Why should you be interested in AppPresser?
Well, let’s say you have built your website through WordPress – or planning to – and have become aware of the increasing usage of mobile devices when it comes to web traffic.
While your site might be mobile compatible and responsive, building a mobile app for your business could take your communication with the customers to the next level.
However, there are of course many aspects to consider before starting the app creation process and it can seem daunting at first, especially if you think you are lacking the necessary technical knowledge.
This is where AppPresser comes in. It enables you to build portable applications using your existing WordPress site and no, you do not need any previous mobile app developing experience.
Sounds promising? Let’s learn more!
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1. What is AppPresser?
As mentioned, AppPresser is a mobile app builder specializing in WordPress integration.
Essentially, it allows you to create a native mobile app for either iOS or Android platforms by using your WordPress site.
Advantage of this kind of integration with WordPress is that you are not required to manage the website and the mobile app for your business separately, making the whole process more cohesive.
Many of the custom plugins you have chosen for your WordPress website will also work with AppPresser.
It also uses a similar style of customization as a WordPress site builder so if you are able to use WordPress, you should not encounter many difficulties with AppPresser.
You are able to select which content from WordPress do you want to use and how you want to modify it.
With that being said, you don’t have to worry that the software will somehow affect your normal website – its actions are only applied within the app.
AppPresser has a varied user-base – there are individuals creating a mobile app for their own company and agencies building apps for others.
Ergo, this tool is used to enhance various types of business entities, including e-commerce or rather WooCommerce based merchants, podcasts, and non-profit organizations.
2. Key Features
- Similar customizer to WordPress
- Live App preview
- Device testing
- Push notifications
One of the major advantages of building your mobile app with AppPresser if you’re a WordPress user is that its customization is set up similarly to the WordPress theme customizer. Thus, familiarity can make building the app that much more comfortable.
During the process of creating the app, AppPresser allows you to preview how it will look, at first in a web browser. If you think you are more or less done with building the app you can then also do the device testing.
You are only able to do Android testing right away as iOS testing has to be set up by the AppPresser team first.
This mobile app builder comes with push notifications set up, which means that if the users of your app have push notifications on you can send them a message with useful information thus enhancing the customer experience.
2.1. Additional extensions
- AppCommerce – integrates with WordPress’s e-commerce plugin, WooCommerce;
- AppCommunity – enables us to create a social mobile app through integration with the BuddyPress plugin;
- AppCamera – enables users to take pictures, which will e uploaded directly to the WordPress site and can then be displayed in the app;
- AppGeolocation – enables the users to post their location on the app, show it on the map, etc;
- AppPush – enables to send push notifications through the WordPress website to the app;
- App LMS (LearnDash) – allows us to add courses, topics, lessons, and quizzes into the app.
2.2. Pricing
The extent to which you have accesses to the features depends on which of the pricing plans you will choose to purchase. There are currently three available:
If you will choose to be billed annually, you can get a significant discount, for instance Standard plan will then cost 59 USD/month.
The app downloads are unlimited with all the plans and all of them also include a free 30 min setup call.
With the cheapest Standard plan you will be able to use many of the core features, however you will have to pay 199 USD for submitting your app to an app store platform.
This sum is wavered if you pay for the plan annually. There number of people who can be subscribed for push notifications is limited to 10 000.
The Professional plan unlocks the Plus features, such as adding unlimited number of team members, who can access the app and segment your push notifications. The limit of of the latter is also raised to 100 000.
With the most expensive plan – Advanced, you can build two apps and offer in-app purchases of digital items such as memberships.
The Advanced plan also offers the Apple/Google login feature, meaning that the users of your app can use their Apple or Google account to login. The number of push notifications is also increased to 1 million.
3. Getting started with AppPresser
3.1. Set up
After you have chosen and purchased an AppPresser plan, you can proceed with logging into your account at https://myapppresser.com. You will then be redirected to your dashboard. However, before you go ahead with exploring the dashboard, you should also complete the WordPress setup.
Go to your WordPress site, navigate to the Plugins->Add New and find AppPresser. After installing and activating this core plugin, you will also need to install JWT Authentication plugin. Then from your AppPresser account page, download and add the AP3 Ion Theme.
After creating your first app and determining which functions do you want to offer, you can then install additional plugins. This brings us to the next major action.
3.2. Build your first app
Note that this guide is based on the AppPresser version 4, so some steps/visuals can be subject to change.
On your AppPresser dashboard, find and click on the Create New App.
You will then be asked to give your app a title and offered the opportunity to change the color of header/footer and their text.
Then check the Install AppPresser plugins/theme section, to make the aforementioned 2 plugins are in place and that the theme is installed. However, do not activate the theme, it just needs to be installed.
Next, in the Configurate section, you will be able to choose if you want a side and/or title (footer) menu and set up some app preferences.
Next, enter your WordPress website URL under WordPress URL section.
Last section is Template, where you can browse the selection of templates and select the one you like.
Finally, you can click Create App, and you will then be taken to the app dashboard, where you can set up additional settings, such as push notifications.
Keep in mind that it can take around 5 minutes for the app to be prepared according to the choices you just made in the previous sections.
Once the app is ready you can proceed to the App Customizer, where you can continue customizing and finetuning your app.
To Sum Up
Creating a mobile app for your business can be a great way to help its expansion through creating a more advanced customer experience and further promoting your brand.
While building an app without much experience can seem intimidating, software such as AppPresser can greatly help to make the whole process more seamless and easier to understand.
Its level of integration with WordPress and similar customizer present a great advantage for a WordPress user.
AppPresser is fit to be used by businesses of different categories and objectives, from e-commerce to online learning.
In line with that, it comes with a wide range of possible features, for instance push notifications, incorporation of lessons and courses as well as social component.
Based on your needs, you can choose from the three paid plans, each unlocking a different level of features.
After you have purchased a plan, setting up AppPresser is a pretty straightforward process and there is also a number of comprehensive guides and videos available.
With this post, we hope to have acquainted you with AppPresser and perhaps even encouraged you to start using it for reaching your mobile app ambitions.
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