Testimony Share built a successful website for Christians all over the world to share stories and experiences about their faith. But today, like many companies, they’re being forced to adapt to the changing ways we consume content and interact online.
Emory, editor at Testimony Share, went in search of an option to better connect with younger users, who prefer mobile over desktop. That’s what brought Testimony Share in touch with MobiLoud.
The result? A 5 star mobile app, and a simple way for Testimony Share to maintain touch with their users.
The Story of Testimony Share – Nearly 20 Years Running
Testimony Share was launched in 2004. This made them early movers in terms of both WordPress and the internet as a whole. The team behind it wanted an easy way to let people post Christian testimonies and stories about their faith.
After a slow start, the site really gained momentum in 2011. In the time since, it has become a thriving community, featuring a vast array of moving stories from people all over the world.
Yet with time comes the need to adapt. Which is what led them to look for a way to expand past the basic capabilities of WordPress.
Why They Expanded Their Site to Mobile Apps
“We were thinking how this would work as an app. As an SEO practitioner I’m very aware that Google is changing, and we are always trying to find ways to find the right audience.”
Many organizations today are coming to the realization that desktop websites are not the be all and end all anymore.
At one point, it became clear that you HAD to have a website for your business. Today, the realization is that you have to find a way to connect with mobile users.
“The app gives us exposure to a whole new group of users, like younger people who always prefer an app instead of searching on a PC.”
Emory and the team were trying to ensure they didn’t lose touch with the changing habits of their target audience. The way to do that was by launching Android and iOS mobile apps, which would allow them to connect with a younger, smartphone-centric generation of users.
MobiLoud vs the Competition
“I design WordPress sites and I don’t want to get into app development. It will probably take time, preparing and rolling updates every time a new iOS version comes out, there could be some downtime and people could leave bad reviews. I didn’t want to get into that. Not only that, but I felt like these other companies won’t support me.”
Emory realized that building an app was the way to go. However, there are many difficulties involved with app development, which Emory was acutely aware of.
For one thing, as a non-profit, Testimony Share didn’t have the resources to handle full-stack app development in-house. But not only is it a huge job building mobile apps in the first place, it’s an ongoing headache, requiring constant updates and maintenance. If they were not on top of this, it could prove damaging to their brand.
It’s clear they needed a tool to help convert the Testimony Share website to mobile apps. There are many options out there, and it was the service element that really separated MobiLoud from the pack.
“I looked at different solutions before going with MobiLoud. We found that most companies were selling something that’s cheaper than MobiLoud, but they give you tools in a way that you’d need to build the app by yourself.”
MobiLoud offers the hands-on service that an organization like Testimony Share needs, both in setting up the app and maintaining it. Most other app builders, despite offering a pretty drag-and-drop interface builder, leave you on your own with very little support.
This makes a huge difference. While other tools might seem more affordable, the extra time investment and difficulty you face with a DIY approach makes them more costly in the long run.
Testimony Share mobile app built by MobiLoud
The Result – 20+ 5 Star Reviews
“You can see people are really thrilled about the app from the comments in our reviews.”
Testimony Share’s app turned out to be everything they – and their users – wanted.
It’s garnered more than 20 perfect reviews, with a number of positive comments from reviewers who love the ability to share and read stories via the app.
It was also a huge plus for Emory and the team with how easy it was to maintain the app. They could continue to manage content from their WordPress dashboard as usual, while the MobiLoud team handled any of the technical issues that come with app development.
How to Convert Your Own Site to Mobile Apps
“By going with MobiLoud you know if there’s a problem, someone will get back to you with a solution – versus other DIY alternatives where you are stuck with those problems and users potentially won’t be able to use the app. The potential effects of that kind of damage can be pretty lingering.”
If you own or run a site on WordPress, or any platform, MobiLoud is the best option. It’s dramatically cheaper and easier than native app development, and the service element is ahead of any other app builder on the market.
Get in touch now to schedule a free demo, and get an idea of how mobile apps – and MobiLoud – can benefit you.
Publishers like The Pharmaceutical Journal have unique challenges to face. There’s the need to keep up with consumers’ demand for digital-first products, and having to do so with minimal technical and financial resources.
For more than ten years, they were trying to keep their head above water with a custom-built app that was expensive, difficult to maintain and didn’t give them full ownership of their content.
Recently they switched to MobiLoud, and realized that they could put out a high-quality, professional product for less effort and resource allocation. Read on to learn more about their journey.
What They Needed From a Mobile App
The Pharmaceutical Journal is the official journal of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, a professional leadership body for pharmacists in Great Britain. The site produces news content, research and learning material for their members.
The journal had been running a print version since 1841, which was retired in 2001 as they embarked on a digital transformation journey – a quest to become a modern, digital-first publication.
Alongside the website, they had an app for some time, which was built and put out by a third party who would take PDFs of their web content, extract the content in XML format and put it into an app platform.
This publishing workflow was difficult to manage, as Director Tony Scully states:
“The first generation of the app was very resource and production intensive. We had very limited ability to be able to add value to the content in the app or even just to correct errors or make changes.”
“It was outside of our tech stack, so it was a bit disjointed and our production and editorial teams had no way to access that content.”
In 2019 they moved their site from a proprietary platform to WordPress, to simplify things and take more control over their content. They saw this as as an opportunity to migrate their app to a platform that was easier to work with and didn’t leave their user experience in the hands of a third party.
“While we have peculiarities as an organization, our problems aren’t unique. We produce content, we want to reach an audience, we want to have a good experience, we want to have access to our content and so my default position is to look for things that are as off the shelf as possible.”
The Unique Challenges for a Non-Profit Publisher
The Pharmaceutical Journal is a non-profit organization. They aim to deliver high-quality content and a great user experience, but have to do so with limited financial resources – as well as a tiny development team with no mobile app development expertise.
“The consumer, they’ll subscribe to the New York Times for a dollar a month and get access to content being produced by a team of 1200 journalists and with a tech team of probably thousands as well. And here we are a team of 20-25 and I’ve got two people working on product, and we’ve got to be somewhat comparable to the product that organizations thousands of times bigger than us can produce.”
They weren’t sure if it was possible to provide a New York Times-level digital experience with such a limited budget, and the need to provide results for as little investment as possible.
How MobiLoud Made a Difference
Tony found MobiLoud, and found the cheat code to be able to offer an amazing app experience without a massive investment.
With MobiLoud, they got an app that was directly integrated with their WordPress site. Instead of a custom build separate to their website, MobiLoud allowed them to manage their app content through WordPress.
“What was very attractive about MobiLoud, one the confidence you have in working with WordPress, but also the cost model. We’re a not for profit organization, and MobiLoud had a very attractive pricing structure, fixed price and considerably lower cost than some of the proposals we received.”
Instead of an over-engineered, expensive app that was difficult to control, they got a simple app that achieved everything they needed, fit within their price constraints, and didn’t require additional dev work from their small technical team.
Initial Results
The Pharmaceutical Journal mobile app built by MobiLoud
Tony’s team are putting the final touches on their rollout strategy, but have already seen positive results from their new app, most notably the difference their team notices in how they’re able to manage and control the app.
“We’re in soft launch currently, and I think a lot of the benefits with this app will be felt internally. That means being able to review and access and manage the user experience on the app in ways that previously with our legacy app we weren’t able to do. We were working through a third party and trying to make changes and it was just never possible.”
It’s also looking good from the test groups they’ve rolled the app out to. Their previous apps had a lot of issues, leading to a large number of negative reviews on the App Store and Google Play Store, but the new version has been much more user-friendly.
“We were able to get direct feedback from members in small samples and we had about 95% or 19 of 20 gave a positive response for accessibility and usability.”
Choose MobiLoud for Cost-Effective Native Apps
For non-profit organizations, as well as small and medium-sized businesses, building an app feels like a catch-22 situation.
You feel like you need to provide the same kind of experience people get from big brands’ apps in order to stay relevant. But doing so requires massive amounts of time and money, plus development expertise you don’t have.
MobiLoud is the perfect solution. You get an app that’s 95% of what you’d get with a custom build, yet you can manage it all from one codebase, saving you $500k+ and letting you manage and iterate on your app through your website.
“We’re looking for quality, however we’re a small organization, so to be able to produce something that our members value, as the size of organization that we are, and with the budgets that I have available, to me has been a real positive experience.”
If you want to get a professional-standard mobile app, for low cost, little effort and with minimal overhead, get in touch with us.
Schedule a free demo now, and we’ll show you a free preview of your app, and give you a guided walk through the process of launching amazing native apps with MobiLoud.
Medium Large Sports Media, a mid-sized digital sports publisher covering teams like the Lakers, Dodgers, and also the NHL, had wanted to launch mobile apps for years. They struggled with resource constraints and technical complexity, putting the project consistently on the back burner.
With 70-80% of their traffic coming from mobile users, they knew apps were essential for user retention and engagement. MobiLoud helped them finally achieve this long-desired goal with minimal operational overhead.
Launched apps after years of delays due to resource constraints
Eliminated the need for an in-house development team or costly contractors
Created a “baked-in” presence on users’ phones for better retention
Seamless WordPress integration with push notifications
“MobiLoud did the heavy lifting, from build to launch, so we got a lightning-fast app without slowing our newsroom down. Fans love it; we’ve had zero complaints since day one.” – Ian Chin, Co-Founder & Managing Director
The Roadblock
Medium Large Sports Media had been wanting to launch mobile apps for 4-5 years, but faced multiple barriers that kept the project on the back burner. As Ian Chin, founder and managing director, explained:
“We’re a medium-sized company. So our resources are limited, and our time is limited. And we’ve got 17 full-time guys and three part-time guys. And 18 of them create content. And then me, my bookkeeper, and my ad guy run the entire business.”
The challenges were clear: limited budget, no in-house app development expertise, and the overwhelming technical complexity of building and maintaining native apps.
The cost of custom development at $150-300 per hour wasn’t feasible for a sports media business with tight margins. And internally, all their team was focused on content and business operations. Ian himself had to handle server management and web development in the early days of the business.
Yet 70-80% of their audience was on mobile. And Ian recognized (drawing from his own habits), that people preferred to get their sports news and content from apps. So they needed to find a solution for the technical roadblock.
Why They Chose MobiLoud
MobiLoud solved the core issues that had prevented Medium Large Sports Media from launching apps for years.
As Ian put it:
“When we first thought about apps, they didn’t have companies like yours, right? So there was no ‘app out of a box’ or stuff like that. You had to hire a developer, right? And you had to put your trust in a developer.”
The key advantages MobiLoud provided:
Eliminated technical complexity: “You guys take all that heavy lifting off my plate. And Diego goes, Ian, I need this from you. And I go, here you go.”
No need to hire developers: Removed the need to vet contractors or manage a development team
Turnkey solution: Complete handling of app submission and technical requirements
WordPress integration: Seamless synchronization with their existing content management system
“It really made it easy. And that’s what’s needed for someone like me, where technologically, I get it, but I don’t have the time to do it myself, or vet people and hire people. That’s a lot of work.”
Launch & Results
The app launches exceeded expectations, with the Lakers Nation app achieving solid adoption out of the gate, with strong engagement metrics from app users.
Users are spending approximately 10 minutes per session and returning about 6 times per month – impressive numbers for a sports media app.
Most importantly, the user feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Ian noted:
“I haven’t heard anything negative. Generally speaking, with our usership, you only hear bad things… I haven’t heard one bad thing about the app. So that, to me, is a success.”
The WordPress integration with push notifications has been particularly effective at driving engagement, with relevant updates sent throughout the day bringing users back to fresh content.
The Takeaway
For content publishers, especially those with high mobile traffic, apps provide crucial user retention benefits that mobile web simply can’t match.
As Ian explained:
“There are too many steps to get to your site on mobile. But if you get this person to download your app, it’s baked into the phone, they will go to it. Like I go to MLB.com, I go to ESPN.com on the app.”
The key insight is that most publishers don’t need complex custom features. They need a clean, fast way to deliver their existing content in an app format.
MobiLoud made this possible for Medium Large Sports Media without the technical overhead that had prevented them from launching for years. They could focus on what they do best – content.
Ready to launch your mobile app without the technical complexity?
Get a free preview of your site as an app with MobiLoud and see how we can help you reach your mobile audience more effectively
DeeperBlue.com is one of the world’s oldest and largest diving communities and information sites.
Tens of thousands of visitors a month enjoy their articles and guides on freediving, scuba, spearfishing and ocean conservation. They publish daily news, features, hints and tips, and cover events like the world championships.
One of their most successful channels is their native apps on iOS and Android, which we were proud to build for them.
The apps have been live for five years now, so we caught up with Stephan Whelan, founder and publisher at DeeperBlue, to share his story.
Why did DeeperBlue decide to build an app?
DeeperBlue have been around for over 20 years, so they’ve seen it all come and go as far as web and mobile technology. The growing dominance of mobile over the last few years was something new though for a site that had been around since the 90s.
“We’ve seen every kind of tech unfold. The real shift to mobile-first meant that we started looking into native applications though”
Native apps are the best way to reach your audience on mobile, and in 2019 mobile is where they spend most of their time.
Apps provide a convenient home for your most loyal and engaged audience members that even the best mobile sites can’t compare to. As Stephan put it:
“It’s about getting the right information to the right people at the right time”
This is exactly what native content apps do and why they’re an ideal fit for any publishing or media brand. Five years is a long time in tech though, and the choice wasn’t quite so obvious back in 2014.
Stephan saw the opportunity clearly though.
“There was a gap for us. The mobile web was relatively immature. So the best way of reaching our audience on mobile was on a native app. We kept analyzing new and interesting ways of getting to our audience. MobiLoud really filled that space after we’d analyzed the market and realized that an app was the best route to mobile”
After realizing that native apps were the way to go, Stephan and the DeeperBlue team started weighing the options.
“We had a few options open. We could have developed our own native application, but that looked like quite a costly option for us”
Developing the app in-house or through an agency is usually the first option people consider. This is the old way of doing things.
The problem with this route is that it often takes many months, tens of thousands of dollars, and the headache of managing a large project and teams of developers.
There’s a more efficient option that delivers the same results in days, not months and at a fraction of the cost.
Finding MobiLoud
“We used WordPress as our backend. So we were trying to figure out if there was a solution out there that would natively work with WordPress but would provide a native experience for users who wanted it”
This is exactly what our solution does. We work with WordPress based digital publishers to build powerful apps off their existing WordPress sites.
The apps mirror your existing site, and update automatically with any new content you publish. There’s very little to add to your existing workflow and you can manage everything through your existing WordPress backend.
“We found MobiLoud. It was amazing and ticked all the boxes. The apps could natively integrate with WordPress, provide full native functionality, and they have a great support model. They helped us to avoid the cost and difficulties of building our own app, while providing the same end result”
Like every new project, things started off with a consultation with one of our app experts.
We go through all your requirements and what your vision for the app, then we work out a roadmap to get there. Every project is unique and custom, so if there’s a feature you really want chances are we can make it happen.
“We’re a niche content site. The challenge is that every dollar counts. So when we were looking at MobiLoud it was an ongoing investment, but we felt that looking at all the features that MobiLoud provided it versus the actual cost, it was the best return on investment for us”
Building the DeeperBlue Apps
Within a few weeks we had test versions of the app ready for Stephan and the team to try out, and the final apps ready and published within a month.
“It all just worked when we first started using it”
Stephan was happy with the apps from the very beginning. Their readers love them too!
The DeeperBlue mobile app built by MobiLoud
The apps have been a great success, and have made a real impact on the DeeperBlue brand.
“There is a constant stream of downloads during the course of each week and month People consistently come back and say they like using the app. In fact, even my own team of writers and editors use the app as their primary way of getting news”
With advanced app analytics and push notifications – not to mention a host of other features – understanding their readers and connecting with them is simple and effective.
If you already have a high traffic WordPress site, building apps on iOS and Android is the best way to grow your brand.
“Both our users and staff-base find it an incredibly convenient way of doing things. A little alert pops up on their phone, which means that they keep abreast of what’s going on”
An Ongoing Relationship
We take care of the entire build process, customizations, and publishing the apps on Google Play and the App Store.
That isn’t the end of the deal though.
We provide a full service that never leaves your side, making sure that the apps keep performing optimally and taking care of any ongoing updates and maintenance.
“In the ongoing relationship, our implementation of WordPress and our requirements around the mobile app have changed over the years. All the way through, MobiLoud and the team there have always been very supportive”
Technology shifts, the platforms change their rules, new features are released.
“There have been a few times we’ve installed some new functionality or done some new development on WordPress that caused something funky in the app”
We’re here the whole time to take care of all the necessities.
“The MobiLoud team would always just jump on it. They’ve been amazing and in a few days we always have a new version of the app out that means we don’t lose any functionality”
The Perfect Fit For Content Publishers
We asked Stephan to sum up his overall experience of working with us.
“Clients and readers, no matter the industry, are interested in getting things through their phone. If you’re looking for a solution that allows you to get content out of WordPress into a native app – MobiLoud provides a huge number of features, and the ability to have it working quickly. It’s incredibly valuable. I can’t recommend them highly enough to be honest”
We’re grateful to Stephan for his kind words and to the team at DeeperBlue for being great customers over the years. We look forward to continuing a great relationship with an interesting publishing brand.
We can help your brand get on the App Stores fast and affordably too.
If you run a high traffic site and are willing to share ad revenue generated by the apps, you will likely quality for our Publisher Program. You’ll get iOS and Android apps as good as The New York Times or Huffpost, at no upfront cost to you!
Simple flying is a wonderful success story of entrepreneurial publishing. The world’s biggest aviation news site was founded by British Entrepreneur and aviation enthusiast Arran Rice in 2018 with the vision of a one-stop destination commercial aviation content. Simple flying has a team of journalists that produce up to 200 stories a week. The primary focus is on news from Europe and the US, but lately they’ve been heavily expanding their coverage into Asia, Latin America and Africa. The audience is diverse, but united by a common interest in all things aviation!
“It’s a real mix. Firstly we have people who work in the industry – executives and airline employees. We also have a lot of frequent flyers and aviation enthusiasts. If you look at our email list we have such a mixture of people from different businesses and aviation geeks.”
Along with the main site simpleflying.com, they also run a YouTube channel with over 50,000 subscribers, podcasts, and of course news apps for iOS & Android. Simple Flying created their apps through MobiLoud – our News platform is entirely focused on building native apps for WordPress-based digital publishers.
Why Build Apps?
Arran saw that 70%+ of traffic was coming through on mobile, so giving the best possible mobile UX was crucial. In 2020, that means native apps.
“It’s a brand extension. There’s going to be a percentage of your audience that wants an app. I really saw the apps as a way to get an audience on mobile who would come back daily – it’s an extension of the site to get people into the brand”
The apps were a natural part of Simple Flying’s overall growth trajectory.
“I think really it felt like a natural progression to build the app. You know, we got a base audience of a couple of million users per month. Then with that audience to support, there’s obviously going to be demand for an app. So it was really a natural progression and to provide choice”
A couple of million users per month is really impressive. Such a huge audience isn’t necessary for building apps though, whether your content is supported by advertising or subscriptions. They can help you grow regardless. Arran also wanted a way to deepen loyalty. He realized that apps self-select for the most engaged and loyal readers, and bring them all together in one place.
“At the time as well, I had a different website for Google AMP, different websites for mobile. So I really wanted just a place that kind of felt premium to bring the most loyal users together”
This fitted into Arran’s overall strategy of giving Simple Flying as much visibility as possible.
“The more avenues you can attract an audience through – whether that’s social media, podcasts, a YouTube channel, and of course an app – you really want to be hitting every single thing and you need to be doing it well. You should make it perfect”
Why Simple Flying Chose MobiLoud
The Simple Flying mobile app built by MobiLoud
Arran had worked with us on different projects in the past and realized we were the best fit.
“I wanted an easy option. I wanted an option to literally convert my WordPress website into an app. Obviously MobiLoud was the one that works best from my previous experience. If you already have a really good mobile site, I don’t really see the benefit of rebuilding an app to go with it from scratch when you can convert your site”
This is a great point. MobiLoud lets you convert your site to apps, so you get the ideal news apps for 10% of the cost compared to native development, and they’re ready to go live in days/weeks rather than months. They mirror your existing site and update automatically, so there’s nothing to rebuild or to add to your workflow.
“MobiLoud had very good communication, were quick to resolve any issues and got the initial build out fast. It didn’t take long at all. You’re converting a WordPress site into an app, so the process is simple and the mechanism is already there in the (MobiLoud) platform. With a monthly fee paying just a few hundred up-front is a lot nicer paying 20 grand. So yeah, it worked really well”
A Hyper-Engaged App Audience
The Simple Flying Apps have been downloaded over 17,000 times. Arran has noticed that app users are vastly more engaged and loyal than those who come through the website.
“We’ve only got around 17,000 users, but those users read on average 94 articles per month. So the app is doing about 1.6 million screen views for them from 17,000 people. Compared to the website, where the average number of articles read per month is around two, the app users are hyper engaged”
App users also spend a lot more time engaging with content on a per-article basis.
“I think on average, people spend like four minutes per article versus the main website, probably like one or two minutes. So it’s at least double. Huge”
This is an amazingly stark difference. We see similar stories often though, apps provide a home for the most engaged readers – then deepen that engagement and loyalty to new levels. Arran thinks that the reason for this is partly the more “premium” feel of native apps, and the fact that the presence of your app icon on users’ home screens is a constant reminder of the brand. A mobile site alone, no matter how well bookmarked, can’t achieve this level of intimacy, which Arran sees as playing into his wider goals.
“With an app, you can achieve a much more kind of premium feel, and I think the readers will feel closer to the brand. With an app, you know that every time they pick up their phone, they’ll see the icon of your brand on their home screen which is powerful. It drills down into the audience’s head that Simple Flying is a thing. That really helps to achieve our aim in becoming the go-to aviation news site. People on the app are really in touch with the brand – on the mobile site, not so much”
Another great advantage of apps is the ability to reach your audience directly through push notifications. Arran and the Simple Flying team can send out push notifications automatically whenever a new article is published, or manually at any time they choose.
“I’ve seen return visit rates go up since launching the apps – people will get notifications on their phone and end up going on the site or vice versa. The daily active users are growing nicely and the uninstall rates are really low. Once I’ve got someone on the app they’ll stay on the app and keep consuming our content – which is what we want”
Monetizing Through Apps & Reaching a New Audience Through The App Stores
MobiLoud apps are build with the exact needs of digital publishers in mind, which is why we have a flexible range of advertising integrations that let you run whatever ads you want in-app. This was important to Arran as Simple Flying is largely supported by ad revenue.
“94 articles per month for an average app user. And obviously there’s ad revenue attached to that as well with over 1.6 million screen views I’m getting with the apps”
As the apps are 100% synced with the Simple Flying main site and update automatically with anything new the Simple Flying team publishes, this new revenue stream is nice and low-maintenance.
“It’s a nice, almost passive income for the business as a whole”
On top of this passive income, the apps also passively pick up new readers that discover the Simple Flying brand through searching on the App Stores rather than Google!
“I haven’t even promoted the app that much. I’m actually getting a lot of signups and downloads through the app store from people’s searching, like aviation and aviation news. So actually it has also been a great way for me to get a bigger audience”
How Arran is Using the Apps to Test Subscription Revenue Models
As apps gather the most loyal and engaged readers all in one place, they are a great channel to test new ideas through. Simple Flying recently decided to test out a subscription model for the first time by creating an ad-free version of the app that readers pay to access.
“About two months ago, we did a big reader survey and we had a lot of people say they know ads are a thing and they know we need ads to support the business – but they said if we would provide an option to go ad-free, they would pay. So really that confirmed what we wanted to do. It’s a test”
We worked with Arran and the team to make it happen, and the results have been encouraging.
“We’ve gone live and built an ad-free subscription for the app. Users can pay monthly or yearly. Interestingly, most users paid yearly. Which is great. It means that they’re confident in the content. From this, now we need to decide whether we want to go on to the website as well and do an ad free version there. Um. So we’ll see. I’m not too sure just yet”
If this is something you’re interested in replicating for your business – we can make it happen for you too!
The Future of Simple Flying
Arran has a lot of plans to grow the brand even further in the future. A key part of that is expanding into new markets by launching Simple Flying in multiple languages. The apps are going to be a key part of that, as Arran explained:
“The most loyal readers come through the apps. I think we’ll do some pushing when we launch the international sites, and we’ll have international versions of the app. We’ll have a Spanish app, German app, French app, and Portuguese app. Really more of the same cause they’re doing really well”
It’s amazing what Arran and Simple Flying have achieved in just a couple of years. We’re proud to help them build a winning App Store presence and give their readers the best possible mobile UX.
If you want to learn more about Arran and Simple Flying, you can read this article about how he started the company on our blog, or listen to the interview on our podcast.
With MobiLoud, you too can build winning native news apps that can expand your audience, please your readers, generate revenue and take your brand to the next level. The apps will be just as good as those from a major publisher like The New York Times or BuzzFeed – but you’ll get them in under a month for a fraction of the usual price tag. In fact, with our publisher program – you don’t need to pay anything up front at all and we take care of 100% of the development and customization for you, building apps to your exact specification just like we did for Arran and Simple Flying. In return, you share some of the ad revenue the app generates.
Everything will be managed from your existing WordPress backend, and the apps sync and update automatically with your site. You’ll also get peace of mind, as our team handles all the technical aspects like submission to the App Stores, updates, and ongoing maintenance.
Sports Mockery is a news site that helps Chicago sports fans to stay up to date with their favorite teams.
We sat down with CEO and President of Sports Mockery, Chris Burhans, for a chat about why they decided to build an app, and their experiences with MobiLoud and their app so far.
Reach a Wider Audience on Mobile
Sports Mockery started out with a WordPress site and a strong social media presence that they’d grown.
They realized that an increasing number of people these days are turning mainly to mobile apps to get their news. Chris realized that his company was missing out on a big opportunity by not having a mobile app:
“A common conversation would be ‘What’s your company?’, and I’d say ‘Sports Mockery’. They’d pull up the App Store and search, but nothing would show up”
People spend the majority of their mobile time in apps, rather than the browser.
Your readers expect your brand to have a presence on the App Stores.
“I’d say, ‘Oh, you have to go to our website’ – which would be answered with ‘Oh, you don’t have an app yet?’. Not having one always seemed to put us in a position where we were losing out on viewers and fans”
Chris soon figured out that they were leaving revenue on the table and needed a presence in the App Stores as soon as possible.
Finding MobiLoud
Chris and his team checked out several options for building their app, but none were what they hoped for:
“I looked at several different other solutions. Some are skins that just take your site and turn it into a mobile version. That wasn’t effective because it would’ve changed the formatting and look of the site – and still didn’t make it available in the App Store. The other solutions seemed to be very cookie cutter, where we’d have to take our website and put it into a box”
Eventually, they came across MobiLoud. It was the first solution that allowed them to take what worked best from their site and leverage it through fully native mobile apps.
“MobiLoud was the first solution that I found that allowed me to keep enough flexibility and build a full-fledged iOS and Android application”
Chris was also happy that our service integrates with all the features needed to grow a publishing brand, and that he didn’t need to touch any code himself.
“MobiLoud has many, many features that a lot of the competitors were lacking. With MobiLoud it’s all done for you. It’s a very sleek and fast process”
Building the Apps to take Sports Mockery to the Next Level
We got to work building highly customized, state of the art apps that retained the site’s unique personality and key features. We do all the work building your app – all you have to do is tell us exactly what you want and it’ll be ready to launch in a few weeks.
When the apps launched, Chris realized that Sports Mockery had begun an exciting new journey:
“I’ll never forget the day we went live and posted on social media telling everybody to download our new app. It was as if our entire company took a step forward by creating a presence on the Apple Store and Google Play – and we became a more legitimate company in the eyes of our fans and everyone who interacted with us”
Increased Reach, Higher Revenue, and a Stronger Brand
Since launching, Sports Mockery have been making the most of their app’s features like ad platform integration and push notifications. They’ve been able to reach a whole new audience and find powerful new opportunities to monetize their content:
“MobiLoud gave us a whole new revenue stream by allowing us to reach these fans for the first time.”
The Sports Mockery mobile app built by MobiLoud
Native apps give you a new way to engage potential readers that might not be on social.
“A lot of our fans don’t use Facebook or Twitter – so they never found our content. We were suddenly able to approach fans and ask them to download our app. We’ve sent push notifications out to hundreds of thousands of people.”
As well as reaching a broader audience, Chris and his team have found new ways to monetize through their app.
“Through MobiLoud, we’ve taken on a new ad model, which has created additional revenue for us through ads that weren’t previously compatible with our site. This has consistently increased our revenue month after month since we implemented it.”
A Great Relationship and an Exciting Future
After your app is built and launched we take care of ongoing updates, maintenance, and any customizations that you need.
Our technology is also improving and evolving all the time, as Chris noted in our conversation:
“Not only do MobiLoud have great support, but they’ve really come a long way with their technology. The ability to quickly configure your options and keep a lot of flexibility between WordPress and your mobile app is really a one of a kind experience”
As with all our clients, Sports Mockery were able to easily manage their apps through their existing WordPress dashboard – which simplified their workflow and cut away any learning curve for the team.
What would Chris say to other publishers looking to build a native presence?
“It’s very easy, it’s very practical. MobiLoud gives any company the ability to take the next step forward by offering their fans or customers a full-fledged mobile app inside of Apple Store and Google Play and reach everybody”
We look forward to continuing a great relationship with Sports Mockery and helping them to grow their brand and become even more successful on mobile.
Want to replicate the success of Sports Mockery in your own business?
If your site has a reasonable amount of traffic and you’re willing to share a little ad space with us – you can even get native iOS and Android apps at zero upfront cost! Check out our publisher program today.
AI-powered finance hub TradeZing is a business on the rise, having been featured in high-profile outlets such as ESPN, Forbes, Nasdaq, MarketWatch, USA Today and the New York Post for their mission to democratize access to financial information.
The core of their platform is built for the web, with a Progressive Web App (PWA), built on WordPress, that serves desktop users and users on mobile browsers.
But for a platform with a lot of Millennial and Gen-Z users, it was essential they had something that satisfied users with a mobile-first mindset, so they sought out MobiLoud to help them convert their PWA into mobile apps.
We talked to TradeZing’s co-founder and CEO Jordan Edelson about their experience, and why they chose MobiLoud to help them build and manage the mobile side of their business.
App Development Expertise Was Not the Problem
The biggest issue for a lot of our clients is that as an ecommerce company, or a publisher, or a course provider, they have no in-house expertise or experience in the field of app development.
That wasn’t the case with TradeZing. Edelson knows more about mobile apps than most, having run an award-winning mobile agency for more than 15 years.
In that time, his agency has built more than 400 mobile apps, and he knew that while building natively could be done, it wasn’t necessarily the best route to take for their business.
“I was looking for a ‘headache-free’ way of maintenance and development.”
Development and Maintenance Without the Headaches
“Being in the space and understanding the implications and factors around maintenance and cost, understanding the expenses involved and maintenance, developing something that could be updated in one spot and then reflected across all platforms.”
Jordan knew well that native apps come with a heavy workload and a significant investment in time and money required to both build, and maintain, the apps.
While he could have done this for TradeZing, he wanted to do it so that his team wouldn’t need to manage and maintain multiple platforms independently from one another.
Doing so would save huge amounts of time and money, and let them stay agile and nimble and quickly push updates and improvements to their platform.
How MobiLoud Helped TradeZing Build an Integrated Cross-Platform Experience
MobiLoud came into the picture and provided the ideal solution for TradeZing.
It wasn’t actually the first iteration of their mobile app – they’d previously built a cross-platform app with Flutter. And even though it was more efficient than two separate native apps, the web and mobile platforms were still disconnected, and it took a lot of work to manage.
“Prior to the current iteration, we actually had a different app that we had built as a hybrid application, leveraging Flutter. It was still just a lot of additional maintenance and work, and the issue was that we wanted to have a web presence. We had that, but having to maintain the web presence separately from the apps was a big headache.”
They were able to focus almost exclusively on their PWA, which was more flexible and took less work than dealing with a mobile app.
The Results
We helped TradeZing turn their web app (which was far from straightforward, with a lot of moving parts and intricate features) into mobile apps that reflected the same great UX.
But the biggest thing we did for them was the ability to massively streamline their operations, and run the business with much lower overhead.
“We literally had a dev team of about 30 people. We were able to cut the entire head count down to just a couple of core people working on our web tech stack.”
The platform has scored well with TradeZing’s users as well, holding a strong 4.7/5 rating on the App Store, and the users they have talked to feel the app is easy to use.
“We’ve done some sampling and surveys, and overall, we’ve actually gotten very high marks on usability of the app.”
The app also lets them tap into the power of mobile push notifications, helping TradeZing drive more engagement on the platform.
“Push notifications for breaking news related to stocks, or new content, is super important. We do have desktop notifications enabled as well, but that requires someone to physically be on their computer all the time, which isn’t always the case. Having something in someone’s pocket with a notification is a big win. They’ll take it out, they’ll open it up, we can increase eyeballs and viewership from there.”
Build for Web, iOS and Android with Minimal Workload and Overhead
Despite having extensive app development experience, Jordan chose MobiLoud as a simpler, more cost-effective and faster way to build and maintain their mobile apps.
It means they can build apps, or new features in their apps, with a lot less risk, remaining agile and nimble.
“It’s a low-risk, low-cost alternative to going down the native route.”
Best of all, they are saving a ton in overhead, and can redirect that cost (and focus) into growing their business.
If you want to launch an app in less than a month, with little to no effort to build or maintain, get in touch.
Book a demo to walk through the process with one of our experts, and get a free, interactive preview of your mobile app.
Launch your own mobile apps today, headache and hassle-free with MobiLoud.
MobiLoud is a great fit for just about any type of business – from news sites to ecommerce stores.
But an app for a music festival? Why not?
That’s exactly what Riot Fest did, with the help of MobiLoud. These apps have proven to be a powerful, multi-purpose tool for their business, as well as a hit with their customers.
Keep reading to see how they did it.
What is Riot Fest?
Riot Fest is an annual 3-day Chicago music festival, first held in 2005. They’ve seen a number of big name acts participate over that time, including Nine Inch Nails, My Chemical Romance, Blink 182, The Cure, and the Wu Tang Clan.
Along with the flagship festival, they book over a hundred shows in smaller venues in the city throughout the year. They’re also, in effect, a digital magazine, with news and other features that fall in line with the music their audience responds to.
Why Did They Need an App?
Riot Fest’s website is the home base for all the information people need about the festival weekend – such as news, guides, scheduling, logistics and more.
While this was all available on the website, an app just packaged it in an easier and more convenient way for festival-goers.
But even more pressing, as Riot Fest expanded, booking more shows, publishing content and selling merch via the website, they wanted a way to increase retention from people who attended a festival.
Here’s what Director of Marketing Tim Toomey said about their plans when moving into the app space.
“We wanted the app to live beyond the festival and not be something that is just used for 3 days and discarded. So I wanted an application that could not only account peoples’ questions and needs through the festival weekend, but also provide value after that, when it comes to seeing music around town that falls underneath specific genres of music that we like.”
That’s just the start – Tim believes that an app can help them seriously grow what they do as a business.
“An app is a great marketing channel for us to use through the year, specially for people that buy tickets to shows, which is ultimately how we make our money. We figured it would be a good place for us to do more business by selling more club shows, and eventually the plan is to try and turn this into some sort of community, and for example add chat functionality.”
Multiple sides of the Riot Fest app – festival info and a digital magazine in one.
MobiLoud vs The Competition
MobiLoud wasn’t the first option the Riot Fest marketing team sought out to build their mobile apps.
They had a festival app already. However, it was very basic, made with a simple template that didn’t make it easy to customize, add any kind of advanced functionality, or do what they were doing on their website.
“We had apps previously. They were rigid and sort of these pre-packaged systems where we would upload a schedule. It was very limited in functionality, so when we were looking for other solutions for apps we thought it would be nice to have something that we can use through the year – because like I said we have 100 plus club shows to promote.”
They were after a more comprehensive option, that allowed them to grow their app into something more. In this search, they looked in particular for something that worked with WordPress, which would allow them to lean on a platform they were already very familiar with.
That’s exactly what we were able to offer. MobiLoud would allow them to make changes to the app simply by altering their website, and not needing to learn any new tools or technology.
“We looked at options [to build an app] knowing our site is a WordPress site and that we felt very comfortable using it. Now, since the app works seamlessly with WordPress, we know that we can basically turn it into basically anything we wanted through our website.”
It was the combination of usability – being able to make changes in WordPress and have them reflect in the apps – along with the ability in the MobiLoud platform to make additional customization where necessary, that made us the standout option.
“I think a platform like MobiLoud that has some level of customization, meaning the app could be a living breathing thing versus a very static type of app, made it a no-brainer for us.”
The feature set fit, and so did the price.
“We looked at a couple of other systems similar to MobiLoud, but ultimately it was the most cost-effective and something that could live and grow with us.”
The beauty of MobiLoud – whatever you can create in your website is going to work in your apps too.
Hitting Top 15 In The App Store Charts
So just how successful has Riot Fest’s new mobile app been?
The app peaked in the top 15 in the App Store charts, proving a huge success, with tens of thousands of downloads from Riot Fest attendees.
“The day of the festival we reached spot #12 on the App Store. I was looking into our active devices and it was around 27k downloads.”
A fully-functional app, providing more than just festival information allowed Riot Fest to keep in touch with people who attended, instead of the relationship ending when the festival did.
“We knew we could use it within the festival (like we have done years prior), our festival attendees would use to find places to eat, figure out where they were in the festival grounds, but then after the festival they would use it to be in the loop about the music that they have just heard.”
Utilizing App Features Like Push Notifications to Make More Sales
Push notifications are among the biggest value-adds of building and launching your own mobile apps.
This holds true for Riot Fest as well. Their mobile apps allow them to use push notifications to sell merchandise, as well as promoting additional shows throughout the year.
“We did a big push for merchandise sales at the festival, and it made it easier for us to sell more with push notifications. In fact, as soon as I jump off the call with you, I’ll be sending a push notification to announce a club show that we have coming up.”
This feature on its own brings a whole new dimension to what Riot Fest can do as a business, outside of their flagship event. And it’s only possible with mobile apps.
Build Your Own Mobile Apps With MobiLoud
The beautiful thing about MobiLoud is that it works for any kind of website or web app.
From a hybrid, “festival hub”/digital magazine app like Riot Fest, to a more straightforward news site or blog, to ecommerce apps, learning apps, membership sites… you name it, MobiLoud is the perfect solution.
See for yourself what we can do for your business, how the app conversion process works, and how your app is going to look, by scheduling a free, personalized demo.
The process is straightforward, pain-free, and takes no technical knowledge whatsoever. You simply configure your apps within the MobiLoud dashboard, or you can get our team of experts to do all the work for you.
We take care of all the technical work under the hood, either way.
Mobile apps are the way of the future. People today want an app to access content on their mobile devices, and with MobiLoud, your business can give them what they want.
After 10+ years in the business, StaffYourDealer’s founder John V Fruhmorgen knew that landing contracts with major automotive brands meant looking the part.
A mobile app could make a major difference, helping them drive more staffing orders, as well as securing more lucrative contracts with national and international brands.
The challenge? Finding the right way to launch it. Read on and see how we made it happen.
Snapshot
Vertical: B2B / Automotive staffing and recruiting
Unified two separate systems (interview portal and campaign ordering) into a single platform
Positioned their business to scale by attracting more enterprise partnerships
Streamlined ordering process, allowing dealerships to order campaigns directly from the app without phone calls
Provides real-time push notifications when candidates complete virtual interviews
“Having an app helps with social proof and validation. The app makes us look more serious, more real. When I’m getting ready to execute these contracts, this mobile app is very important.” — John V Fruhmorgen, Founder
The Roadblock
StaffYourDealer has a unique business model. They advertise positions across major job boards, then funnel candidates into custom virtual interview portals, helping to supply automotive dealerships with staff (a constant need in the industry).
Each dealership gets their own portal where hiring managers can watch candidate videos and receive push notifications when new interviews come in.
For a business like this, an app is a crucial asset to have. It simplifies the ordering process (leading to more staff orders) and makes accessing the platform easy.
And on a high level, launching an app meant a whole new level of credibility, which would help them secure more partnerships with major car brands.
The challenge?
Their platform was complicated, with multiple portals needing to be integrated into the same app. A non-starter for a lot of no-code tools, and an expensive undertaking were they to build a fully custom app.
Why They Chose MobiLoud
John talked to multiple vendors. What made MobiLoud different was the ability to unify his entire platform into one clean mobile experience.
Think about what needed to happen: take separate candidate portals, dealership portals, and a third-party ordering system, then make it all work together seamlessly in a mobile app. Most solutions would have required rebuilding everything from scratch.
MobiLoud’s approach integrated all of StaffYourDealer’s existing systems without needing to tear anything down and start over.
“A lot of these places try to sign you up and then you never hear from them again. The ease of onboarding is key, but constant communication is what matters long-term. That’s been the difference.”
MobiLoud’s approach allowed Staff Your Dealer to integrate both their custom interview portal and JotForm ordering system into a single app. Dealership managers could now access everything from one place – review candidate interviews, receive push notifications, and order new campaigns.
Communication was another factor. John needed a partner who would stay engaged beyond the initial sale.
We gave him a partner, not just a platform that would be handed off and left for them to handle on their own.
Launch & Results
The app went live on iOS and Android, giving StaffYourDealer a unified platform they could confidently show to enterprise clients.
The timing was perfect. John had just secured a massive contract to become a preferred staffing vendor for a major automotive manufacturer across the US and Canada, where the company would end up serving potentially 500+ dealerships.
His rollout strategy is built into the onboarding process. When dealerships sign up for recruiting campaigns, StaffYourDealer’s recruiters walk them through installing the app. It’s not optional or an afterthought – it’s central to how they work together.
“When dealerships sign up for hiring campaigns, my recruiters reach out and install the app on their phone and desktop. That’s one of the most important things they do.”
To make adoption easy, MobiLoud set them up with:
Smart banners for their website (automatically detects device type and links to the right app store)
QR codes for presentations, printed materials, and email campaigns
Direct app store links for outreach
The app solves real friction points. Dealership managers don’t need to remember multiple logins or systems anymore. They open one app, review candidate interviews, get push notifications when new applicants come in, and order new recruiting campaigns – all in the same place.
“The whole purpose is to streamline the process to get more orders. A dealership manager doesn’t have to call in, they just open the app and order sales people. That’s it.”
For a business scaling to hundreds of new clients, that simplicity matters. The app doesn’t just look professional. It actually makes things easier.
The Takeaway
For B2B service businesses managing multiple backend systems, a mobile app is a powerful way to streamline operations and improve the client experience.
It’s a crucial sign of credibility for businesses chasing enterprise contracts. But, outside of that, it’s also a reliable way to make ordering easier, and the experience smoother for your customers and clients.
Ready to build an app that helps you close bigger deals?
Get a free preview of your app with MobiLoud. We’ll show you how to turn your platform into a mobile experience that makes your business look ready for enterprise contracts, without rebuilding everything from scratch.
