New platform for those with little coding experience in developing mobile apps
By 2020 the mobile app market is projected to reach around USD 190 billion in revenues through in-app advertising, whereby apps may be offered freely, and app stores where users typically pay for downloads. However, there remains a gap for users without coding experience wanting to develop apps themselves. The King of App Version 1.0 was the first and only CMS for mobile app creation. The tool also allowed more experienced programmers and designers to create or customise additional templates and modules for clients or sell them through the King of App store. EU support has enabled King of App to upgrade to Version 2, which now has an online code editor, avoiding the need to install additional software. Whereas V1 had 50 pre-built elements for app creation, V2 offers 600. Themes, modules and services The starting point for the King of App (Launching the First Open Source Mobile Content Management System for Apps) project was the realisation that it proved expensive to develop apps because there were not enough app developers, and a solution could lie with enabling web developers to do so. As project coordinator Mr Xavier Barata says, “We started by creating a tool that utilised the same knowledge and technology that web designers use to create websites, but for fully customised apps. In short we converted web technology to app technology, to make the app equivalent to WordPress.” King of App offers a platform with a pre-built base for the integration of three types of elements, by following basic selection rules: themes, modules and services. Templates allow users to define the look and feel, while modules add functionalities. Services are executed in the background, collecting data, or triggered to appear for specific actions such as push notifications or analytics. The V2 package also includes an automatic publishing and signing system, using the developers’ own id. “Being open source, users have access to the code and, once downloaded and converted, these users become app owners - something of a paradigm shift for this type of technology,” says Barata. King of App follows a freemium business model meaning that app creation is free, as are the templates and modules, saving money and time, as with the automatic compilation and publication service, allowing app creation in minutes, as opposed to hours if done manually. The combination of these elements, along with free access to the code, allows users to adapt or create apps cheaply - currently EUR 50 per app, per year - while letting web developers create fully customised iOS and Android apps for customers. A new digital marketplace While helping to popularise mobile access amongst citizens, King of App should also help kick-start a new digital marketplace for the creative industries, such as software companies and advertising, previously precluded from taking part due to entry costs. This will create new jobs and strengthen the mobile industry. To date, King of App has more than 12 000 apps created via its platform with customers in more than 55 countries. It continues to grow as it becomes an industry standard for app creation. Looking to the future, Barata says, “We want to give platform access to new disruptive technologists, while developing new tools that engage brands and users, such as our new automated push or mobile analytics.”
Keywords
King of App, WordPress, mobile, disrupter, creative industries, open source, app store, download, code, modules, programming
