The tech industry is a place where anyone can bring a big idea to life. But it’s also a place where big ideas sometimes get left on the drawing board due to their creator lacking the technical skills — or the resources to hire someone with those skills — required to take them from concept to reality.
AppOnboard is out to change this. Its newest product, AppOnboard Studio, is a no-code software toolset that enables anyone with an idea for an app to instantly create a fully-functional demo that can be easily shared with the world.
“Historically only those with skills, resources and connections have been able to bring their ideas to life,” said Product Manager Daniel Uhm. “What would the world look like if every person had the tools and skills to create an idea and then immediately start testing it in the market?”
We recently caught up with Uhm to learn more about AppOnboard Studio and the mission that drove its development.
We heard your team is really excited about AppOnboard Studio. Can you tell us more about it?
We have been humbled by the reception to AppOnboard Studio since we announced it at the 2019 Game Developers Conference in March and are excited to release it soon. AppOnboard Studio is a no-code toolset that allows developers, marketers, creators and anyone else to bring ideas to life without needing engineering resources or coding knowledge. We are excited to see all the creations that will come to life once we release it. We truly believe that the possibilities are endless!
Can you talk about the development timeline of AppOnboard Studio and any changes that were made — and what drove them — along the way?
We’ve actually been using a version of AppOnboard Studio to build interactive app experiences over the years for developers such as Glu Mobile, Zynga and Big Fish Games. In preparation for its public release, there was a huge shift in focus to overhaul the UI/UX to match what creatives and marketing professionals would be looking for. Our goal was to provide a tool that would let someone create an end-to-end experience and, with the click of a button, publish it directly to app stores and HTML5. This way you can share, distribute and start getting feedback fast.
We have also designed the UI/UX to be intuitive and completely no code, which empowers users of all backgrounds to bring ideas to life.”
What impact will this new software have on your existing users and how will it appeal to new users?
We are excited to show current customers AppOnboard Studio as we believe it will further speed up instant app creation. AppOnboard Studio also opens up a whole new market as developers can now export straight to HTML5, opening the entire programmatic advertising space as a place to serve these creations, starting with Facebook Ads.
We have also designed the UI/UX to be intuitive and completely no code, which empowers users of all backgrounds to bring ideas to life. We’ve already seen a plethora of creations, including apps, games, beatbox machines and interactive films.
While AppOnboard Studio is no-code software, there's plenty of tech under the hood. What challenges did the team face when it came to building a high-powered software that's designed to be used by anyone?
The biggest challenge was to create a tool easy and simple enough to use that would support the creation of dynamic experiences with advanced logic. We converted our in-house web application into a native desktop application to ensure strong and stable performance.
There is also a lot of technology powering the ability for users to publish their creations in a variety of ways, including as a Google Play Instant app and as an HTML unit that can run on places like Facebook. There are file size limitations and requirements for each platform, and we have designed a tool that provides one-click publishing for users.
In addition to launching new software, your team is growing as well. What do you look for when hiring?
We definitely focus on understanding the technical capabilities of candidates. However, equally important to us are candidates who believe in our company’s mission and are team players at heart. Our internal mantra is one team, one dream, and we truly believe it!
