Getting started with Jotform Apps
Are you looking for ways to make first-time customers repeat buyers? Would you like to make it easier for your clients to book time with you or purchase your products or services from the convenience of their own phone?
Well, in this video, I'm going to show you how to create a free app in just a few minutes. This app will help you "Wow!" your clients and customers, making it easier for you to secure that next sale or appointment.
To get started, all we need to do is go to jotform.com. Under Features, we're going to click on Jotform Apps, or you can select the link in the description below.
Jotform has been one of the leaders in online forms, which is important because when building an app, you want to make it actionable. You want to allow people to book time with you, purchase something from you, or submit a request. Jotform already has all of this built right in, so you'll have access to these features within the app builder itself.
Next, we just need to select Get Started Now because, yes, it is absolutely free.
The first thing you'll be asked is whether you want to start from scratch or use a template. Starting from scratch will give you a completely blank canvas, so if you prefer that route, you can choose it.
In our example, we're going to look at using a template because it allows us to swap out anything we like. Even if the template is from a completely different industry, if we like the layout or design, we can customize it to fit our needs.
Selecting a mobile app template
So, I'm going to select Use a Template. So, here within the Template menu, we have over 300 examples to choose from in a variety of different industries and examples.
And the great thing about this is that as you browse through these different options,
we can always select the Preview button and get a full experience as to what this template is going to look and feel like.
So, in this case, maybe I run a salon or a barbershop, so I can take a look at how this is going to be laid out. I can even click on things here within the app itself to see what the forms or other pages are going to look like before I make my selection.
At the top of the screen, we can also search by some keywords. So, let's stick with that salon example, and I can bring back all of these different examples. So, whether I'm a barbershop, maybe I'm a massage therapy clinic, or something along those lines, I can take a look at all of those examples here.
On the left-hand side, they've even broken it down by different categories and different areas like different industries or types of businesses that you may be involved with.
For our case, I'm going to take a look at the Scheduling Apps option because, in many cases, we want people to reserve time or book time with us.
And I'm going to click on this one here, this sort of purple theme. I'm going to select Use Template and just show you how easy it is to create your very own app.
Adding and editing app elements
So, once selecting your template, we now have the ability to edit any of the elements that we see here.
On the left-hand side, there is this Add Element plus button. If this expands, we can see all of the other things that we can add to our app. And there's a very long list of all the things that we could be adding to our app here.
So, if there's something missing, like a particular button, or if you'd like to add some images, or if you'd like to embed a document, you can do so.
For example, sometimes it can be helpful to add a map to your app if people forget where you're located, especially if they're only coming to you maybe once a month, or once a quarter, or whatever the case may be.
So, I'm just going to drag this Map widget over to the place where I would like it to reside. And now, at the bottom of the first page of my app, people can have access to this map. It's going to take just maybe a few seconds to load here.
Of course, I can click on it, change the settings, and change the address.
but now they can always remember where specifically I am located. We also have a number of widgets as well, which is fantastic with Jotform. So, if you're wanting to embed certain things related to your social media accounts or if you want to add a QR code, more on that a little bit later, you can do so as well. I'm going to close that down for a moment and move over to the right-hand side,
Editing the style of your mobile app
where we can choose different styles and designs for our app. So, for example here,
I've got a bit of a purple theme going on here. Maybe if I want to jazz things up a bit
and brighten things up, I can choose a different color scheme here on the right-hand side. Maybe I want something more of a bluish design here for my particular app,
I can do so as well. Of course, all of these things are editable. So, down below, even if I don't find a color scheme that I'm wild about, I can come down here and change the specific colors themselves. So, if I want to be on brand with my website, I can do so here as well. The other thing here is we can change our app layout, for example.
So, if I come over here and if I don't like this layout, maybe I want maybe two columns
instead of just one column here, I can choose that as well. So, there's a lot of variety
when it comes to changing the style of your particular app. We're going to take a look at removing the logo here for a second here because, hey, that's not my logo.
Let's see if we can change that. So, everything here is clickable, almost everything is drag and drop. So, in this case, that's not my logo. So, I'm going to say, Remove that Image and I'm going to choose to upload my own image. So, I'm going to select upload file. I'm going to go over to my desktop and I'm going to go grab my Simpletivity logo. So, now, I can have my logo displayed at the very top of my app.
That only makes sense, right? Yeah, it only makes sense. Let's click on the company name and we're going to call this the Simple App, how about that in this particular case? And we can even add a description down below if we want to as well. So, remember, everything here is customizable,
but let's get into the actual functionality of our app and how people are going to be interacting with us.
Previewing and testing your app
So, here we can see we've got sort of two big buttons here: Schedule an Appointment and Contact Us. I'm going to click on this for just a second here, because it's saying it's a clone of Contact Us just because we created this from a template. And remember, we can edit not just the text, but we can edit the forms that these are linked to as well. One of the great things is that you can always preview your app
in the top right-hand corner. So, as we're making changes here in the editor, all I need to do is toggle this Preview App button, and we're going to be brought to a live preview. So, this can be a great way to preview what your app is going to look like for your clients. You can click on things to make sure that things are behaving the way they want to. You can even change the landscape view to portrait view to see if everything is going to look and feel the way that you like. And when you're done, all you need to do is come back up here and toggle the Preview App button. You're going to be brought back to the editor window so that we can continue to work
Editing settings for your mobile app
and build out our custom app. Now, let's move on to the Settings area here because there's a few things that you want to pay special attention to. So, first off is the status of your app. And, of course, by default, it's going to be enabled, but you can disable it at any time or disable it on a specific date. So, let's say that you're putting together a special or a unique app just for a particular event, something that you're putting on
just for the month of February, for example. Well, you could disable it on March 1st if you wanted to. The second setting below says Continue Forms Later and because Jotform is all about forms, this is going to allow people to save their submissions and complete the form through the app later. This is a fantastic feature that most other app builders are not going to provide because, well, they're not built on the strength
of a form builder. This is great, especially if you have a lengthier form
that you want people to fill out and they don't have to feel that they have to continue
or finish the entire thing in one sitting, they can come back and finish it at a later date. So, just providing your users a little more convenience as a part of the process.
And then below that, we have a setting that says Add to Home Screen Modal, which I would strongly suggest that you turn on. In just a moment, I'm going to give you a real example of how easy it is for people to install this app on your phone and this is going to give them an invitation to add your app to their home screen. So, not only does it make it more visible for them, but it actually makes it easier for the user to access your app going forward. Here on the left-hand side of the Settings screen,
we also want to pay attention to the name of our app.
So, in this case, even though I changed the name on the home page, we can customize what they will see when it comes to actually accessing the app on their phone. Here, I'm going to set it to "Simple App," so that's what they're going to see.
I also want to edit the icon as well. So, I'm going to select Edit Icon here. I'll choose to remove the current image and then upload the logo we saw a little bit earlier because I want them to see my logo. Or, maybe you have something custom, something special that you want to add there as well.
Lastly, we have a Splash Screen option. I think, in this case, this blue color is actually going to work quite well. This splash screen will appear when someone first opens up your app.
because it may take one or two seconds for them to land on that home screen of the app itself. It's always nice to show your logo to show something there so they don't just see a blank screen. So, you can customize this as well.
How to publish and share your app
Last but not least, let's head over to the Publish area to make it easier for our clients to actually access it. Now, there's sort of three primary ways in which you're going to want to share your app. And no, you don't have to get involved with the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Jotform apps works with all Apple and Android devices, but they don't need to go to the App Store to install it. All you need to do is either send or share a link, you can invite them via email, or you can download a QR code. Now, the link, of course, is something that you could copy and paste and put directly on your website. Maybe you want to send out this link in an email newsletter
or maybe when they buy something from you, you could just include this in the footnotes or say, "Hey, next time, you can purchase or make a request using the app.
Just click this link to install." But another very convenient way to do so is to use the QR code option. So, you will have a unique QR code in which you can either copy this code and embed it on your website or within your email or you can just download the image here and think of your retail store. If you do have a salon, or a restaurant,
or some other brick-and-mortar store, you can actually have this at the cash register so that they can quickly and easily set it up. Maybe you can remind them when they're checking out or when they're completing their order to, "Hey, just take this QR code and you can install this right on your phone." You might even want to give them a slight discount for doing so right there in front of you. But this QR code, you can send out in a variety of other ways as well. So, let me switch over to my own phone
How the app looks on a mobile device
and just show you how easy it is for the user to install this app for themselves. So, here I am on my phone, and I'm going to open up my Photo app, and I'm going to zero it in here on the QR code, and I'm going to say, "Yeah, I want to go to that QR code." So, here you can see I'm immediately brought to the app itself, but because we had that setting, the user is going to be invited to add it to the home screen.
I'm going to say, "Yes, I do want to install this. I want to add it to my home screen."
So, now if I go back to my home screen, you can see right in the top left-hand corner, I have the Simple App installed. My users can click on that whenever they want.
There's my splash screen, and now I'm brought directly to my app. It looks fantastic! It's not within a browser; it doesn't have a URL at the top of the screen. They can click on Schedule an Appointment, and here it is, ready and waiting for them.
They can fill in their name and select a time that works best for them. Keep in mind, all of these forms and options are editable.
If they want to go back and access my Contact Us form, they can do that here as well. I've also provided some handy information, such as notifications of my opening hours.
If they want to call me directly, they can do so with just a click of a button. If they need to visit the website, they can do that as well. And here's the map that we embedded earlier.
How to make your app private
Keep in mind, Jotform Apps also allows you to make your apps private if you would like to.
By default, when selecting the template option, the Public Access selection is always going to be selected. This makes sense for most businesses that want to attract as many clients or return customers as possible.
However, you can also change this to Private Access. For example, if you want to create an app just for your internal staff or employees, you can do so. In fact, you can even limit access by a specific domain name if you're doing this within an organization.
There may be other scenarios where you want to keep private access. For instance, if you're selling a membership, such as running a gym or working as a personal trainer, you might want to provide private access only to people who have signed up for a particular program. This way, they can track their progress.
They can input their reps, and their nutrition, or however you want to design your particular app so you can either make things public or private based on your needs.
So, if you'd like to create a professional-looking mobile app and do it absolutely for free, be sure to check out Jotform Apps. Click the link in the description below to get started today. Remember, being productive does not need to be difficult. In fact, it's very simple.
