PLAN
You need to decide 5 things when you plan your app:
- What's the right content?
- Where will it come from? An existing website database? A book or brochure?
- How should we organize it?
- Will any of it need to be edited for mobile presentation?
- If you are creating an app and not just a mobile website, will it be free, paid, or free with paid add-ons?
Mobile is for planning too!
What's the right content?
This helpful guide will help you get started. It depends on the purpose of your mobile app or website. A general guide is to include all the basics to help customers explore. A theme-based app can help consumers find your goods and services quickly.
You may hear people say that a mobile website or app is just for people when they're "on the street" trying to find something to do or see what's nearby. Our usage data shows otherwise - depending on your destination, well over 50% of your app or website usage may be outside your area. People are using mobile to explore and plan.
Where will it come from?
You might already have business listings, offers and events in a database for your website. If so, you're in luck - we can import them directly into your app. If you are a publisher or you have content in electronic publishing files like InDesign or QuarkXPress (not in a database), you can copy and paste content and format it for mobile publication. It's a bit more work, but it's still a simple process. Audio and video content used for a website or tour can normally be re-used for your mobile solution with no or minimal re-formatting.
How should we organize it?
The content in your mobile website and native apps will usually not be organized exactly the same as it is on your main website or printed material. That doesn't mean you can't import it directly from your website, but it does mean that we should give some thought to the right organizational structure for mobile users.
- Mobile has to be simpler, because users are often in the middle of doing something else. They need to get in quickly, find the information they need, and continue with their original task.
- Mobile screens can't handle all the links and choices you might put on your desktop website's home page.
- People can get lost more easily on your mobile version, so we have to keep the navigation process very simple.
- It will be used as an introductory guide with additional content available through in-app purchase.
We've done a lot of the work for you to establish best practices for structuring your content so that it's intuitive and easy. The structure is also flexible, and we think you'll find that our approach works well.
Will any of it need to be edited for mobile presentation?
You will likely have some content that is unique to your mobile app, this mobile-specific content can most easily be edited than imported.
If you are creating an app, will it be free, paid, or free with paid add-ons?
If you are creating native apps for iOS or Android, you have a choice whether to offer them for free or for sale. Some of our customers, have decided to offer a basic app for free, which has all the same content that's already available for free on their website. They also offer a paid version that includes content from several extra's that you would have to pay for. In either case, you can choose to offer paid add-on modules for your app. This has worked well for many of our customers.
Consider Free if...
- Your app serves primarily to promote tourism to an area.
- It consists of content freely available on the web.
- It can be paid for through fees from business or destinations that are included in the app, or through major sponsorships.
- It will be used as an introductory guide with additional content available through in-app purchase.
Consider Paid if...
- It includes content which is also available for sale as a book or brochure.
- It consists of content freely available on the web.
- It can't easily be supported through advertising or sponsorship.
- It will be used as an introductory guide with additional content available through in-app purchase.
What price to charge?
That's up to you, but we do know from Apple that few apps that cost more than $1.99 sell in large volumes, and $.99 is optimum.