How to Convert an Ecommerce Website into a Mobile App (Step-by-Step)

Mobile apps are one of the best way to add more long-term, profitable revenue for your ecommerce store.

Apps live on your customers' home screens. They're faster, more engaging, and give you direct communication through push notifications.

The result? Higher retention, more repeat purchases, and a deeper connection with your audience.

But turning your store into an app might feel like a huge leap. Do you need developers? Do you have to rebuild everything from scratch? Is it even worth the cost and effort?

The short answer: no, you don’t need to rebuild anything—and yes, it’s absolutely worth it. Let’s walk through how to convert your ecommerce website into a mobile app, step by step.

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The Different Ways to Build an Ecommerce App

Before we dive into how to turn a website into an app, it’s worth understanding the different approaches ecommerce brands take... because the best path for your business depends on where you are today.

Small Brands: Keep It Simple and Fast

If you’re a smaller brand, likely on Shopify or WooCommerce, you’re probably focused on keeping costs manageable and making smart, efficient moves. A lot of small businesses look at DIY app builders for this reason; they’re fast to set up and offer basic app functionality.

The downside? You’re on your own. These tools give you a set of building blocks, but they don’t offer strategy, support, or post-launch guidance. You’ll need to figure out design, app store approval, performance tuning, and growth strategy yourself (or pay extra to bring in outside help).

Mid-Market Brands: You Need More Than a Template

As a scaling ecommerce business, you’ve probably outgrown cookie-cutter solutions. You might need tighter integration with your tech stack, custom features, or more control over branding and UX. You might even consider hiring an agency or investing in custom development.

That’s totally valid—but building from scratch can take 6–12 months and cost $50K to $200K or more. And then there’s the ongoing cost of maintaining and updating the app.

That’s why many mid-market brands look for a hybrid approach, something that gives them the polish and flexibility of a custom app, without the cost, risk, and heavy resource lift.

Enterprise Brands: Custom-Built or Strategically Delegated

Enterprise ecommerce teams may have in-house developers or work with agencies. They often build fully native apps integrated with multiple backend systems. But that doesn’t mean they want to spend months building every channel from the ground up.

Even at this level, working with the right partner can speed up deployment and reduce complexity, especially when you’re looking to move fast or supplement an omnichannel strategy with minimal internal disruption.

The Fastest Way to Convert Your Ecommerce Store into a Mobile App

Now that you know the landscape, let’s talk about how you can actually get your app live, without reinventing the wheel.

With MobiLoud, you don’t have to rebuild your site or manage a separate platform. We turn your existing ecommerce site into a high-performing mobile app for iOS and Android. Everything works out of the box—your theme, your features, your integrations—with no rebuilding required.

And unlike a DIY tool, we don’t just hand you a dashboard and wish you luck. We manage the entire process for you, from app configuration to launch and ongoing success.

Think of us as your app team... like an agency, but faster, more affordable, and laser-focused on results.

Here’s exactly how it works.

Step-by-Step: Launching Your Ecommerce App with MobiLoud

Step 1: Kickoff, Setup & Configuraton

You'll start by getting a preview of your app (for free), and configuring it in our dashboard.

With just your website URL, you'll be able to create, test and customize an interactive prototype of your website, as it could look converted into an app.

When you're ready to take it a step further, or just get your last burning questions answered, book your free consultation and our product management team will be in touch.

Step 2: App Development

Next, our team builds your app from the ground up—based on your live website. We mirror your site’s navigation, structure, and functionality (with small tweaks to ensure everything in the app feels native), so your customers get a seamless experience between web and app.

Whether you have a custom theme, plugins, or a complex stack, we make it work, because we’re not limited to what Shopify or other platforms expose via API.

If it works on your site, it’ll work in your app.

Step 3: Testing and Feedback

You get preview builds of your app to test on real devices. You’ll experience it exactly how your customers will. Click through products, go through checkout, browse categories.

Don’t worry if something feels off—we’re here to make adjustments and ensure it looks and feels exactly the way you want.

Step 4: Quality Assurance

While you’re testing, our QA team is running your app through detailed checks across devices, screen sizes, and OS versions.

We catch edge cases, performance issues, and bugs, so your app is rock-solid before launch.

Step 5: App Store Submission

Submitting apps to Apple and Google can be tricky and time-consuming. We take care of the entire process for you, including:

• Creating store listings and writing optimized descriptions
• Generating beautiful screenshots
• Handling reviewer feedback and rejections (if any)

This is one of the places our experience really pays off. We’ve launched thousands of apps, and we know exactly how to get your app approved.

Step 6: Final Optimization

If we get feedback from reviewers (or from your team) during the submission period, we take care of it quickly. This is our chance to polish every last detail before launch.

We’re not just trying to get your app approved. We’re launching something your customers will actually love using.

Step 7: Launch & Growth

When your app goes live, we help you make it a success—not just technically, but strategically.

We’ll advise you on app promotion, help you set up install banners on your website, and recommend campaigns to drive downloads. We’ll also help you configure and launch push notifications, one of the most powerful retention tools ecommerce brands have access to.

And if you want even more support? Our Done-For-You Push service takes care of that too. We’ll plan and send high-impact push campaigns for you—optimized for ROI.

Ready to see what your ecommerce site will look like as an app? Get a free preview now.

Why Brands Choose MobiLoud Over App Builders or Agencies

Not sure whether to go for the simple route (an app builder) or go all the way and invest in a development agency?

MobiLoud gives you the best of both worlds.

You get a fully managed service (just like working with an agency) but without the cost, risk, or 6-month dev cycle.

Your app is live in 30 days or less. You won’t need to write code or hire a team.

At the same time, we go far beyond what standard app builders offer. DIY tools leave the burden of success on you. You have to figure out design, UX, app store submission, QA, and post-launch performance.

"MobiLoud made launching our mobile app effortless - everything on our Shopify website updates automatically in our app, and push notifications have replaced expensive remarketing campaigns."
_{- Ralph Natividad, Founder & Marketing Director at Safe Select Online Market}

With MobiLoud, we don’t just build your app. We take ownership of its success.

We’re here for the long haul, helping you grow installs, send effective push notifications, track engagement, and optimize your app over time. All for a price comparable to the “Pro” or “Enterprise” tiers of the top DIY platforms.

Want a deeper look at what's possible, and what kind of results our users have achieved? Check out these case studies of successful brands that used MobiLoud to build their ecommerce apps.

Ready to Build Your App—Without Rebuilding Your Website?

Your customers are already shopping on mobile. A native app gives them a faster, smoother experience—and gives you a powerful new retention channel through push notifications.

With MobiLoud, launching your app doesn’t mean starting from scratch. We turn your site into an app, manage the entire process, and help you grow post-launch, just like an agency would (but without the high cost and complexity of dealing with a traditional agency).

Ready to see your app in action?

Get a free preview of your app now.