superaven Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Hello, I know there was a ton of threads regarding a dedicated app for forums. Considering how beautiful considered and built Invision Community v5 is, as well as advancements in technologies that have since been developed and incorporated, I'm wondering if anyone is considered or has already packaged up their community into a dedicated mobile or desktop app. I'm an Apple person, so my references will be on that their platform, but for example... I've seen several projects utilizing iOS shortcuts that allow you to go a step beyond a Web Clip to create something that feels almost entirely like a dedicated iOS app. Seems to make use of the Safari framework to simply compartmentalize the website at a specific URL and launches outside of Safari as if its own thing and without the usual toolbar and controls. Link: https://ios.gadgethacks.com/how-to/turn-any-website-into-full-screen-app-your-iphone-0384426/ Link: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/d18b423ea42d47fbb82a03d07156c747 It appears that ICv5 has a UI that was developed so that it doesn't really require (or even benefit) from the standard forward / back buttons found in just about every browser. So packaging it up using the tools in the two links above pretty much give you a full fledged mobile app. Considering many apps I've seen are just packaged websites, I'm wondering if anyone has formally packaged and submitted (as well as been approved) their Invision Community on the Apple or Android stores. Here's similar examples of forum systems that look to be simply packaged websites on the Mac OS: Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/forum-talks/id1477197448 Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discourse-hub/id1173672076 Anyhow, I haven't seen the topic come up recently or in this context. Also wondering what the rules are for what constitutes an app on those two App Stores. Seems odd that there are so few forums / online communities represented on there, but maybe I'm missing something. Would love to hear from the community and developers here on the subject. As mentioned, those iOS shortcuts (first two links in this post) make it unbelievably simple to create something that already feels like a dedicated iOS app. I'd assume with the iPhone notification feature introduced in ICv4.7.9 it pretty much takes it the rest of the way to behaving like a dedicated app, assuming that they can be successfully submitted and approved. Am I missing something? Thanks! A few ICv5 links that relate to this topic: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Stridgen Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/27/2024 at 11:25 PM, superaven said: It appears that ICv5 has a UI that was developed so that it doesn't really require (or even benefit) from the standard forward / back buttons found in just about every browser. So packaging it up using the tools in the two links above pretty much give you a full fledged mobile app. Considering many apps I've seen are just packaged websites, I'm wondering if anyone has formally packaged and submitted (as well as been approved) their Invision Community on the Apple or Android stores. I can tell you nobody has done this, as version 5 has not been released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superaven Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 7 hours ago, Marc Stridgen said: I can tell you nobody has done this, as version 5 has not been released. Okay, to clarify... Has anyone does this with ICv4? @Marc Stridgen Ignoring if anyone has done this, is my thinking on this correct? I see many dedicated apps, often online stores, that are just packaged websites or pages. Based on that, I'd assume doing the same on forum would work the same way, but guess I'm just wondering why there doesn't really seem to be many examples of this? Also, is anyone planning or researching this? For the longest time people were begging for a solution to a dedicated app so kind of surprised to not see more around this topic since it appears that this is actually very doable (unless I'm totally missing something). *Oh, that merge reply function is pretty awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Stridgen Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I have seen a few apps that are built in that manner, on the face of it. Whether there is more to it than meets the eye, Im not sure. We dont provide a custom application for app store/play store, so you would have to check with their specific rules to see if there is anything stopping you from doing so superaven 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FanClub Mike Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Creating an app and submitting to the app store is definitely on my roadmap for Fan Clubs, and I'd like to do the same for my other community as well at some point. I don't expect to get to that until at least 2025, however. If it's helpful, I have submitted a web app of my site to the Google Play store packaged as an APK site years ago with no issues. Back then I was on WordPress and I'm sure a lot has changed since, though. superaven 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superaven Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 Makes sense, @Marc Stridgen and @FanClub Mike , thank you for the insights. I suppose we're left with not knowing until someone gives this a shot. I'll report back once I'm that far along, whether it works or not, so we can definitively answer this question. In the meantime, if anyone has any additional information or answers on this subject or any relevant experience on the app/play store(s), please chime in. FanClub Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superaven Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 So I'm still in the middle of this and wanted to update the thread. Apologies for the more experienced among you if this is kinda basic. (I'm figuring it all out from scratch). So for the most part, what we're actually discussing here is a Progressive Web App (PWA). You can Google the specifics on PWA's but as I understand, they're essentially highly optimized mobile web apps in a Javascript container. These days most things are optimized for mobile, but these are expected to run standalone, without a browser, so it would require a bit more consideration towards UI and especially navigation since otherwise, you're just running in a browser. Beyond that, there doesn't necessarily need much more than what you'd be doing for the mobile optimized web. I'm currently leveraging Apple Shortcuts to do a sort of bootleg version of this. (Linked in my opening post) and it actually works pretty great. Invision Community, or at least the theme I've been running for ages, doesn't seem to me to be entirely dialed in to use smoothly without browser controls... It works fine and you can do everything you need, but when compared to the UI of most dedicated mobile apps, it feels a bit clunky and crude. I have not had a chance to play with v5, but the developers have noted (and seems obvious from the preview videos and screen grab) that they have taken this into consideration and it has a more app-like UI, which seems perfect for a PWA. I haven't run a bunch of searches on the community around dedicated mobile apps and the like, so perhaps there's a thread I missed on that subject. I'll dig and link here if so (feel free to link to any relevant threads if you know any), but yeah... So far in the research I've done, there's been no info so far that states specifically that packaging a forum into a PWA is any kind of issue. I am curious if you have paid subscriptions or use the Commerce Module, how they might respond to that since Apple and Google are very specific in regards to Apps with transactions / micro-transactions, so I'll report back if I get to that step. I'm really looking forward to v5. I'd love to hear from the Invision team a little bit on this (or link me to the thread please) on their view of PWA's and perhaps provide some insight into their thoughts on mobile based UI and what sort of methodology or thought process is informing their approach to it. No doubt forum based online discussion (like most content and experience) is better on desktop, but likewise, the reality is that the overwhelming portion of users are generally using mobile. Oops, now that I know what a PWA is and searched that, I'm finding. bunch of threads. (Sorry moderators). Still nice to have a more recent conversation I guess. I'll try and provide new info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven W. Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) Some time ago, I launched a mobile app with push notifications using a modified webview for vBulletin and XenForo. What the OP says is possible. But, the iOS app needs adjustments to pass the app review process. This was a necessity as, at that time, Safari Web Push did not exist. Now that it is implemented by Apple, the clear compelling reason to roll native out is that users know how to install regular apps. Later, I created PWA's for XenForo and used the full feature set of iOS shortcuts. In general, on the various communities that ran our apps, users preferred native apps -- PWAs were basically ignored. If you are set on a native mobile app for IPS using a custom skin, send a message to dev@vbresults.com. Steven vbresults.com - Enterprise IPS custom application and plugin development Edited February 23 by Steven W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superaven Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 iPhone notifications, web app and more thread: https://invisioncommunity.com/forums/topic/473100-iphone-notifications-web-app-and-more/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superaven Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 1 minute ago, Steven W. said: Some time ago, I launched a mobile app with push notifications using a modified webview for vBulletin and XenForo. What the OP says is possible. But, the iOS app needs adjustments to pass the app review process. This was a necessity as, at that time, Safari Web Push did not exist. Now that it is implemented by Apple, the main (and I think, only) compelling reason to roll this out on a board now is that users know how to install regular apps. In general, from the many communities that ran it, it looks like users prefer that mode. Later, I created PWA's for XenForo and back then I used the full feature set of iOS shortcuts; the reception was tepid. If you are set on a native mobile app for IPS using a custom skin, it can be done -- send a message to dev@vbresults.com. Steven vbresults.com - Enterprise IPS custom application development Thank you for jumping in @Steven W.. My motivation of doing this is in direct response to feedback from our community. Thinking it through, it makes sense that those without a dedicated app are at a disadvantage for the simple fact that dedicated apps have real estate on a the Home Screen. Granted, Shortcuts and web clips are able to do the same, but I've also seen how without browser controls, viewers are sort of contained to that ecosystem alone, versus closing a tab or jumping to a new one. As for using Shortcuts to accomplish this, its reasonably simple, but I have no doubt we'll get a few people confused, even if I eliminate the need for inputs like is necessary in the generic Shortcut provided in my first post. Also seems a bit sketchy dealing with the signed certificate stuff. Lastly, just seems so much more legit to actually have a spot on the actual App Store. We run a custom skin now, but planning to drop it once they release v5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts