Publishing a native iOS app or any app for that matter is something most of us can only dream of; since it requires in-depth knowledge and experience with the relevant programming languages and hiring a developer to build one can mean some serious money. Luckily, there is a cost-effective service named WiziApp which allows the average user with a WordPress blog to have an iOS app for their site up running almost seamlessly.

There have been some free to use RSS feed template apps available on the web that basically grab the feed of your blog and slap dash an app out of it. Now if you’re serious about the quality of your app that is visibility to the world, you would not choose these options since they are usually of poor quality and you’ll end up getting poor reviews in the app store.

One solution is WiziApp, which takes the app building process to the next level.

Here’s a video quickly explaining the plugin’s capabilities:

Pricing & Setup

The plugin itself can be downloaded for free from the WordPress.org plugin library at http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wiziapp-create-your-own-native-iphone-app/. Bear in mind that at this stage the plugin only allows you to customize and preview the app as it would be seen on an iPhone.

This allows you to create a demo app and preview it before actually paying for the service and launching.

Design your splash screen – You can choose from the built-in templates or upload one of your own.

Customize Menu items.

Set sharing options. All this is done in your WordPress dashboard.

After selecting all your options, you can have a complete preview of the app where you can browse your articles, pages and categories and see how the app will look on the mobile device.

Once complete and satisfied, the plugin then directs you to choose the WiziApp plan that best suits your needs. The plan starts from $19.90 / month and a one-time setup fee of $199. The basic plan does not allow you to monetize the app with third party services such as AdMob. I’d say that the pricing isn’t bad and is justified considering what it takes to pay a developer to develop and design one from scratch. The apps produced by WiziApp are almost identical in layout structure and quality with those of major brands.

As soon as you make your first payment, your app will be submitted to the app store for verification of adherence to guidelines and will eventually be published in the iTunes App Store.

My Considerations

So far, this seems to be a great option for someone who wants to get an app out quickly in the app store with a manageable cost. The only downfall is that all apps created by the WiziApp service uses the same generally design layout so it is quite difficult to stand out visually, though it provides a clean design. The popularity and success of your app will be determined by the quality of the content you will be pushing. Great content should equate to more downloads.

Visit WiziApp.com to give it a try.

Have you considered publishing an app for your WordPress blog or business? If so, what was the biggest obstacle in your mind from attaining it?