How to create an app with King of App

Do you still think that creating an app is complicated? Does “writing code” sound like gibberish to you and you don’t know where to start? King of App is considered “the WordPress of apps.” With this open source CMS you can create your own app without any technical knowledge. Do you want to find out how?

Registering in the app builder

The first step will be to enter King of App's page, from which you can access the App Builder by clicking on the “login” button, located at the top of the website to access both the home page and the registration page. Fill out the form indicating the requested data. After that, access the email account you have indicated to validate the registration and you can get to work. Within the general configuration of our account, it will be possible to change different aspects, such as the language, manage billing profiles or simply change personal data.

Creating my new app: how do I get started?

Template Selection

To start creating an app, click on “My Apps” in the Builder, where the option to start (“Create new App”) will appear. And here comes the most important step: choosing the template. What does this mean? Templates are preconfigured packages that include a series of predetermined functionalities, provided by modules, which offer a pre-assigned aesthetic. As with other CMSs aimed at web development, choosing a template at the beginning is key, as it will orient the app towards a specific typology. With the “View Demo” button you can try it out and find the one that best suits your needs. If you don’t like the chosen template, it will always be possible to adapt it to your taste, customizing the app as much as you want. Templates have an initial cost, but they are an excellent way to generate predefined and fully functional apps quickly.

Add menu and modules

Now we will have to include our menu and modules: the elements that will provide the functionality logic to the app. In the section modules, we will see two large buttons: Add module and Add menu. Choose the main menu of your app from those available and once selected, start choosing your modules. You can filter by rating, category or author and even search directly by name… When you find the one you want, click on WearIn the real-time view it seems that nothing has changed, why? The reason is that the module is placed at the end of the app, but outside the module container menu. If for example we have selected the Polymer Menu and the YouTube module, both will be at the same level of the container hierarchy, so you will have to drag the module to the container where you want it to appear. Each module has a delete or edit button, to customize these modules.

Configure each of your modules

Generally, each of the modules you add will need its own configuration. For example, if you use the module Twitter Feed, you will need to link your Twitter profile so that the app can recognize it. Each module will require a specific configuration, the description of which can be found in the description of the module itself.

Navigation. Putting modules in menus

So far, we have managed to configure and build the components of our application and now you will start to provide it with navigation and a look-and-feel according to what you have in mind. To do this, start by configuring the menu you have chosen, by clicking on edit. Within it, we will have all the available options to customize it; of all of them, one of the most important is the creation of menu items, that is, how the different modules that we have added previously will be shown to users. Click on “Add another item to the menu” to add these items to the chosen modules.

Appearance. Applies look and feel to your app

The second step in user-focused customization is the look and feel. In the King of App app builder, this is fully customizable at the level of each individual component. However, it is possible to apply a generic style to the entire app, including the choice of colors, fonts, and other aesthetic issues. This is what we call style. We select the style we want to apply, but keep one thing in mind: having built and customized our app, we don't want the style to overwrite certain graphic aspects, so we will be asked before applying it. To finish this step, we will have to go to Appearance > Customize to add the icon, loading, featured, promotional image... We can also change the background, font or colors.

Compilation, publication and purchase

After completing all the previous steps, now comes the closing: generating the respective executables for each platform (compilation), as well as publishing the app in the respective marketplaces. The King of App Builder currently compiles for both iOS and Android. Before starting with these final steps and from the General Panel, a report that the Builder makes on the status of the app will be available. It is advisable to resolve the marked incidents before proceeding to the compilation and subsequent publication to the markets. Once done, we can go to Compilation. But, what is compiling? Starting from the source code of our app, the compiler will analyze it until it becomes object code for each platform (App Store, Google Play…). King of App offers different plans, either by packages by number of compilations, or a monthly subscription. If you have programming knowledge, you have the option of downloading the source code of your app and compiling it yourself. When publishing, you will have two options: either we can do it for you, or you publish it yourself with your developer account. Finally, go to the Cart, where you will fill out the form with your details, and then proceed to pay via Paypal. Once the entire payment process has been confirmed, you can publish your order on the marketplaces. Did you find this interesting? Do you think you would be able to create an app now? Start making your first app with King of App.