Want to build an app? Gone are the days of needing to hire an expensive
mobile app developer. Do-it-yourself (DIY) app builders let businesses
craft their own apps with no technical skills required. While developing
a robust app from scratch can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands
of dollars, DIY app-making platforms enable budget-conscious businesses
to build functional mobile apps at a fraction of the cost. Below are
some of the best app creators available for businesses to create their
own apps and connect with customers on their mobile devices.
BuildFire
BuildFire aims to make it easy for small businesses to create their own
mobile apps. The service offers two ways to build an app: do it
yourself or have a BuildFire app developer do it for you for free. To
build an app yourself, use BuildFire's "click and edit" dashboard, a
no-coding platform that lets anyone with zero tech skills create a high
quality, engaging app in minutes. There users can easily change designs,
colors, layouts, content and more. To have a BuildFire developer create
your app, just enter your website's URL and your app will be ready for
publishing within two business days.
BuildFire apps come with several small business-friendly features, such
as push notifications, calendar integration, streaming video, m-commerce and e-commerce,
a mobile website and more. The company also offers a white label
service, which gives businesses their own branded apps instead of one
carrying the BuildFire brand. The benefits of having a white label app
includes increased brand recognition and full control over how your app
looks to better represent your business and its offerings. Additionally,
the white label program gives users a branded dashboard for a more
brand-focused experience, as opposed to the platform's default BuildFire
formatted dashboard. [How Much Does it Cost to Build a Mobile App?]
What makes BuildFire stand out is its customer service. First, the
company has a US-based customer service team that offers live support.
Second, a representative will also contact you (by phone or email) once
your app is built to guide you through the publishing process or if you
need any other type of assistance.
BuildFire is free to use, but the free is limited to an HTML5 Web app. A
paid Premium plan ($49 per month) is required to create an iPhone, iPad
or Android app and includes free submission to the app store.
Como
Como, formerly Conduit Mobile, is a three-in-one app maker that lets
all types of businesses create, promote and manage mobile apps. Its
redesigned app development platform — called the Como Console — makes it
easy to build professional-looking apps using a collection of themes,
colors, icons, layouts, styles and backgrounds. It also offers several
features to help you run your business, such as the ability to accept
in-app mobile payments via MyCheck, enable customers to place in-app
orders with Online Ordering, and track customer deliveries with Bringg.
In addition to being a DIY mobile app builder, Como also helps with app
distribution and management. First, Como's Marketing Genie provides a
wide range of services to promote your app on- and offline. This
includes Facebook advertising campaigns, as well as in-store promotions
using QR codes, window stickers, certificates and other print materials.
Como's management dashboard, on the other hand, lets businesses track
app performance and oversee user activities like customer reservations,
orders, deliveries, coupons, loyalty cards, in-app sales and other
revenue-generating activities.
Como apps are available for all major mobile devices. A recent
partnership with Amazon also makes it possible to publish Como apps at
the Amazon Appstore for download on Kindle Fire devices. It's free to
build apps on Como for up to five downloads. For unlimited downloads and
to build feature-rich apps, paid plans start at $33 a month.
Taplytics
The Taplytics platform is a native mobile A/B testing solution that
offers the ability for entire teams — from product managers to designers
and developers — to update apps without the use of code or the need for
approvals, enabling businesses to focus on their core jobs in a
streamlined platform. Taplytics is designed to provide instant app
updates using the web-based Visual App Editor.
The latest version of Taplytics offers several new functionalities including on-devices menus, custom goals and code-based experiments. These additions give mobile teams the necessary information to run successful apps and experiments.
The latest version of Taplytics offers several new functionalities including on-devices menus, custom goals and code-based experiments. These additions give mobile teams the necessary information to run successful apps and experiments.
Taplytic offers a free trial and packages range from Free for the Basic
up to $100 per month for the Scale package with unlimited everything.
appsbar
appsbar is an app maker and publisher that lets users create native
Android apps, as well as HTML5 apps for iOS, Windows Phone and
BlackBerry devices. It is backed by a team of app developers that makes
sure you have the best app possible for your business.
Creating an app on appsbar is a three-step process. First, select from one of 37 app types, such as general business, online business,
restaurant, salon, gym, event planning and more. Next, build your app
with features like menu choices, pages, multimedia, forms, social links
and other content; you can also preview your app and make changes as you
go. Lastly, submit your app for publishing and appsbar's developers
will review and enhance your app to make sure it meets app store
standards.
appsbar also makes it easy for businesses to promote their apps. Once
published, users can share their app directly from the appsbar app
builder to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and
more. In addition to major app marketplaces like the Apple App Store and
Google Play, apps can also be published at appsbar's free app
marketplace appcatch. There, customers, prospective clients and partners
can download your app as they would from any other app store.
appsbar is completely free to both create and publish DIY apps.
Appy Pie
Appy Pie is one of the fastest growing DIY mobile app-building tools
being used worldwide. Its drag-and-drop platform makes it easy to build
mobile apps for all major platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Phone and
BlackBerry. Apps are automatically published to their respective app
stores, including Appy Pie's own app marketplace.
Appy Pie apps offers business users a complete set of features to stay
connected with customers. With the Appy Pie App Maker, users can add
push notifications, social media and blog integration, photo galleries,
and sharing capabilities. Several business tools are also available,
such as an appointment scheduler; restaurant tools like OpenTable,
GrubHub and Menu builder; Passbook Coupons; GPS tracking for strategic location-based marketing; and Contact Features, which includes one-touch calling, QR code and website integration.
Appy Pie also provides a series of app management tools to better gauge
an app's performance and improve customer interactions: app analytics,
real-time revisions and updates, custom coding and app monetization.
Users can begin designing HTML5 apps on Appy Pie for free. To publish
an app, Appy Pie offers three subscription plans, starting at $7 a month
for a single app. Each plan comes with a free mobile website, and paid
plans all include customer support.
EachScape
EachScape is a browser-based drag-and-drop app builder that lets users
build custom, high-quality iOS, Android and HTML5 apps. Companies using
EachScape include NBC, CBS, E!, Discovery and Kellogg's.
Because EachScape doesn't rely on templates, its app-building platform
enables users to build customizable, feature-rich native and HTML5 apps.
These features include location-based services, push notifications,
live streaming and a wide range of social network integration beyond
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. EachScape also provides Cloud CMS to
store text, images, audio and videos that power your app, as well as a
Data Manager that works with multiple types of data sources, including
RSS and XML.
EachScape also offers advanced app management tools. For instance, with
User Manager, administrators can grant permissions to different users
to manage dedicated aspects of the app, while Third Party Analytics
enables EachScape's own analytics to integrate with Omniture, Flurry or
Google Analytics.
EachScape offers a free trial to get started.
AppMakr
AppMakr is a free DIY app-creation platform for building robust, native apps for iOS and Android — no coding required.
With AppMakr, businesses can build as many high-quality apps as they
want, with unlimited updates at no cost. Features include push
notifications, HTML 5 functionality, high-resolution photo galleries,
live updates, and branding and design customizations. Additional
features include navigation control, tab viewing and monetization.
Building an iPhone app? AppMakr also allows builders to publish a test
app to see how the app looks and feels prior to publishing it in the App
Store. Throughout the creation process, AppMakr also displays the app's
App Quality Index (AQI), a meter that indicates the likelihood that
your app will be rejected during Apple's review process.
Unlike the majority of app builders, AppMakr gives you complete
autonomy over your app – all apps created through AppMakr is published
under your own Developer Account and brand, not AppMakr.
AppMakr is free with advertisements. If you'd prefer an ad-free app
with dedicated monetization options, scroll menu navigation, custom
image or video wallpaper and other features, you can purchase a premium
account for $79 per app per month.
AppMachine
AppMachine is a cost-effective way to build a professional,
full-featured app either by yourself or with the help of designers. With
AppMachine, businesses can build apps for free and only pay for the
service when they are ready to publish.
Using AppMachine, businesses have a choice of implementing standard or
advanced features. Standard features include activities, photos, videos,
music, social media, contact information, analytics and more. Advanced
features include an online store, custom coding and Web services to enable connections to external data sources.
AppMachine starts at $499 per app published. As you build the app,
features are calculated into the price based on the final product, so
you can clearly see which features are within or outside your budget.
All plans come with Previewer, so you can view your app on your
smartphone as you build it.
Bizness Apps
Bizness Apps is an app creator suitable for almost any type of
business, including restaurants, bands, sports, real estate, legal
services, nonprofits and even religious organizations.
Built from the ground up with small businesses in mind, Bizness Apps
offers a user-friendly content-management system that lets companies
design and customize iPhone, iPad, Android and mobile Web apps.
Although you can create your own app design, Bizness Apps offers hundreds of design templates, which can also be customized. The
builder includes such features as push notifications, GPS, content
sharing, social media, mobile shopping cart, mobile reservations and
food ordering, custom email forms, mailing lists and more. You can also
use the preview feature to demo apps online or from mobile devices.
Bizness Apps also offers a plethora of convenient in-app integrations
with other business apps. For instance, you can import contacts from the
app into email marketing services such as MyEmma, MailChimp, Constant Contact, Get Response and others.
Bizness Apps costs $29 per month for a mobile website, or $59 per month
for a native and mobile app. A White Label plan is also available.
Mobile Roadie
Mobile Roadie is one of the most popular self-service app-creation
tools available to businesses. Currently used by the NFL, the NBA,
NBCUniversal, Random House, TED, EMI, Live Nation, Cirque du Soleil,
Wynn and Verizon, Mobile Roadie offers an extensive collection of
professional app features.
Using Mobile Roadie, businesses can create robust apps with advanced
features, such as geotargeted push notifications for relevant and
individualized messages, location maps to see where users are and to
filter engagement, in-app activity points and rewards, mobile marketing
tools, news updates, a fan wall with threaded posts, and chat options.
Additional features include photo uploads or galleries via Flickr,
Twitpic, Facebook and Instagram; video integration from YouTube, Vimeo,
Dailymotion and similar websites; and audio importing from iTunes,
SoundCloud and other services that allow users to buy music directly
from the app. Businesses can also create Quick Response (QR) codes that,
when scanned, can link to or unlock additional content.
Mobile Roadie's advanced analytics feature also reveals important customer data, such as what users are viewing, sharing and buying on the app, as well as their app sessions and demographics.
Mobile Roadie starts at $125 a month with restricted features and
unlimited downloads, or $667 a month for unlimited features, a mobile
Web app and other premium add-ons.
Appsme
Priding itself on its easy-to-use online app builder, Appsme is
designed to allow anyone to build fully customizable apps for any
smartphone, using native apps for iPhone and Android, and optimized
mobile websites for other platforms.
What makes Appsme stand out is its three-step process, which makes it easy for anyone without any tech skills
to build an app in just 10 minutes. In fact, Appsme says that with this
tool, building an app is just as quick and easy as setting up a
Facebook page. Appsme also eliminates the hassle of managing apps via
the Apple App Store and Google Play store by providing an install link
and QR code to distribute and share your app.
Appsme comes with standard features, such as one-touch contact options,
photo galleries, social media integration, built-in sharing and
customer rewards. You may also customize your app by uploading your own
background images and using multiple layout and style options.
It's free to create an app on Appsme and costs $25 a month to run your app.
App Factory
All about content? Mippin's App Factory is for you. Using your website,
RSS feed or Atom feed, the App Factory automatically pulls your content
so you can create an app in as little as five minutes. Just enter your
website or feed URL, upload your logo, choose your colors, and you're
set. The App Factory supports up to four website and URL feeds as
individual channels within your app. Based on its straightforward app
building process, App Factory is a no-fuss app-making process so you can
deliver content directly to your audience's mobile devices as it goes
live.
The App Factory App Pack starts at $99 per year for HTML5 Web apps for
iOS and Android, or you can upgrade to a native app for iOS, Android and
Windows for $999 per year for each platform. Need a BlackBerry app?
Mippin's BlackBerry App Generator also enables businesses to build feed-based apps for the new BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Appery.io
Appery.io is the only drag-and-drop cloud-based
platform with visual development tools and integrated back-end
services. This means that the builder runs completely in the cloud, so
there is nothing to install or download, which makes it easy to build
and launch your app.
Though it has similar features as those offered by other app-creation
services, what makes Appery.io different is that it's simple enough to
use that anyone without any programming skills can figure it out, but it
also includes advanced features for developers.
For instance, using jQuery Mobile and HTML 5 components within the
visual editor, novices can simply drag and drop elements for a true
what-you-see-is-what-you-get experience.
Developers, however, can perform more advanced functions, such as add
and delete cloud databases and plugins; edit source code; use custom
coding; export the app as HTML; or build a binary for Android and iOS.
Appery.io builds real HTML5, jQuery Mobile and Hybrid apps for Android,
iOS and Windows Phone. It is free for one project and starts at $15 a
month for three projects.
GameSalad
Want to get in on the gaming-app craze? GameSalad is a popular
drag-and-drop app builder that allows anyone to build a robust gaming
app — no coding necessary.
After downloading the free GameSalad Creator, you can start building
your game using its drag-and-drop interface and library of behaviors and
game elements. Using its In-App Previewer, users can test game logics
and behavior sets on their desktop or mobile devices for a full,
real-life gaming experience. According to GameSalad, users can build a
game in hours instead of weeks and months.
Publishing options include iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle, Nook, Windows
8 and Mac desktop. You may also publish your game online to the
GameSalad Arcade and widen your reach over the Web outside of these
platforms.
GameSalad's free version includes the GameSalad Creator and Viewer, as
well as Web, Mac and iOS publishing. The Pro version comes with
additional features — such as Android and Windows 8 publishing, Twitter
TweetSheet, external links, iOS in-app purchases and Game Center — for
$299 per year.
Originally published on Business News Daily
Source : http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4901-best-app-makers-creators.html