Choosing between web, mobile and desktop surfaces

Web is the default for good reasons: no installation, instant updates and one codebase for every device with a browser. It is still a choice, and the alternatives are the right answer more often than teams expect.

Questions that change the answer

• →Will people use this without a reliable connection?
• →Does the software need the camera, sensors, printers or other hardware?
• →Is the work done at a desk, on the move or on a production floor?
• →Who controls the devices, and how will updates reach them?

Field work with intermittent connectivity points toward mobile with offline support. Hardware integration and large local datasets point toward desktop. A wide, varied audience points toward web.

Combining platforms deliberately

Many products end up on more than one platform. The useful question is which platform the first release needs and how shared services, APIs and design systems keep later platforms consistent rather than duplicated.