How to Convert a WordPress Site into an App (WordPress App Builder)

The share of people who consume content on mobile over desktop is constantly rising. Soon - if not already - mobile users will be your primary user base. And you’re unable to deliver the ideal user experience to these people with just a mobile website.

43% of the internet runs on WordPress. Yet WordPress itself doesn't give you the option to launch your site as a mobile app.

You might think there’s a huge barrier of entry to building mobile apps, but that’s not so today. We’ll show you how anyone - regardless of team size or technical ability - can launch their own mobile apps using a WordPress App Builder.

Why Convert Your WordPress Site to a Mobile App?

Is it really worth the effort to convert your WordPress site to mobile apps?

As we’ll explain later, it’s easier than you’d think. And it’s more than worthwhile, assuming you want to maximize your site as a revenue stream.

Here are the top reasons to create a mobile app.

Better mobile UX

The share of mobile website users vs desktop is constantly rising. As you can see from the chart below, the amount of people browsing on mobile has shot up in the last 10 years, and since 2017 has been ahead of desktop.

That means it's most likely that your dominant user base is on mobile. You want to cater to these people.

90% of the time we spend on mobile devices is spent on apps, over mobile browsers. That’s because apps are designed specifically for mobile, whereas mobile browsers are still, in large part, a ported-over cousin of your desktop site.

Follow the data. If you want to reach the ever-growing number of people coming to you on mobile, you want an app.

Greater loyalty and retention

App users are more loyal, and come back to your site more often than mobile web visitors.

Downloading an app is a sign of loyalty in the first place. And once it’s on the user’s home screen, you’ve got a permanent place in your user’s headspace.

Compare that to a solely web-based site, where you’re constantly reliant on Google search rankings, social media posts, email or other channels to get people back to your site.

Push notifications

Push notifications are an incredible way to boost engagement and return traffic to your app. They’re much more direct and effective than just about any other communication channel - e.g. email.

You can use them many ways, from alerts for new articles and breaking news, to offers, promotions, and activity notifications.

You can do push notifications from a mobile website, but it’s not reliable and not possible on all devices. To get their true power, on both iOS and Android devices, you need an app.

App store presence

Building your own native mobile app lets you get into the Apple App Store and Google Play.

This is big for a couple of reasons. First, it gives you another acquisition channel. People can find you and download your app straight from the app stores.

Second, it’s a statement of credibility for your brand. You’re no longer just another random website. You position yourself as a serious and established brand, with your own iOS and Android app.

This is a power you can leverage to sell more products, subscriptions, or just get people to think of your site as an authority in your field.

3 Options to Turn a WordPress Website to Mobile Apps

So, we’re assuming you’ve already got a successful WordPress website, which you’ve obviously put in a lot of work to build and grow.

Now, you want to build iOS and Android mobile apps for your site. You’ve got a few options to do this, ranging in cost, difficulty and complexity.

Let’s break each option down for you.

Rebuild natively

First, you can build an entire app from scratch. This requires proficiency in a mobile programming language, or access to mobile developers.

The advantage of this is it lets you completely customize every corner of your mobile app. But the cons far outweigh the pros.

For one, building a native app from scratch takes a massive amount of time and money. Double that if you want to build mobile apps for both iOS and Android.

A project like this will set you back 6+ months and tens of thousands of dollars.

That’s if nothing goes wrong, and you’re able to find the right developers to stick with your project through to the end.

Let’s say you’re ok with that. You’re going to end up with multiple platforms, and you’ll need to manage and update each one separately.

Building natively is really only something you want to consider if you’re starting out with an app. To build a WordPress mobile app, you’ll want to go in another direction.

No-code app builders

If you don't have the expertise to develop an app on staff, you can use a no-code app builder, which lets you build mobile or web apps without coding.

So, if you don’t want to spend tens of thousands on mobile app developers, you could use one of these tools to build your app.

However, you still have the problem of separate platforms. You change something on your site, you have to change it on your mobile app too. It’s a lot of work keeping each platform in sync.

And while no-code tools cut down the technical barrier for entry to create an app, it still takes a lot of time and effort to piece together a functional and professional mobile app.

MobiLoud

The best choice to convert your existing WordPress site to mobile apps is MobiLoud.

MobiLoud is a WordPress mobile app builder with a twist. It’s specifically designed to convert websites to Android/iOS apps, as opposed to building a new app from the ground up.

That means your app content will match what's on your site, and you can keep using the same WordPress plugins, themes, and any other functionality.

The process takes just a few weeks, and costs a tiny fraction of what it does to hire mobile developers.

All you need to do is make a few small decisions as to how your app looks and feels - for example, your menus and native tab layout.

At the end, you’ll have fully functional mobile apps for Android and iOS, complete with unlimited push notifications, published in the app stores.

Best of all, you’ll only have one platform to manage. You update or make a change on your site, your app changes as well.

A WordPress App Builder for Any Kind of WordPress Site

MobiLoud allows any site to create mobile apps.

For news sites, digital magazines, and other online publishers, there’s MobiLoud News. News lets anyone create a news app, just like you’d see from a brand like The New York Times or The Guardian.

Brands like Foreign Policy, Simple Flying and Business Insider NL all use MobiLoud News to power their successful mobile apps.

Ecommerce stores are covered with MobiLoud for Ecommerce. This is a mobile app plugin that allows you to build an app that syncs seamlessly with your website. It's perfect to convert your WooCommerce store to mobile apps.

Fashion brand John Varvatos used it to launch their own app, to huge success.

For all other sites, MobiLoud is a flexible solution for any use case. It encases your site within native mobile elements, allowing you to go from WordPress to app, fast and cost-efficient.

MobiLoud: WordPress to App in 5 Steps

We promised it would be easy. You don’t need a huge app development budget to build an app for your site. It’s just 5 easy steps with MobiLoud.

1 - Book a demo

Start by getting in touch with our team to see how it works, and figure out the best fit for your site.

2 - Customize

If you’re ready to go ahead, sign up and customize how you want your apps to look, feel and work, through the news/ecommerce WordPress plugins and the MobiLoud dashboard.

3 - Wait

You wait just a couple of weeks while we build your apps.

4 - Test

When your apps are ready, we’ll give you the chance to test them, and come back to us with anything you want changed for the final version.

5 - Publish

Once it’s all done, we’ll publish your apps to Google Play and the Apple App Store. With the experience of submitting thousands of apps, we can guarantee approval for yours.

Wrapping Up: Why You Should Use MobiLoud's WordPress App Builder

App development is long, difficult and expensive.

MobiLoud, however, is an efficient, cost-effective and user-friendly way to build high-quality mobile apps from WordPress websites.

Unlike building from scratch, we help you convert your WordPress site to mobile apps, meaning less work up front, and less maintenance long-term.

And MobiLoud is not just a one-and-done WordPress app builder - we’re a service. We stay with you after the initial build, ensuring that you’re covered whenever there’s something you want changed, or you make an update that affects your app.

If you build an app separately, you’ve got to consider the ongoing cost of keeping developers on hand for updates and maintenance. This is not cheap - it’s another way that MobiLoud saves you a massive amount of time and energy in the long run.

Book a demo call with one of our team today, and see how easy it really is to build and launch your own WordPress mobile app.