How to Convert Your OpenCart Site Into A Mobile App

If you're running a successful OpenCart web store, you really need to think about launching your own mobile app.

Online commerce is getting increasingly mobile-centric, making apps a more valuable proposition by the day.

Apps perform better than websites in a number of eCommerce metrics, including conversion rate, AOV and LTV.

An app also gives you a powerful brand asset, and a direct line to your most valuable customers.

If you think that building an app for your OpenCart store will be too much work, or cost too much, think again.

There's a way to convert your store into an app with minimal effort and a low investment, while maintaining everything that makes a great native app experience.

Keep reading and we'll explain all you need to know - starting with traditional ways to build an OpenCart app, followed by how to convert your OpenCart store into a mobile app with MobiLoud.

Three Ways to Build an OpenCart Mobile App

As an OpenCart store owner, there are three ways to build a mobile app:

1. Hire developers to build native apps, then connect the apps to the backend of your web store.
   
2. Use a no-code OpenCart app builder.
   
3. Convert your OpenCart Store with MobiLoud

While there are situations to fit each option, number 1 is too expensive, time-consuming and complicated for most OpenCart store owners, while number 2 will not give you the ideal end result.

Converting your site into an app, with MobiLoud, lets you launch full-featured apps without hiring an expensive team of developers.

It's also more flexible than an app builder, allowing you to retain all the features of your website that you rely on to drive revenue.

To give you a complete idea of what each option entails, let's go a little deeper.

Native App Development

Building a native app from scratch is the most expensive and time-consuming way to turn your OpenCart store into an app.

There are three major concerns with building natively:

• Cost: Development starts at $50,000 and can easily exceed six figures.
• Timeframe: Expect 6–12 months for development.
• Complexity: Developers will need to recreate your website’s functionality and user experience in the app.

After launch, ongoing maintenance and updates add significant long-term costs.

“If we had unlimited time and money, we would probably go for a custom native app, but that is half a million to a million a year to maintain.”

- David Cost, VP of eCommerce & Marketing at Rainbow Shops

Unless you need complete customization, and have the capital to spend 5-6 figures on your app, we don't recommend building a fully native app.

For most businesses, this is simply not an option in the first place, leading them to a simpler approach...

No-Code OpenCart App Builders

No-code tools make app development more accessible.

With an OpenCart Mobile App Builder, you can use pre-built templates and drag-and-drop tools to put an app together quickly, for a low budget.

An app builder could be a better way to create an app than spending $100k on a custom app, but there are still some major flaws.

App builders offer limited functionality and customization, leaving you with a basic app that lacks many features from your website.

The app, as a result, will struggle to match the user experience on your website, and you'll struggle to convince customers to use your app, defeating the purpose of building an app in the first place.

For small-scale projects or tight budgets, app builders might suffice. But serious businesses will find them inadequate.

Convert Your OpenCart Site with MobiLoud

MobiLoud provides the ideal middle ground - cost-effective, fast, and highly functional.

MobiLoud converts your OpenCart site into mobile apps for iOS and Android, fully synced with your website.

The apps retain everything from your website - themes, plugins, checkout process, products, collections, and custom features - along with app-specific UI to give it a true native feel.

As long as your website looks and works well on mobile, it can easily be converted into an app.

Our team does everything for you, writing the native code to bring your apps to life, and handling every step of the conversion process.

Maintaining your apps is easy - they automatically update whenever something changes on your website, keeping all your platforms completely in sync (without adding extra jobs to your workflow).

MobiLoud apps also have unlimited push notification functionality, built in from launch.

This lets you set up and run powerful push notification campaigns to drive revenue, such as abandoned cart notifications (which can drive tens of thousands in monthly revenue for your brand, on autopilot).

MobiLoud saves time, reduces costs, and ensures your apps are just as user-friendly as your website (realistically more - as you get additional benefits of mobile apps to go along with your mobile-friendly UX).

We let you go live with native, branded mobile apps, for a low-four figure investment up front, a few hundred dollars per month then on (a fraction of what you'd pay for a full-time developer on staff), and a time frame of less than 30 days.

Ready to learn more? Book a free consultation to see how MobiLoud will help your business add thousands in new revenue with your own app.

Five Steps to Build Your OpenCart Mobile App with MobiLoud

The best thing about launching your own OpenCart mobile app with MobiLoud is how easy it is.

There's basically nothing for you to do. We hold your hand every step of the way, do all the heavy lifting, and give you everything you need to be successful in a new arena.

"You gave us the directions, but also helped us get approved, and what to do and how to do it. I love how impactful you are to my brand with no heavy uplift on our end from a design and cost perspective."

- Haven Prescott Jr, CEO at SYN•DI•CATE

To get a better look at what launching your own app entails, here's a five-step process to go live with your own app within a month.

1. Optimize Your Website for Mobile

First, ensure your OpenCart site is mobile-friendly.

The app will replicate your mobile website experience (with some small but meaningful upgrades), so providing a mobile-optimized experience to start with is essential.

Of course, your site should already be responsive and mobile-friendly, as it's likely that over half of your traffic and sales come on mobile.

But just in case there's anything missing, shore up your mobile UX now.

2. Schedule a Free Consultation

When you're ready to move forward, book a call to kick off the process.

We'll discuss what's going to happen, what we need from you, and show you what your app could look like at the end of the process.

Assuming you decide that MobiLoud is right for you, you can sign up for a plan - plans require no long-term commitments, and start from as little as a few hundred per month.

3. Leave the Hard Work to Us

Once you say go, our team handles app development, configuration, and integrating features like push notifications for your apps.

There's nothing for you to do here. We do all the technical work to bring your apps to life, while you focus on your website, as you normally do.

4. Test Your App

In about two weeks, your app will be ready for testing.

At this stage, you can provide feedback, share with us any further requirements, and our team will refine the apps ahead of launch.

5. Launch

Once testing is complete, we put together a final version, ready to be put out into the world.

MobiLoud will manage the submission process for the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, ensuring your app goes live without hassle.

On your end, you choose how to start promoting your apps to your audience, leveraging your website, email list, social media and any other channels you like to start getting your first app users.

Ready to Build Your OpenCart Mobile App?

More of your customers shop on mobile than desktop.

And as time goes by, more and more shoppers are going to be mobile-first, and expecting online stores they shop at to have an app.

Apps offer your best customers a superior user experience, and gives you a direct line to these customers you can use to sell to them over, and over, and over again.

With MobiLoud, converting your OpenCart store into mobile apps is fast, affordable, and hassle-free.

Get a free consultation today and see how MobiLoud can take your store to the next level.