In Episode 65, we are diving into the world of apps. And to take us on this journey, we are bringing in Brian Messenlehner, co-founder WebDevStudios and AppPresser to give us some tips on helping you decide if your online store is app ready. We all know how critical it is for any retail site to be mobile-friendly, and that app will not only get you to that point, but will take it even further with customer engagement.

We chatted about:

* Two key factors to determine if your online store is ready for an app

* What you should consider when you hear people saying Another app? I don’t need another app on my phone.

* The features you should look for when deciding on creating that app

* The benefits of using a product like AppPresser vs. having a developer customize it from the ground up

* The top feature of using AppPresser

* Some of the bigger app failures Brian as witnessed himself online

Thanks to Our Podcast Sponsor: Bluehost

Transcript

You can also download a pdf of the full transcript here: WordPress eCommerce Show Episode 65 April 4 2107

Bob Dunn: Hey everyone welcome back to the WP commerce show,. Bob Dunn here, also known as Bob WP on the web. Today we are talking about mobile apps, more specifically mobile apps for online stores. I’m sure you have a few on your phone and often debate about adding yet another one. But today what we want to talk about is if your online store doesn’t have an app, is it time? And how can you know if it is? Well, to help us answer this ongoing question, we are bringing in Brian Messenlehner, who is co-founder of WebDevStudios, co-founder of AppPresser, and author of the book Building Web Apps with WordPress. Hey, Brian, welcome to the show.

Brian Messenlehner: Hey, Bob. Thanks for having me, and hey, everybody.

Bob: So, Brian, I talked a bit about who you are, a very little bit. Can you tell us more of what you do, especially in the world of mobile apps?

Meet Brian Messenlehner, Co-founder of WebDev Studios and AppPresser

Brian: Sure. So, like you mentioned I’m the co-founder of a company called AppPresser. At AppPresser, we have a series of WordPress plugins that allow you to build a mobile app with WordPress. Some people may be thinking,  “How does that work?”. Well, we are leveraging a platform for building mobile apps called PhoneGap. And if you think of WordPress as open source for building websites, PhoneGap is open source for building mobile apps. The idea behind PhoneGap is you build it once and it works across all of the mobile platforms, which is iOS and Android. All AppPresser is, is just a bridge between WordPress and PhoneGap.

Does every online retailer need a mobile app?

Bob: Very cool. And I know that a lot of people are struggling with whether they should even do an app for their online store. Let’s start out with a couple of key factors that a shop owner should watch for that tells them, “Hey it’s time for you to get that app for your online store.” I’m not sure if it’s the number of products, the sales, just when and where does this come in?

Brian: If you’re selling anything online, then you should probably have an app where you could sell those products as well. I wouldn’t say there’s necessarily any right time to introduce an app, but if you’re selling products through your website,