How to make an Android Appif you can’t program

Introduction• More than 1.5 million new Android devices being activated

every day

• Android app applicable for business, sports team, music band, community group, etc

• Aim to – Keep in touch– Deepen relationship– Increase interaction

Past versus Today

• Expensive• Programming skills

• Cost-effective• User-friendly tools

Steps to make an Android App

What appto build

1 2 3

Use the selected

Mobile App software

Mobile App software

search

What app to build: Have a clear picture

• Decide on what type of app • What is it for? • Who is your target audience?

Search the internet for App Software

• Appcelerator Titanium• Runs on cross platforms (Android, iPhone and Windows) • Uses Javascript • Require some background on Java• Java tutorials (http://www.w3schools.com/js/)

• MIT App Inventor• A Massachusetts Institute of Technology Drag-and-Drop tool• Uses Open Block interface for building logic, similar to the programming education tool,

Scratch• Involves a mid-level learning curve and is limited to producing apps only for the Android

platform.

• AppMakr (The Machine) http://www.appmakr.com/• Web-based tool (Easiest to use amongst 3 suggested options)• Simple Drag-and-Drop interface• Runs on cross-platform (Android, iPhone and HTML5 smartphones)

Get Started

1. Go to www.appmakr.com • Enter app’s name• Get Started• Sign in using Gmail, Google

account, Facebook, Twitter account, or your Yahoo ID

Using the Machine (Step 1)2. Fill in the details on the first page. Step One (Basic Info)

• Contact Information• Name of the App• Overall Colors & Design (Colors of

background, title and text)• Background Image of the app

interface • Splash-screen image (this image

will appear when the app is loading).

• App Demographics (Region, Country or State that your app targets)

Note: You can upload your own design or image; or select from The Machine’s library of free images.

Do note that the image uploaded should have recommended dimensions of 768 pixels wide X 1024 pixels high.

Using the Machine (Step 2)

3. Click the “Next” button Step Two (App Creation)• In this step, you’ll find out that the app you’ll be

creating for your Android phone is actually a collection of customised and pre-made functions.

• Here are a few examples of the functions you can

include in your app:a. Calendarb. Community c. Documents

Using the Machine (Step 2)a. Calendar: A function that lets you share schedules and events with others.

Using the Machine (Step 2)b. Community: A function that resembles the Facebook Wall or Timeline feature. This is where users of the same app can post shout outs and leave messages for everyone involved using the Community feature.

Using the Machine (Step 2)c. Docs – Need to share forms, documents with the parents?

Publish your App (Step 3)Step Three (Publish your App)Once you’re done with the app’s customization details,

you can finally publish and download your app.

• Choose your Icon• Write a Description• Write a Welcome message• Add some additional info• Add some Tags (Improve your results in search

engine and make your app more searchable)

• Pick your HTML5 Domain (eg. fanapp.mobi, churchapp.mobi, ourcondo.at, bhealthy.mobi,..etc)

• Publish Categories (eg. Books & Reference, Accounts/Tax, Education, Games, Social networks, etc)

•

Publish your App (Step 3)Step Three (Choose your subscription method)• FREE – Publish on Android & HTML5 platforms

• $1/month – Publish on Android & HTML5 platforms – Ad-free

• $9/month – Publish on all platforms (Android, iPhone, HTML5)

• $99/one time fee – Publish on all platforms (Android, iPhone, HTML5)– Enables you to sell your app for a price– Requires self-publishing

Download your App & Share

• Lastly, simply download the app from the URL or QR Code provided, and you’re done.

Tips• Always save your work every time you create

changes on your app.

• You can actually have your own personalized application where you can combine all your favourite links, contacts and photos in one place. (Great for creating private space for families)

• The Step-by-Step tutorial video in each step is a great help, and is available in ten different languages, if you get a little lost.