Stop Asking Attendees to Download an App They Don't Need

There was a period when having an event app felt like a mark of sophistication.

The result was a lot of apps that attendees downloaded on the train to the venue, used twice, and deleted before they got home.

An app can be excellent. But "we should have an app" is not a requirement. It is a proposed solution.

Start with the job

What do attendees actually need to do?

If the answer is view the agenda, find a room, open a ticket and receive a few updates, a good mobile website may do the job perfectly well.

If attendees need persistent networking, offline content, device features, complex navigation or repeated interaction over several days, an app becomes easier to justify.

The important distinction is frequency and depth of use.

Every installation is friction

Installing an app means finding it, downloading it, accepting permissions, signing in and remembering another password or magic link.

Corporate devices may block app stores. International attendees may have poor connectivity. Some people simply won't bother.

That doesn't mean apps are bad. It means the value on the other side of that friction needs to be obvious.

QR codes are useful, not magical

QR codes are a good bridge into a web experience, but don't plaster the venue with twenty different codes.

One attendee identity and one clear destination is usually better than separate codes for the agenda, survey, exhibitor page, lunch menu and session questions.

The same applies to wallet passes. They can be an excellent way to keep a ticket or badge credential accessible without demanding that somebody remembers another app.

Build for the attendee, not the feature list

The best attendee technology tends to disappear into the event.

A person checks in, finds where they need to go, gets an update when something changes and can interact when they want to.

They shouldn't have to understand your technology stack to attend your conference.

Before commissioning an app, write down the five things an attendee genuinely needs to do. If a browser can do them well, that may be the better product.

If it can't, you now have a much clearer brief for the app you actually need.