Questions
Hello,
I was wondering to what extent the main page could be customizable.
Could the prices in the cart be more expensive than on the computer version to make up for the big cut that Apple takes?
I read that third party addons could be included by adding their corresponding webpages but oftentimes, said addon doesn’t have its own webpage; instead it just adds a feature to a page.
Is the app very technical to set up? I suspect that you offer a monthly management option because it might be.
Thank you!
Hi Anne-Sophie, good questions!
Customizing the main page: you decide what the app opens on. It can be the community feed, a custom screen you build from widgets in WP Admin (feed, spaces, courses, events, headings, images, links and so on, in any order), or any page from your website, which opens inside the app already logged in. The same goes for every tab and menu item. Colors come from your Fluent Community theme, and you set your own logo, icon and splash screen.
Prices and Apple's cut: it depends on what you're selling.
Sold through Apple/Google in-app purchase (they take a cut):
- Memberships and subscriptions
- Paid spaces and courses
- Anything that unlocks content inside the app
- Group classes, webinars and cohorts
Sold through your own store checkout in the app (no cut, same price as your website):
- Physical products and merch
- Tickets to in-person events
- Services that happen in real life
- One-on-one sessions like coaching or private lessons
For the in-app purchase items, you set the app price separately from your website price, so yes, you can charge a bit more in the app to cover the cut. For most small businesses Apple's cut is 15%. Everything in the second list goes through your normal checkout, so there's no cut and nothing to adjust.
Third-party add-ons: it depends on how the add-on works. If it has its own page, that page opens inside the app and works out of the box. If it changes what Fluent itself sends out, like adding content to posts or profiles, a lot of that shows up in the app automatically. If it only changes how Fluent's web pages look, it may need some custom work, or we just show that part as a page from your website inside the app. The easiest way to find out is to send us the plugin. We'll install it on our test site and show you how it looks in the app, and whether it works as is, needs a web page, or needs custom work.
Is it technical to set up? Honestly, it's more about patience than being tech savvy. Either way, managed or doing it yourself, you have to set up your own Apple and Google developer accounts (both paid). After that it's mostly grabbing some keys and connecting a few sites, and our setup dashboard walks you through it. We use it ourselves to set up every managed client, so we keep making it simpler.
The part that takes patience is the app stores. Apple reviews every app and sometimes goes back and forth with questions. They like a short video walkthrough of your app with the submission. Google requires new developer accounts to run a closed test with 12 testers for 14 days before you can go live. So even if setup were one button, there's still that stage of working with the stores. If you're patient, it's very doable.
If you'd rather not deal with any of it, our managed option covers all of that for you. Either way, everything is on YOUR accounts, so you can always switch from managed to doing it yourself later and buy the source.
Happy to answer anything else!