The Web2App Blueprint: Why Web Funnels Are More Than a Way Around the App Store

Ask most app teams why they're looking at web funnels and the answer comes back fast: to avoid the 30% Apple tax.

For Cristian Rotari, Growth Consultant, that answer is a red flag.

"If someone tells you that, I would instantly question whatever they say next. When you do web funnels, the whole thing changes: your creatives, your audience."

Speaking at Appsforum London, Christian set out what actually makes a web funnel work, and why it should be treated as its own acquisition channel rather than a cheaper route to the same user.

Web doesn't replace app

The app journey asks a lot of someone in the moment. They see the ad, go to the store, install, set up, start a trial, and only then reach value. Many people simply aren't in the mindset for that.

The web meets them earlier, and on the brand's terms.

"On the app, you're turning intent into value. On the web, you turn interest into intent."

That changes the creative too. App ads need to show the UI and sell the outcome in seconds. Winning web creatives open with the problem, earn curiosity, and let the funnel do the selling.

"The click on the web already contains the promise."

Data Christian shared from a webinar with Marcus Burke backs this up. With broad targeting, app-bound traffic skewed towards Reels and under-45s, while web-bound traffic leaned towards Feed placements and older users.

Start with the question, not the quiz

Christian's advice to teams keen to "build a funnel and test it" is to step back first.

"Before we ask, do we want to build a quiz, I think we want to understand what needs to happen before the install to get the user in the right mindset to purchase."

If users already expect to go straight to the app, the web may add nothing. It earns its place when you need to widen intent, extend the story, or own the whole system.

Keep the promise on the first screen

The first screen is where the ad's promise either holds or breaks. Christian's benchmark is a 45–55% drop-off. Anything at 60–70% usually means the ad and the landing page don't match. Below 30% can mean the funnel is letting in people it doesn't need.

Matching doesn't have to be complex. Small copy changes driven by UTMs, so a user who clicked an intermittent fasting ad lands on an intermittent fasting headline, can deliver results quickly.

Length isn't the KPI. Persuasion is.

"How many screens do we need?" is the question Christian hears most. His answer reframes it: "How much persuasion do you need in order to convince someone to buy?"

Health, fitness, mental health and education apps tend to need longer, story-led funnels. A photo or video app may need far less. As a starting point, he suggests 12–15 screens with five to seven questions, rather than copying a 40-screen funnel from a category leader.

"A long funnel can feel fast and a short funnel can feel empty."

What makes the difference is pacing. Question after question with nothing in return feels like a form. Feedback, insight and proof after each answer change how the user feels about committing. Christian's rule for spotting leaks is simple: outside the first screens and email capture, any question losing more than 5% of users needs retesting, improving or removing.

Give before you take

Email capture and the pre-paywall moment are where many funnels ask without offering anything back.

"To take from the user, you also need to give."

A score, a profile summary or a timeline gives users a reason to hand over an email, and a reason to pay. Those emails are worth working, too. Christian sees around 1% conversion from email in the apps he works with, which is a meaningful addition when a funnel converts at 3%.

The paywall plays by different rules

Web users don't arrive with the app-store trial reflex of subscribing and cancelling immediately. That opens the door to direct purchases, paid intros and outcome-led plans.

"I would go more into that outcome, like your 12-week plan. From my experience, this has worked much better."

He also offered a warning from experience. At his previous company, a very cheap paid trial lifted conversion and ROAS, until the user base it attracted began to change the business.

"A cheap conversion can be an expensive signal."

Because a web purchase often means paying for a year upfront, Christian treats the paywall more like a landing page, with before-and-after framing, plans, FAQs and a second checkout block to build trust.

Don't stop at checkout

Two final areas are often overlooked. First, revenue after the main purchase: Christian has seen 20% take-up on upgrades and 30% on add-ons, with some yearly subscribers converting at 40% to add-ons.

Second, the handoff to the app. A user who pays but never installs is likely to come back as a refund or chargeback.

"It requires equal attention to the other parts of the funnel, because it can be very important."

The takeaway

Web funnels aren't a shortcut around the App Store. They're a different journey, built for a different mindset, and they reward teams who treat every stage, from the first screen to the handoff, as part of the product.