How to Build a WordPress Mobile App
You can easily build a WordPress mobile app, here’s how!
WordPress-powered mobile apps are in vogue, but there is much more than meets the eyes. Many of those using WordPress, are keen to leverage the platform for mobile with the help of App Builders and Custom Hybrid Apps.
One should have a seamless flow in extracting content from WordPress to the app so that with the website updates, the app is updated simultaneously. For example, for every online magazine, one should be able to publish new articles to the app instantly. Every change to the website should be applied to the app without any manual action and hassle.
Some app builders utilize third-party content management system where app content can be created. One can use WordPress as the CMS itself, and there is no need for third-party CMS in any way.
How to Create a WordPress Mobile App
Here are several ways to build a WordPress mobile app:
1. Use of themes and plugins
WordPress users use plugins and themes for website customization and do not always work well for mobile apps. Hence clients approach developers to mimic their WordPress website for mobile apps. But a client using a plugin like BuddyPress to create social networks would be at a loss to understand how the same experience can be extended to a mobile app. For any event or e-commerce plugin, the mobile app needs to include counterpart plugins too.
Integrating website features with WordPress plugins is quite difficult. But there are plugins that can leverage WordPress into a mobile app – hybrid app technology, PhoneGap and the like.
Themes and plugins can automatically behave like mobile apps for WordPress.
2. App Builders
App builders facilitate mobile app creation with no coding and minimal technical expertise. If you don’t need customized ones, then these app builders are a good fit – Mobile Roadie, Good Barber, Reactor, Telerik AppBuilder – each offering multiple features to integrate posts and comments from WordPress.
Using an app builder to create a WordPress mobile app is a viable option.
To utilize WordPress content in your app, an app builder is a good option for non-techies. App builders can be used without having to hire a WordPress mobile app developer. But if you need customizations to the app or WordPress plugins, app builders would not work well with your needs.
3. Custom Hybrid App
The WordPress REST API is powerful enough to run any mobile app from.
To create custom hybrid apps, one can use the Ionic Framework and the WP-API. Hybrid apps use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which is then wrapped with PhoneGap for accessibility to native device features, and compilation for app stores.
These apps are like single page web applications that can extract WordPress content through an API, which is the WP-API. This API is a JSON REST API for WordPress that makes content easy to use in any external application, including mobile apps. They facilitate two-way communication for creating posts and comment approvals from the mobile app.
4. Additional Solutions
Some platforms like Worona are free to use and help WordPress users to convert their sites to mobile-ready ones easily.
Delivering compelling mobile experiences is important just as responsive design is crucial to smart mobility. Such platforms deliver the standout mobile experience, providing online dashboards to create and customize the mobile app in a few clicks. They also merge mobile-related apps to a single platform.
The platforms are loaded with a variety of extensions and functionalities that enhance the quality and experience of the mobile app including push notifications, ads, and analytics. The themes are customizable in a very simple way as all the changes are visible in real-time. Choose colours, images, categories, and the like to make the WordPress mobile app, a worthy and efficient one. One can even create and use personalized themes for the specific brand for better results, as there are several platforms that offer varied themes to match your requirements.
Author bio
Juned Ghanchi is the founder and CEO of IndianAppDevelopers, a leading mobile app development company based in India. He loves writing interesting articles on mobile technology in his free time.
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Developing WordPress-powered mobile apps is not a easy task.thanks to this article its help me alot.
Yes, you are right that. This API is a JSON REST API for WordPress that makes content easy to use in any external application, including mobile apps. They facilitate two-way communication for creating posts and comment approvals from the mobile app