Do Web2App Funnels Outperform Mobile Onboarding?
Web2App funnels are reshaping app marketing. Igor Lyubimov of web2wave highlights why they outperform mobile onboarding on ROAS and conversion.
Topics
Web2app funnels have become a hot topic for mobile marketers, especially as traditional app onboarding struggles with attribution challenges and high drop-off rates.
While conversion rates in these funnels may look low at first glance, they consistently deliver far higher return on ad spend (ROAS) than app-first flows. Across the Web2wave platform, paywall conversions in web2app average around 6%—triple the rate seen in mobile apps.
Igor Lyubimov, CEO of Web2wave, argues that the real measure of success isn’t installs or CPI, but ROAS—building funnels that not only attract clicks, but also qualify, convert, and retain high-value users.
“For meaningful user qualification, we don’t need complex UX,” he notes. “It’s enough to ask the right single-choice or multiple-choice questions that uncover user needs, pain points, and goals.”
In this interview, Lyubimov explains why web2app outperforms mobile-first onboarding, how marketers can balance frictionless design with deeper qualification, and how real-time attribution is becoming a powerful growth lever.
Excerpts from the interview:
Web2app conversion is notoriously leaky. What are the top three optimisations marketers should focus on right now?
Yes, conversions in web2app funnels can be pretty low on average. According to our internal data, the conversion from quiz visit to finish is just 20%. From first glance, it looks leaky and may be a problem.
But the goal is to focus on return on ad spend, not the conversion itself. The magic of web2app funnels is that they convert way better than regular simple onboardings. You can easily make a funnel of just five screens and get high conversions, but the real goal is to optimise conversions into subscriptions. To do that, you have to convince the user to buy your product.
Web2app visitor-to-subscription conversion averages 2-3%, which is actually higher than mobile apps. Mobile teams don’t even measure click-to-subscription, they only track install-to-trial or install-to-purchase. If they measured the full funnel from ad click to subscription, they’d see web2app funnels significantly outperform traditional mobile onboarding. This advantage is even more pronounced at the paywall level – based on data across our web2wave platform, web2app paywalls convert at ~6% compared to just ~2% for mobile apps, proving users are three times more qualified when they reach the payment step.
The bottom line is you should focus on return on ad spend, which is way higher with web funnels. This should be your goal metric. All other metrics: conversions, CPI, CPA, or click-through rates are proxy metrics that help you understand the funnel, but they’re not your target metrics.
ALSO READ: Value Over Volume for Smarter Mobile Engagement
What do you think about the balance between frictionless UX and meaningful user qualification in high-performing funnels?
These two concepts are often seen as contradictory, but they don’t have to be. Frictionless UX is essential for B2C products because the harder the interface, the lower the conversion. You never create interfaces that users need to learn, because we usually send users from Meta, TikTok, or other sources where communication is just a swipe. If we send them to a funnel where interactions are unfamiliar, we lose conversions.
For meaningful user qualification, we don’t need complex UX. To qualify users, we need to understand their needs, pain points, problems, and their vision of their desired future. It’s completely enough to ask them single-choice or multiple-choice questions.
The bottom line is these are two parallel aspects: always simplify the interface of your funnel, and when you have clear UX, focus on questions that give meaningful information about the user. These questions can be presented in a really simple way. This is especially crucial for web2app funnels because users are just one click away from your Instagram ad – they don’t have the same intention as mobile users who’ve already downloaded your app, seen reviews, and invested time and data. Because users have less intention, the funnel content needs to be longer and more persuasive, but the UX principles still remain simple.
What’s your view on deep linking and attribution today? Are current tools living up to the promise?
Current tools are living up to their promise, but only for web2app funnels. Traditional mobile attribution is broken due to iOS 14.5+ limitations, Apple Private Relay, and SKAN delays.
With web2app funnels, we’ve solved the marketing attribution problem completely. 100% of conversions are tracked and sent back to advertising platforms like Meta and TikTok in real-time. No waiting periods, no probabilistic modeling, just clean, deterministic attribution.
The remaining challenge isn’t attribution, it’s user transition. After users subscribe on web, about 80-85% successfully transition to using the mobile app. Around 15% of users who purchase on web aren’t properly attributed or linked to their account when they move to the mobile app. These transition issues fall into two categories: technical problems with deep linking and account matching, and users who simply don’t download the app despite purchasing.
For the technical issues, we have multiple fallback solutions: MMPs for device matching, deep linking with subscription tokens, account creation flows, and email-based verification. The tooling works, but it requires proper implementation across the entire funnel.
How can mobile product teams use attribution data not just for reporting, but to fuel growth decisions in real time?
The magic of web attribution isn’t only precision, it’s real-time data. When a purchase is made on web, it’s delivered back to Meta, TikTok, or other ad platforms within seconds. You don’t need to wait three days like with SKAN (SKAdNetwork).
With web marketing attribution, you can experiment in real time, get results as fast as possible, and make campaign decisions faster than with mobile. This is a huge advantage compared to what iOS marketers experience now.
What are three steps to success with web2app for app marketers?
First, make your first screen as beautiful and simple as possible. You have just 200-300 milliseconds for users to scan the screen and decide if they’re interested in starting the funnel. This is where you lose the most users.
Second, optimise your technical setup for event reporting to Meta, which is crucial. Send all additional information you have because Meta’s algorithm is your biggest friend, it’s state-of-the-art AI that understands your potential clients better than anyone on earth.
Third, focus on the paywall from the perspective of users who know nothing about your product. Think about questions in their heads when they see your paywall: Who are you? What is this product? How can I trust you? If I don’t like it, can I get my money back? Is this product for me? Start thinking not about features, but about questions, objections, and obstacles users have in their minds.
ALSO READ: Why Emerging Markets Are Redefining Martech Benchmarks
