Mobile app with web to native…
Hello does anyone made his community an app that is available to AppStore with web to native or another service.
I seriously need your help with that, my members need it!
Thanks
I would be interested as well. I plan to turn my entire site into a mobile app, however, I am not sure if i will be using FC or not, but I would like to see it in action as a mobile app.
I'll be releasing a PWA plugin very soon. Got it all working including desktop and mobile push notifications. Not a full app obviously but I think will suit most of my needs.
Ross FCA Great to hear this Ross! Glad for your work!!!
Ross FCA That sounds great, as always solving problems
Ross FCA That’s great news! The question is whether such a solution will also support push messages handled by Better Message?
Sophia S currently supports any notification you'd see in the bell area. I'll be adding fluent and better messages next. It doesn't rely on onesignal so there's no additional costs. I'll have a free and pro option with more features like custom themes and menus, and sending new blog, course, lesson, and custom alerts.
Ross FCA my creditcard is waiting to swipe! I want this.
Michal Paczula Is this the Better Message plugin you're referring to? https://www.better-messages.com/
A SMITH absolutely yeah. The best plugin for live chat on WordPress ever ;)
Michal Paczula Hmmm, I hadn't hear of this! I'll have to do some digging. I didn't see any pricing right away and am curious how this works!
Michal Paczula Do you know of any good tutorials on how to use this? I don't see any so far... Just videos from the company. I tend to prefer end user reviews.
A SMITH there is doc site: https://www.better-messages.com/docs/getting-started/about
Michal Paczula This is helpful, Thank you!
Ross FCA let me know if you need any help with that!
Ross FCA can you link your site! Cheers
Ross FCA Ah i found it! When i go there at the moment I dont get a prompt
Hi Ioannis! We’ve just gone through this journey. Our FluentCommunity is now live as a Web2Native app on both the App Store and Google Play. We’re in the final mile of the project—everything’s running smoothly; the only piece we’re finishing is the automation layer for push notifications.
If it helps, I’m happy to share our setup, key settings, lessons learned, and a short checklist (build config, deep links, login/session, cache rules, CDN, store submission, etc.).
Feel free to reply here or DM me—glad to help.
David Badilla Salazar im not sure what w2n means.
David Scurlock sure, W2N means Web To Native 👌🏻
David Badilla Salazar yeah please send me ❤️
Ioannis Glossopoulos sure, my pleasure.
Our community needed to become a mobile application. After months of work and research, we initially tested AppMySite, but we quickly realized it was not the right solution for Fluent Community: it doesn’t provide native integration and its costs are high compared to the benefits, since it’s essentially just a wrapper (a website inside a WebView).
For this purpose, the best option we found is Web2Native. Personally, I consider it the best platform, and in fact, it was a tip we got from another community member. The best approach is to purchase their packages, which are very affordable because they require only a one-time payment—unlike other solutions that charge monthly subscriptions.
Web2Native also uses a WebView, but it allows the entire site to be packaged with some important adjustments. For example, on iPhone you need to add a special CSS code to raise the bottom bar slightly and improve the user experience. There are also a couple of other workarounds that can be applied along the way.
One very important workaround—and let’s say somewhat “confidential”—is that during Apple’s review process, the test user account should be converted into an administrator within Fluent Community. This way, the reviewer can see the block user option, which is a requirement from Apple. That’s what we call our little “secret workaround” 😉.
I also recommend purchasing the Publish addons from Web2Native. If you don’t have prior experience publishing apps to the stores, their Publish packages are very complete. The only detail is that their support team is in India, so their hours are inverted compared to us in the Americas.
Overall, it has been an excellent experience: the app works stably and smoothly on Apple devices, although you do need a few extra workarounds to properly manage internal vs. external URLs, so the app doesn’t just feel like a regular browser. At that stage, feel free to reach out—I found several solutions through lots of trial and error.
I also recommend purchasing the mandatory update package, which forces or prompts users to update the app. It’s very useful to keep everyone on the latest version.
Another strong point is that Web2Native integrates OneSignal natively for push notifications. My recommendation is to let their team handle the setup directly:
- Deep Links ($30)
- OneSignal configuration ($30)
Both are very affordable for the value they provide, and they can do it in just one day instead of you losing time figuring it out.
Finally, the stage we are currently working on is integrating smart updates through a custom WordPress events API, connected with OneSignal, to send personalized and segmented push notifications to each user.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions. It has been a long journey with a lot of learning, but this is what I consider the most important information to get started
David Badilla Salazar thank you. I will check them out.
David Badilla Salazar how do you keep w2n app updated? Things on you site maybe added or brake. The app code may change or become outdated over time, so I am wondering how updates work in order to keep both apps current for playstore and ios.
David Badilla Salazar so happy you had positive experience with web2native like we did 😄 and congrats on launching!! 🎉 I know it can get frustrating with app rejections but final destination is so worth it 🙏🏻
David Scurlock Hi David, sure, let me explain how it works.
Web2Native is basically a packager for how your Fluent Community/WordPress site looks online. For me it’s wonderful, because around 90% of the changes you’ll ever need are made directly in WordPress or Fluent Community — and they reflect instantly in the app without touching the wrapper.
For example, if you change spaces, groups, or community features, it’s all independent of the packager. The wrapper is only really needed when you want to configure more advanced things, like push notifications or deep integrations.
It’s quite rare that you actually need to update the app itself. When there’s a major update (for example, recently on Android), Web2Native notifies you so you can rebuild. But honestly, once the first build is done, you can go months without touching the app build, because almost everything happens on the WordPress side.
If you ever do need to rebuild, they charge just $10 per build (per platform: Android or iOS), which is ridiculously cheap compared to other solutions. It’s very stable, no monthly fees, and works as a simple but powerful web viewer packaged in a native app.
And since the WPManageNinja team has done such an excellent job with the Fluent Community interface, it’s practically ready-made for app use.
If you have any other questions, happy to help!
Tjaša Peterle Hi Tjaša, thank you so much!
We were able to accomplish all of this thanks to your help and the little “secret workaround” you shared 😉 — that tip made a big difference.
It has truly been a very solid experience. After trying other platforms, I honestly consider this one of the best options available. The only downside is that their support is completely inverted with our time zone, but apart from that, everything has been impeccable and excellent.
Right now we’re already in the final stage, working on programming personalized push notifications for each user, which takes a bit more effort. But again, thank you so much. It’s really a rewarding experience once you finally get it working. 🙏
David Badilla Salazar very good. Does w2n have an addon or support GA4? And what is this secret work around? Maybe you explain that a little more. Thanks for your help.
David Scurlock Hi David, great questions!
Regarding GA4: Web2Native is essentially just a wrapper, so it doesn’t really affect analytics at all. Everything related to GA4 (or any other tracking) happens on the WordPress/Fluent Community side, and it reflects directly in the app without extra steps on the wrapper itself.
As for the “secret workaround” I mentioned earlier: it’s really simple. When you submit the app for review (especially with Apple), just make sure that the test account you provide has administrator privileges inside Fluent Community. That way, the reviewer can see and test the block user function, which is a requirement for approval. And that’s basically it. 🙂
David Badilla Salazar So you purchased the basic license or the 499$ package?
David Badilla Salazar I think deep links and one signal are now included in the package, however, I have to ask, exactly what is deep linking? Thanks
I should also note that w2n app has a high level of positive reviews on trustpilot. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.webtonative.com
David Scurlock it's awesome! We also launched app with web2native and had to do some workaround but the ending results are great