looking for without hassle.

The world is undergoing rapid digital transformation across diverse industries, including the beauty sector. In such a scenario, having a mobile app for beauty salon has become more of a necessity than just a “nice-to-have”, so it’s a smart move. Now that you have decided to develop your beauty brand’s mobile application, you might be confused between a custom-built and a pre-built app. This article is dedicated to helping you understand the key differences between these two types of application solutions and which would be more beneficial for your beauty business.

What is a Custom-Built Mobile App?

A custom mobile app is developed from scratch and is tailored according to your unique brand personality. It is built from scratch based on your particular business goals and needs, brand identity, and your clients’ preferences. Since a custom-built app is made specifically for you, it fits your business perfectly, just like a couture gown tailored by a professional.

Pros and Cons

Let’s assess the merits and demerits of custom-built apps.

Pros

• Completely Personalized: Every design element, feature, and functionality of a custom-built app reflects your brand personality.
• Unique User Experience: A custom app enables businesses to offer users a unique and efficient user interface that makes them stand out from their rivals. Since the features and design elements are fully customized, a user won’t find a similar interface or app-using experience elsewhere.
• Highly Scalable: A custom-built app enables businesses to add new features as they grow, thus making their mobile application more scalable.
• Third-party Integrations: You can integrate the app with your existing CRM solutions, loyalty programs, or accounting or booking software, ensuring efficiency across your business operations.

Cons

• Higher Development Costs: Every good thing comes with a cost, and therefore, custom-made apps demand higher upfront expenses due to tailored design and interface.
• Take Longer to Launch: Since you have chosen not to go with the pre-built mobile app templates, your salon mobile app development team needs to build an entire application from scratch. Therefore, it takes time, and you may expect several weeks or even months before you can decide on a launch date.
• Requires Frequent Maintenance: Regular software updates, improvements, and bug fixes are required for ongoing attention. It also helps determine any potential threats or risks associated with them before they can cause significant damage to your beauty brand’s mobile app.

What is a Pre-Built Mobile App?

A pre-built mobile app, as the name indicates, is a ready-made software application that is designed for quick deployment after some fine-tuning to reflect the brand image. These mobile apps come with all the core features and functionalities, such as appointment booking, notifications and alerts, payment gateways, and a basic user-friendly interface. These are an excellent choice for small- to medium-scale businesses and startups that look for easy deployment using limited resources.

Pros and Cons

Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of pre-built mobile app development services for salons.

Pros

• Quick Setup and Deployment: The biggest advantage of using pre-built mobile applications is that they can be launched within a few days, rather than having to wait for months before they’re ready. That’s because pre-built apps are already packed with all the required features and tools, such as appointment booking forms, payment gateways, menu options, and more.
• Cost-Efficient: Pre-built mobile apps are suitable for SMBs and startups that have a limited budget and other resources.
• Built-In Features: In a pre-built application, you can get all the vital functions and tools your beauty salon’s clients would need every time they use your services. For example, some commonly used features, such as scheduling, push notifications, reviews, ordering your beauty products, etc., are readily available.
• Easy to Use and Develop: Most pre-built apps come with simple drag-and-drop tools and a library of innumerable themes and templates. These features allow the beauty salon mobile app development team to quickly design and deploy the app and make it ready for launch within a few days.

Cons

• Limited Custom Features: Pre-built applications have some design limitations since you cannot customize the built-in interface and styles. Although you can choose from a variety of templates, you still need to compromise on having unique features and designs.
• Scalability Challenges: Some pre-made apps are incompatible with advanced tools and features and may not support future expansions, making them hard to scale as your beauty business grows.
• Shared Architecture: Since pre-built apps are based on a shared architecture, your mobile application may look or feel similar to that of your competitors, who may be using similar solutions or templates. Therefore, you may need to compromise on having unique interfaces that clients would have associated particularly with your brand identity.

Why is Elite mCommerce the Right App Development Solution for your Beauty Salon Business?

Elite mCommerce is a popular name among businesses that want to go digital and scale their business online. We provide a range of mobile app development solutions, both for Android and iOS platforms, to ensure a smooth digital transformation for your brand. If you are looking for fast deployment, we provide multiple ready-made eCommerce apps that come with customizable designs, easy-to-use features, seamless integrations, and POS systems.

The Verdict: Which is Better for Your Beauty Business?

Your decision on which app solution to opt for would depend on multiple factors, including business size, budget, timeline, and brand identity development. Small salons or startups often prefer pre-built apps, as they usually have limited resources and cannot hire a dedicated development team. On the other hand, established salon brands need more customized interfaces to stand out and manage diverse aspects, from bookings and inventory management to tracking staff and client histories.

Furthermore, if you have a limited budget, a pre-built app would be more suitable. But if you are thinking long-term, a custom-built app interface would be more scalable and ensure enhanced branding features for better growth. What’s more, a unique app design also helps establish your brand image, and your clients would find it easier to associate your app with your brand name. But if you are running short on time and need to generate urgent sales through app bookings, go for a pre-built salon E-commerce app development solution. Whatever you choose, ensure that your app can meet your goals, aid you in boosting customer experiences, and help grow your business.