In this article, you'll learn:
- How to set up your mobile app.
- How to upload visual assets for your mobile app.
- How to post items to your mobile app.
About the Mobile App
A mobile application (app) is a type of application software designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone.
With CommentSold, you can launch a mobile app for your shop. While CommentSold will handle the app development and launch for you, there are some steps you will need to take to provide our team with the information to do so. In this article, we cover how to prepare and what to expect so you can plan accordingly and fast-track your app launch.
How the Mobile App Benefits Your Shop
- Shops generate an average of 67% of their total revenue through their branded mobile app.
- Create a professional, highly-branded mobile app that reflects the look, feel, and personality of your shop.
- Make it easier than ever for shoppers to browse, cart, and purchase items from their phones.
- Choose to host live sales exclusively on your app or opt to include it in one of many sales channels when going live.
- Configure stories from your Instagram account to publish to your app.
Step 1: Choose Your App Setup Method
The first step is choosing how you wish to set up your app with Apple. You have two options: you can use CommentSold's shared developer account or you can create your own developer account. We discuss the benefits of both and the steps involved below.
Choosing Use a CommentSold shared Apple account can significantly reduce the time it takes to get your app up and running because you're not required to obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and create an Apple Developer account—two steps that can take upwards of 30 days to complete.
While the app creator will show as CommentSold, you will still be able to brand the name of your app.
You can always choose to create your own Apple account at a later date and transfer your app from the shared account to your own.
Choosing to Use your own Apple account will require additional work on your end, which can take upwards of 30 days to complete.
Why use your own account? The main benefit of using your own Apple Developer Account is that your shop name will appear as the app creator.
You will need to obtain a DUNS number and create your own Apple account before you can complete the steps below.
- Enter your DUNS number in the DUNS Numbers field. If you already have a DUNS number, you can look it up here.
- Enter your Apple Developer Account Company Name. This name must be the same as the Team Name listed in your Apple Developer account (including all spacing, punctuation, capitalization, etc.). We recommend copying and pasting your Team Name in this field.
- In the Invite CommentSold to Your Account section, copy the email address listed.
- Select Go to Apple Developer Users.
- Log into your Apple Developer Account.
- On the Users and Access page, select the plus sign icon (+) in the top-left corner of the page.
- Complete the following fields on the New User pop-up:
- First Name: Enter Mobile.
- Last Name: Enter Team.
- Email: Paste the email you copied from the Invite CommentSold to Your Account section.
- Roles: Admin
- Under Additional Resources, please ensure Certificates, Profiles and Identifiers has been selected. It should also appear grayed out.
- Select Invite in the bottom-right corner of the pop-up.
Once you've completed the fields on this page, select Next Step at the bottom of the page.
Step 2: Add App Information
The next step will be to add information about your app such as your desired app name, colors, and intended demographic.
- App Display Name. Enter three unique app names. We will attempt to use the first name you enter and will move down the list if preceding names have been taken.
- Contact Us URL. Enter the URL for your webstore contact or "About Us" page. This URL cannot be an email address, Facebook page, or a page where a shopper would need to log in to reach you.
- Colors. Enter the hex code or use the color slider to select your Primary (Tint) Color and Secondary (Background) Color. Your primary color will highlight certain elements such as navigation tabs, prices, and buttons while your secondary color will appear on your login button. Select View Examples in the top-right corner of this section to view an example of these two colors in an app.
- Note that pure white (#FFFFFF) will be automatically rejected. Additionally, you should avoid near white or off-white colors.
- Choose colors that will make it easy for shoppers to see and read white text.
- App Age Restriction. Select the appropriate target audience for your app and content.
Once you've completed the fields on this page, select Next Step at the bottom of the page.
Step 3: Upload Your Visual Assets
Next, you'll send your brand images and colors to the CommentSold design team. If you do not have all of the required assets in the formats and sizes requested, you can submit what you do have available.
We recommend that you use your brand's logo as your app icon. The image you submit should be square.
Don't have an app logo yet? We created this template with the recommended size requirements to help get you started. Simply add images and/or text, as desired.
- In the App Icon section, select Click to Browse to upload a logo from your device. You can also drag and drop the image in the App Icon field.
- Required Size: Minimum of 1536px x 1536px for best quality.
- Required File Type: JPEG
- If you wish to leave a note for our designers, select the note icon that appears above the top-right corner of the uploaded image. Select Save to save your note.
- To delete an uploaded image, hover over the image and select Delete.
Your header logo will appear at the top of your app and on the launch screen.
Don't have a header logo yet? We created this template with the recommended size requirements to help get you started. Simply add images and/or text, as desired.
- In the Header Logo section, select Click to Browse to upload a header logo from your device. You can also drag and drop the image in the Header Logo field.
- Required Size: Minimum of 750px x 200px for best quality.
- Required File Type: PNG, JPEG
- If you wish to leave a note for our designers, select the note icon that appears above the top-right corner of the uploaded image. Select Save to save your note.
- To delete an uploaded image, hover over the image and select Delete.
Launch screen images typically consist of easy-to-view images of inventory, pleasant backgrounds, or a familiar model. This image briefly appears every time the app loads on a shopper's mobile device.
Don't have a launch screen image yet? We created this template to help get you started. It meets the recommended sizing requirements and provides guides to help you visualize where the logo and registration/login buttons will be located. Simply add images and/or text, as desired.
- In the Launch Screen Image section, select Click to Browse to upload an image from your device. You can also drag and drop the image in the Launch Screen Image field.
- Required Size: Minimum of 1,000px x 1,600px for best quality.
- Required File Type: PNG
- If you wish to leave a note for our designers, select the note icon that appears above the top-right corner of the uploaded image. Select Save to save your note.
- To delete an uploaded image, hover over the image and select Delete.
The Reference section is the best place to share the look and feel of your brand with our graphic designers. These pieces will help inform the design of your mobile app assets.
- Show Us Your Branding. Select Click to Browse to upload branding pieces from your device. You can also drag and drop the image into the field.
- Description. Add any notes you'd like to send to our designers. This can include preferred colors (by name or hex code), font choices (by name or type—like "handwriting" or "script"), etc.
- Facebook URL. Drop the link for your Facebook page in this field so designers have access to your page while creating assets.
Once you're done uploading your assets, select Submit Assets at the bottom of the page.
Step 4: Approve Visual Assets
Once our designers have prepared your assets, you'll be notified to approve them. When assets are ready for approval, they will appear in the Asset Approval tab. You will need to approve them in order for app development to move forward.
- Review your App Icon. Select Approve or Reject from the drop-down in the top-right corner of this section. If rejecting, please provide specific reasons for our design team (i.e., The font is too hard to read or The color is too bright).
- Review your Homepage. Select Approve or Reject from the drop-down in the top-right corner of this section. If rejecting, please provide specific reasons for our design team.
- Review your Launch Screen. Select Approve or Reject from the drop-down in the top-right corner of this section. If rejecting, please provide specific reasons for our design team.
Once all assets look good to you, you can select Submit and Finalize My Assets at the bottom of the page.
Step 5: Post Products To Your App Before Review
Before we can submit your app to the App Store and Google Play Store for review, you will need to publish, at minimum, nine (9) products to your app. This allows reviewers to get a full sense of the purpose and content of your app so they can approve it.
- Select Products in the side menu of your CommentSold dashboard.
- Locate the 9 items you wish to publish to your app and select the checkbox to the left of each product.
- At the top of the product listing, select the green Selected drop-down.
- Select Post to App.
- Scroll to the bottom of the following page and select Save Post.
Check Your Mobile App Approval Status
If you opted to set up your mobile app using a CommentSold shared account, then the App Status tracker will begin showing daily updates on the status of your app. If you choose to set up your mobile app using your own Apple Developer Account, then you'll see these updates once Apple has approved your account.
This tracker is your best source of updates during the app development and approval process. Any issues during this process will display in the Logs section beneath the tracker. In some cases, we may contact you to help resolve an issue.
Once your app launches, you can use the Mobile App page in your CommentSold dashboard to send and automate push notifications, change your app branding, and change your mobile app settings. Learn more about the settings and features available to you post-launch here.
Learn More
- Create an Apple Developer Account. Learn how to create your own Apple Developer account for the setup of your mobile app.
- Understanding Your Mobile App Settings. Learn how to configure the look and feel of your mobile app and how to create and send push notifications.
