Steve Smith, host of your Technology Questions Answered, talks about creating your very own mobile applcation, for free.
Episode #2-07 released on October 30, 2011
If you have a web-site and want to interact with your public, what you need is a mobile application, and I'm going to give you the hook up today, on Technology Questions Answered.
Today, I'm going to explain to you how to get your very own, made for free, mobile application for your web-site. I'll explain a few steps you will need to go through in order to complete such an application, and best of all, no programming required from your part, to make the application.
First, content, you're going to need content for your application. If you have a blog, weekly podcast, daily articles, etc... then this is easy, you've been busy making this content you'll use to make your application. If you have a simple business site, and very little content, your going to have to find a way to make more content. Content is the single most important tool you can use to optimize your web-site on search engines, and you need content to make a successful application. I am not talking about gaming applications today. I'm talking about applications that allow for your public to interact with you, and allow you to all stay connected.
Once you have your content, I do suggest you make it accessible through a RSS feed. Blog and content management software normally have RSS feeds built dynamically for you. If you have a Youtube channel, like myself, it, too, has a RSS feed.
Now, register at mobile.conduit.com. You'll be able to add your web-site address on the homepage to start making your application. I do have a few hints for you to make a working mobile application. Take your time, keep in mind people want content and a look that has been thought out. Don't rush anything, you have plenty of time. You can also test your application by visiting the address that Conduit gives you. This address points to your HTML5 version of your mobile application. This is only one of the many versions they currently provide, I'll get into those details later.
When making your application, and choosing your colors, make sure that they are clearly visible and contrast well. This is important if you intend to submit your applications to application markets, because most Quality Assurance Departments reject hard to read applications. You'll also need content that corresponds with standard language restricts like no swearing, or vulgar language. You should never have any photos depicting violence, sexual acts, or containing nudity, as most application markets you'll be interested in adding your application to, will not authorize such content. To give you an idea, there are more than 300 million active user accounts on iTunes, in the United States and Canada, alone. This means if your application contains content making it unable to comply to normal Quality Assurance requirements, this is a public you'll be unable to attain.
Once you've completed your application, you'll have to create screen shots of your application. This is easy with an iPhone or iPad. Within your application preview tap the home and power button for just a second, and it'll take a picture of your screen. Do this several times to different parts of your application. Use a program like Photoshop or Gimp and create a custom startup screen and application icon, and post this information within the Conduit Mobile Marketing Info section. This information is used to generate the mobile and browser page for your application on Conduit. You have a minimum of 4 images to do. One logo, one startup screen, and two application screen shots. If you wish to create a tablet version in the information, you will have to create another startup screen for tablets, and 2 more screen shots.
Once all this is submitted, you have a working HTML5 application. You can end here, and it'll all be free. I'm sure some of you want to add your application to a few application markets, and I've been through the registration process of a few, and passed several QA reviews. Want to know what it looks like from the other side, continue listening.
The application markets you have access to right now in Conduit with their on-site application generator are Android, iPhone/iPad, Nokia and Bada. An Android developer license costs only $25USD. An iOS license will set you back $100USD/Year. Nokia's OVI developer license only costs 1.00 Euro, and Bada is free.
Now, I've experimented with OVI for the last month, and with virtually no advertising I have generated over 1400 downloads with an application I created for that specific market that only contains information on my podcast. I've just launched a Conduit made application in the last few days, and I have numerous downloads already. Ovi by Nokia covers Europe and Asia. Android has access to the world, and so does Apple's iOS. Your HTML5 application, however, is free and easily accessible to everyone around the planet, regardless of location. So how do you decide what to do? Experiment if you have about $150 to burn, or convince someone to use their license to promote your application.
Now, advertising your application is going to be important in your want people to use it. So adding a section on your web-site or a link to your application page made by Conduit, is going to help. You also need to continue putting the word out. To visit our application, head over to m.zedaxis.net. I created a specific address that routes traffic to my Conduit browser page. This is something you can also do, as well.
The next three weeks will be dedicated to generating revenue. Next week, I'll talk about generating revenue on your web-site, the week after, I'll talk about generating revenue within a podcast, and lastly, I'll talk about generating revenue from your mobile applications.
If you have any questions, comments, stories, or suggestions. If you want to join our weekly newsletter, or want to see our show notes, or find other ways to subscribe to our weekly show, head over to www.zedaxis.net.
This has been your Technology Questions Answered. Stay Safe and Online.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : Jonny Lee Hart | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Productions