👀 See how easily you can turn your website into an app
Are you prepared to meet the demands of a mobile-first world? In 2023, having a mobile app is no longer optional; it's a must-have for any business that wants to expand its reach, boost conversions, and maximize revenue.
With the increasing dominance of mobile ecommerce, it's crucial that your store is mobile-friendly and can cater to customers shopping on their smartphones.
But, developing mobile apps can require significant investments of both time and money. Learn how a Craft Commerce mobile app builder can help you swiftly create a cost-effective app of excellent quality, serving as an alternative to a custom native app.
This post will walk you through the process of converting your Craft Commerce site into a mobile app.
Keep reading to know more!
Mobile commands a share of more than 72% in the ecommerce market, experiencing a significant increase from slightly above 52% within a span of five years.
This aligns with the ongoing trend of mobile internet usage, which continues to favor mobile with each passing year. Right now, mobile dominates the market with over 50% market share when compared to desktop and tablet.
15% of Americans now exclusively rely on smartphones as their sole means of accessing the internet. This represents the future of ecommerce—customers who not only prioritize mobile but solely rely on it.
While optimizing your website for mobile is a crucial step, it alone is insufficient. Mobile apps offer an enhanced user experience, leading to improvements across various key metrics, including:
Additional data indicates that users of ecommerce mobile apps are twice as likely to return to the store within 30 days compared to those using mobile browsers.
Mobile apps also provide the advantage of push notifications, which boast an average open rate of 20% and a click-through rate of 28%.
They also serve as an effective tool for nurturing loyal, repeat customers.
Is it necessary to transform your Craft Commerce store into a mobile app? Perhaps not. However, a Craft Commerce mobile app can yield significant benefits for your business.
If you wish to develop a mobile app using Craft Commerce, you'll encounter a hurdle since it doesn't support direct app launching. This platform is primarily intended for webstores. Thankfully, there are alternative approaches you can take to tackle this challenge:
You can use any of the strategies mentioned to transform a Craft Commerce store into an app.
However, it is wise for the vast majority of shop owners to ignore the third option of hiring developers for native app creation. This is mainly due to the high costs associated with mobile app development. Building a native app can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $150,000, and if you want to launch apps for both Android and iOS (which is recommended), this cost will be doubled.
Building an app is a time-consuming, intricate, and expensive undertaking to start with. The complexity increases further when your developers have to develop an API and establish a connection between the back end of your apps and your Craft Commerce store.
It's highly improbable that your budget would cover these expenses, and this is without taking into account the yearly costs of maintaining your app.
A significant number of people tend to overlook the ongoing expenses associated with launching an app. The maintenance and upkeep required, including updates for operating systems, Craft Commerce, bug fixes, and implementing new features and enhancements, typically account for around 15-20% of the initial development cost each year.
David Cost, the Vice President of Marketing at Rainbow Apparel, conducted thorough research during their app launch and discovered that the yearly cost could even reach up to a million dollars.
"If we had unlimited time and resources, we would likely opt for a custom native app. However, the maintenance alone would cost between half a million to a million dollars annually."
David Cost, VP of Marketing, Rainbow Apparel
Let's take a conservative estimate of $150,000 for building apps for both mobile platforms. Based on this estimate, the projected expense for updates and maintenance would amount to $30,000 per year.
For most store owners, this expenditure is considerably high. Managing multiple platforms instead of solely focusing on your website can also be quite a burden. It triples the workload whenever you wish to make changes to your site, unnecessarily complicating your workflow.
As experts in converting ecommerce stores into mobile apps, we understand the concerns and challenges involved. Be mindful of the ongoing costs and the impact they may have on your operations.
With careful planning and a clear understanding of the associated expenses, you can make informed decisions that align with your business objectives.
The best option to convert your Craft Commerce store into an app using a mobile app builder provided by Craft Commerce.
By employing Craft Commerce's mobile app builder, you can convert your existing Craft Commerce website into a mobile app that mimics the experience of a native app. This app can be easily downloaded and installed on users' mobile devices.
The finest mobile app builders offer you a mobile app experience that encompasses approximately 90-95% of what a native app provides, all at a more affordable cost and with reduced complications. However, understand that not every option available on the market is ideal for building high-traffic, top-notch mobile apps that truly reflect your brand in a positive manner.
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In the case of being a major brand with large funds at your disposal – think Nike, Target, Zara, and so on – you might consider hiring people to develop your shopping app right from the start.
If that's not your situation, MobiLoud offers the most optimal approach to app development. It's user-friendly, affordable, and quick. Plus, maintaining your apps becomes much more cost-effective and easier in the long run.
Here's a step-by-step guide to the process:
There are two options to get started.
Either way, you'll notice that 90% of the work required to create your app is already completed, provided that your site is optimized for mobile usage.
If you need support in optimizing your site, let us know, and we'll be happy to help! This is a crucial step to make the rest of the process as seamless as possible.
When you're all set on beginning the app creation, simply sign up to MobiLoud. All our plans come with a 60-day refund guarantee, and there's no long-term commitment required.
After the onboarding, our team will collaborate with you to configure and design your app. Remember, most of the groundwork has already been completed. You don't have to build a new user interface from scratch; instead, just a few adjustments are needed to give it the look and feel of a native app.
Once you're satisfied with the design, we'll jump right into building your mobile app. We take care of all the technical details, so there's no need for you to write code or have any coding knowledge.
If you prefer our team to handle the entire process, from start to finish, we can do that too. Our comprehensive package covers everything required to configure, design, and publish your app, allowing you to be completely hands-off.
Once your app is created, it's time to gear up for its public release. Having a well-organized launch strategy is vital to attract people to download your app.
We offer valuable resources to support your app's launch, including assets for app store descriptions, launch announcements for your website and email list, press releases, and more. You also have the opportunity to set up extra features at no additional cost, such as smart app banners and app-exclusive discounts, to motivate your existing customers to shop using the app.
Finally, we'll launch your apps on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
The app submission process for these stores is famously challenging, especially for first-time app owners and developers. We take pride in having extensive experience and knowledge in this area, having successfully navigated the process numerous times.
Our team takes care of the complete app submission process with Apple and Google. We guarantee a 100% approval rate for your app and will handle multiple submissions if necessary, offering recommendations and implementing any required adjustments. You won't need to lift a finger.
Once your app listings are live, you can officially start attracting downloads and enjoy all the advantages of having your own Craft Commerce mobile app.
We are currently experiencing a mobile revolution. The majority of your current revenue is likely generated through mobile devices.
If that's not the case, it will be soon!
Simply having a mobile-optimized website for your Craft Commerce store is no longer sufficient. To maximize your revenue potential from mobile users, you need to offer your own branded app.
Fortunately, turning your Craft Commerce store into a mobile app has never been easier, as long as you approach it in the right way. Rather than spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on mobile developers, MobiLoud provides an incredibly accessible and user-friendly solution.
Here are some of the key benefits of using MobiLoud's Craft Commerce app builder:
This simple app builder, which doesn't require any coding, empowers you to launch your own shopping apps and position yourself alongside the world's leading brands in the app stores.
Contact us now to learn more about how we can help you launch an app for your Craft Commerce store. Book a free, personalized demo, and one of our IT professionals will walk you through the entire process.
