Desktop app development is about usability and performance
The perfect app is:
Let’s start with the leading question: why use a desktop app if you have a web app?
Simply speaking, desktop applications are pre-installed and therefore handy and easily accessible. They might provide a better user experience thanks to better performance (not limited to web browser possibilities and settings).
In many cases, a desktop app is not the very first app being developed, but it complements the existing web and mobile apps. It’s the next step in mobile product development that allows a company to vary their offer and adjust it to every kind of user.
It’s an investment that results in increased loyalty of users and might enlarge customer value.
Choose the contractor wisely not to lose your money.
Desktop apps are rather not stand-alone, just complementary solutions for existing mobile or web apps. For this reason, the goals for such an app are pretty different. Usually, it’s not about attracting customers but gaining their loyalty, being ahead of competitors or responding to end-users needs.
A desktop app is pre-installed and therefore requires end-user engagement (and free space on their hard drive). For this reason, it probably won’t be the first point of contact for your users with your solution, but it will affect those who use it regularly and increase their attachment to the brand.
A desktop app is always at your fingertips and easy to open, so it’s helpful in everyday work (especially in the case of communication and collaboration apps, password storage, or games).
It’s easy to figure it out.
If it’s your very first app that needs to be built that way (e.g. screen recording app or a game), you should create an MVP in the first place.
However, consider your end-users first if it’s a complimentary app for your web or mobile app. Do they need a desktop app? Will they use it? How? You can research your target group to discover what they need and how will they use it. A desktop app might need some additional features or – on the contrary – remove some already existing ones. It’s your opportunity to improve the product.