please excuse the beginner question but my research here shows nothing but specific programming questions.
I am currently using Wildfire app to create fb pages for contests and whatnot but don't like the WYSIWYG nature of them. I would like to be able to build pages within Facebook to have more control over their layouts and design.
Is anyone here familiar with Wildfire app and could you please explain to me how one would break away from 3rd party apps like this?
On the same note:
Without going crazy trying to create fb games deeply rooted in facebook, is it possible to build fb pages/apps such as sweepstakes, contests which may or may not post to users walls using only html/css/javascript?
Or is one forced to be a PHP developer?
If you don’t want to use 3rd party apps any more, then naturally that means creating your own apps.
You don’t necessarily need PHP or any server-side scripting language – at least most of the stuff you can do in apps can be done client-side as well. (There are only a few aspects, f.e. when publishing Open Graph actions you can specify that the publishing can only be done using the app secret – that means no one can “fake” publish an action as coming from your app, but it also requires to be done server-side, because you do not want to publish your app secret to the client. And the same for any other requests that will require your app token – you don’t want to give that away to the client either.)
But you will still need web hosting that has a valid SSL certificate. (And having your own domain as well is recommendable, because there’s always threads here about people getting user access to their apps blocked because the whole domain they are running their apps under is classified as being spammy by Facebook, even if its not their own fault.)
Related
Let say were starting a website from the ground up and want to also create apps.
Could you just create the website with a REST API's and have it work on browser and PhoneGap? Would there be a conflict with Cordova plugins you may use?
So the design is responsive and its all HTML, CSS and Javascript and connects to a REST API (log in, reg, messages, db calls, etc) for the browser website and apps.
This way you can use the same code for everything and can still use some of the great Cordova plugins for the app to make it more flexible.
Would this work?
I posted this answer else where but I think it is relevant here.
Unfortunately for your app to pass Apple App store approval it will have to provide some basic functions and display correctly without an internet connection. This means at a minimum, if you plan to generate content on a server you will probably need the Cordova plugin for network information:
https://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/latest/reference/cordova-plugin-network-information/
I would make sure you are familiar with the Apple Human Interface Guidelines:
https://developer.apple.com/ios/human-interface-guidelines/overview/design-principles/
You will probably also need to bundle any JavaScript. Apple is very picky about apps that download code (this can include JavaScript).
This is a section from the iOS developer Agreement.
3.3.2 Except as set forth in the next paragraph, an Application may not download or install executable code. Interpreted code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only exceptions to the foregoing are scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple's built-in WebKit framework or JavascriptCore, provided that such scripts and code do not change the primary purpose of the Application by providing features or functionality that are inconsistent with the intended and advertised purpose of the Application as submitted to the App Store.
Another big concern is performance. How will your app handle a poor 3G or even 2G connection? Do you need to cache the responses from the API and only download them if they have changed on the server?
If a user is browsing your website on a browser they know they need an internet connection, if they are using your app they want it to work when online and offline.
Edit
Apple commonly uses this reason for rejection for website only apps.
We found that the experience your app provides is not sufficiently different from a web browsing experience, as it would be by incorporating native iOS functionality.
While your app content may differ from your web site or other existing sites, the experience it provides does not differ significantly from the general experience of using Safari, as required by the App Store Review Guidelines.
Is it possible to create an iPhone app which just redirects the user to my HTML5 mobile website? If it is possible, do you know if Apple can refuse my app? (Maybe it is written somewhere in their Terms & Conditions?)
The aim is to be present on the App Store, but to only have one version of my website to maintain.
If you have a web app, you should make an iOS app that is nothing more than a UIWebView that points to your URL. A lot of apps do this, and in most instances, you really wouldn't know it's not native unless you are a developer. For example, the Discover card app uses this technique. The only caveat is it should be a web app and not just a web site, i.e. it should do something useful and look like a native app instead of just being a web page with general information. Otherwise, you will be subject to this:
2.12 Apps that are not very useful, are simply web sites bundled as apps, or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be
rejected
Yes you CAN create such an application. However, apple WILL reject such an application because of their Guidelines.
2.12 Apps that are not very useful, are simply web sites bundled as apps, or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected
The key to this would be Not very useful, since all it does is open a web browser and direct to your site.
So work for a university, and we have an app that we want the students to use. It's having some trouble passing the 'Design' aspect of the Apple review. We're working on revising the design aspects, but want to use our Enterprise distribution account in the meantime to release to the campus. It's not a true enterprise app, but we want to use this distribution channel since the students are on campus already. Apple docs says:
It’s up to you to design and host the website used to distribute apps. Make sure that users are authenticated, perhaps using basic auth or directory-based authentication, and that the website is accessible via your intranet or the Internet. You can place the app and manifest in a hidden directory, or in any other location that’s readable using HTTP or HTTPS.
We want to just put this on an unsecured webpage. I'm pretty sure Apple won't mind, or even do any checks for that, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any advice or intuition for possible consequences of putting it on some unsecured web page.
thanks!
I need to create an app for a large company.
Their aim is to distribute this app to all of their customers (who themselves are companies - not individuals) and the end-user will be able to query their relevant information through this app.
The app will receive all of its data through webservices and will require login on every use.
On the one hand a web application might be suitable as all the data is anyway online and also distribution of such an app would be trivial.
On the other hand, they might want features in the long term which use the camera etc. and also the administration of the website (in addition to the existing web services) might be a problem - which means a native app working with web services is the solution.
The next question is the preferred way of distribution for this app if it is a native app.
I know Apple have the Enterprise program (which seems to have changed - I no longer see the reference to >500 employees or 250 device limit).
In my case there is one main company distributing the app to many customers so I don't know whether this program is appropriate.
Any advice would be appreciated.
I once had a similar problem... we ended up with the application in the store and an authentication mechanism inside the application. Most likely, customers would have to provide the user credential they use to authenticate at the web application to the iPhone app as well.
For the decision whether to build a native application or use a web application, I would recommend using a hybrid approach. This way you can start with an application which is based on an UIWebView and extend it with features only available to native applications...
I'm about to begin development of an iPhone app. The app itself is fairly basic, and I want a speedy turnaround time.
I'm a web developer myself, specialising in traditional web technologies such as PHP/MySQL; I have no experience in Objective-C.
My plan was to create a very basic iPhone app that is just a Safari service that passes some basic variables to a URL. That URL is the app built in PHP and housed on my servers, this way I can create the app very quickly without needing to outsource anything.
My question is whether apps of this nature would be accepted into the iTunes store, or would they be out-right rejected? Anyone's experiences or comments are very welcome.
Thanks
It could go either way, but mind bullet 12.3 from the App Store Review Guidelines:
12.3 Apps that are simply web clippings, content aggregators, or a collection of links, may be rejected
In my opinion, a simple UIWebView wrapper around your web site comes close to the definition of a simple web clipping. Your approval may very well hinge on your luck in drawing a sympathetic reviewer.
It really depends upon your application...These kinds of application have been approved in the past but again I am saying that it depends on many factors.
Try to test your app in every possible manner and also keep in mind the memory issues.
Best of luck!!!
Should be fine - its called a web app and there is software out there that will do just this for you.
All you need to do is to make a UIWebView and put your web app into it.
Also look at http://jqtouch.com. That gives you some idea of what you can do web-side. :)
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Yes, it will be accepted as long as you stick with HTML, CSS, JS and Obj-C on the client side. You still need to wrap it in an iPhone app. In my experience, the best way to this is to use http://www.phonegap.com/ or a similar framework.
You'll have the option of deploying you app through iTunes or as a regular web app (you users will be able to create a link to your web app right on their springboards)
It SHOULD be accepted, granted you test test test and make it look just like a native application. Also you'll have to make sure that your server is never down, or if the application can't reach it just display an error message. You also have to keep in mind that there are a lot of iPod Touch users, and they don't have access to the internet all the time. Which means that chances are you'll get a BUNCH of 1 star reviews