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Are other companies that have apps but not sites (or their site is just a download button) slimy? Should yelp not be allowed to pivot from website to app? I mi

by basch 7y ago

Are other companies that have apps but not sites (or their site is just a download button) slimy? Should yelp not be allowed to pivot from website to app? I might not agree with that strategic direction as a customer, but its well within their right as a company to choose what they want to be.

NikolaNovak 7y ago
Depending how you set your Criteria, certainly Facebook for example will try its darnest not to let you read your messages on mobile browser, but rather force you to download the messenger ️. I would personally characterize that as slimy and annoying; others may well disagree. Internets are also full of condemnation for Reddit's app vs website, and their attempt to force the app upon user.
- jakub_g 7y ago
  If you're on Android, try Opera - don't know why but it works (Either Opera did some custom script to hide the 'install messenger' banner, or FB code is broken. But shhh don't tell anyone.)
- thedaemon 7y ago
  old.reddit.com still works for me.
oliveshell 7y ago
No one is arguing that Yelp shouldn’t be allowed to funnel customers to their app. We’re just condemning the choice as shitty and user-hostile.
- la_barba 7y ago
  I suppose if the app provided a better experience, then it wouldn't be user-hostile.
  - couchand 7y ago
    It needs to not just be better. It would need to be better in ways that aren't achievable with the alternative, and sufficiently better that it justifies the cost in terms of space and management requirements imposed.
    - heleninboodler 7y ago
      And security risk of installing an app.
    - la_barba 7y ago
      Sure, and different people make different trade-offs. I don't like using mobile websites, because to me, the interactivity when it comes to touch/swipe/zoom interactions, or edge-swipes etc is always a little janky compared to a proper app. If its a website that I use a lot, I'd rather just have the app than deal with the mobile website.
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    Right away, the fact that it requires downloading and installing an app (which you then have to log in to) leaves it pretty far behind in the "better user experience" race vs a mobile website that just works. It's hard to catch up from that deficit. I don't bother with the Yelp app anymore because I'm sick and tired of having to re-download and re-log in to every app (which can be painful since I don't reuse passwords) every time I wipe the OS or get a new phone. Unless it's an app that doesn't need login, or that I use very frequently, it's just not worth it. I don't use Yelp often enough to justify it. And the Google Maps app has fine reviews with less taint of corporate meddling anyway.
    - la_barba 7y ago
      I guess it depends on your POV. I haven't found a mobile website that I liked using. The touch/swipe/double-tap experience is always janky, sometimes you want to zoom in on a map, but it zooms the entire page, etc, etc. Maybe if it was just text with no interactivity, then being a mobile website wouldn't matter. Personally I don't mind spending a couple of minutes installing an app if its useful.
kjs3 7y ago
I don't see anyone who said Yelp isn't allowed to use ethically questionable business tactics and user-hostile delivery mechanisms. We just don't have to like it, and we don't have to keep quiet about it while they do it.
lozaning 7y ago
I stopped using Venmo when they removed the ability to send payments to other people through their website. They're will within their rights to do so, but it's also mega dumb and as such I have the right to not give them anymore of my business.

by basch 7y ago

NikolaNovak 7y ago

Depending how you set your Criteria, certainly Facebook for example will try its darnest not to let you read your messages on mobile browser, but rather force you to download the messenger ️. I would personally characterize that as slimy and annoying; others may well disagree. Internets are also full of condemnation for Reddit's app vs website, and their attempt to force the app upon user.

jakub_g 7y ago
If you're on Android, try Opera - don't know why but it works (Either Opera did some custom script to hide the 'install messenger' banner, or FB code is broken. But shhh don't tell anyone.)
thedaemon 7y ago
old.reddit.com still works for me.

oliveshell 7y ago

No one is arguing that Yelp shouldn’t be allowed to funnel customers to their app. We’re just condemning the choice as shitty and user-hostile.

la_barba 7y ago
I suppose if the app provided a better experience, then it wouldn't be user-hostile.
- couchand 7y ago
  It needs to not just be better. It would need to be better in ways that aren't achievable with the alternative, and sufficiently better that it justifies the cost in terms of space and management requirements imposed.
  - heleninboodler 7y ago
    And security risk of installing an app.
  - la_barba 7y ago
    Sure, and different people make different trade-offs. I don't like using mobile websites, because to me, the interactivity when it comes to touch/swipe/zoom interactions, or edge-swipes etc is always a little janky compared to a proper app. If its a website that I use a lot, I'd rather just have the app than deal with the mobile website.
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  Right away, the fact that it requires downloading and installing an app (which you then have to log in to) leaves it pretty far behind in the "better user experience" race vs a mobile website that just works. It's hard to catch up from that deficit. I don't bother with the Yelp app anymore because I'm sick and tired of having to re-download and re-log in to every app (which can be painful since I don't reuse passwords) every time I wipe the OS or get a new phone. Unless it's an app that doesn't need login, or that I use very frequently, it's just not worth it. I don't use Yelp often enough to justify it. And the Google Maps app has fine reviews with less taint of corporate meddling anyway.
  - la_barba 7y ago
    I guess it depends on your POV. I haven't found a mobile website that I liked using. The touch/swipe/double-tap experience is always janky, sometimes you want to zoom in on a map, but it zooms the entire page, etc, etc. Maybe if it was just text with no interactivity, then being a mobile website wouldn't matter. Personally I don't mind spending a couple of minutes installing an app if its useful.

kjs3 7y ago

I don't see anyone who said Yelp isn't allowed to use ethically questionable business tactics and user-hostile delivery mechanisms. We just don't have to like it, and we don't have to keep quiet about it while they do it.

lozaning 7y ago

I stopped using Venmo when they removed the ability to send payments to other people through their website. They're will within their rights to do so, but it's also mega dumb and as such I have the right to not give them anymore of my business.