Apptooltester

White Label Apps – The Reseller Option for Starting Your Own App Business

Written on 07/20/2017
F T

Are you interested in creating and selling apps? It could be a lucrative career. According to a recent report, 67% of SMBs plan to have their own mobile app by the end of the year. Could you give them that solution?

Well, the good news is that you don’t need a team of iOS and Android developers to create an application these days. If your client's needs are simple enough, you could absolutely use an app maker and claim credit for their platform and development tools. In fact, they actively encourage it through their reseller, or white label app programs.

 

So what is a white label app?

Let’s say you use GoodBarber to create an app. You can log into their platform, play around, add features and publish it online. When you do, you will be using the GoodBarber website and backend. Their logo and branding is everywhere.

But are building a GoodBarber app for someone else? You could give them login details to see how their app is coming along. You could also give them access to add content and publish it themselves. But as a white label app, it will look like you created the backend yourself!

This is achieved through 3 white label features:

  • Hidden branding: whoever is using the app will not know the name of the app maker whose platform they are using
  • Customizable branding: you can replace the app maker branding with your own
  • Private domain name: your clients will access their app backend through a private domain name associated with your account

In short, you are paying for the right to replace any mention of GoodBarber with your own name or company name, while enjoying all of their features. Of course, any mention of their pricing will also be hidden from view.

Do I need to hide the branding?

Actually you don't. In fact, some resellers prefer to keep the name of the app maker to leverage the brand as part of their pitch to clients.

As an app maker CEO told us: “It reminds me how it used to be with web agencies. At the beginning they didn't say they were using WordPress to create the website for their customers. Now, they say they are WordPress gurus.”

 

Ok I want to start – now what?

Time for research! You should ensure that your app maker is perfect for your new business. Below is a checklist of all the points you should consider:

  • Price structure: the app makers world is still fairly new, which means a lot of experimentation with pricing structures. While they are generally paid monthly, you can also pay a lump sum for a certain amount of apps. Some give you a discounted price per app volume. You have to make sure the pricing structure make sense for the kind of reseller business you will run, and that it allows you to scale your business over the years.
  • Features: are you going to focus on creating event apps? Or maybe apps for local shops? Different app makers offer different features, so don’t get locked into a contract with one that hasn’t got the features you need.
  • Custom features: because app makers focus on a one-size-fits-all model, you might need to implement extra features for your clients. Most app makers let you integrate those, so you could invest in a developer for the odd coding job.
  • Developer accounts: Once the apps are built, you will need to submit them to an app store. This is done with a developer account and it costs $99 / year for the AppStore and $25 forever for the Play Store. Some app makers let your clients submit through their own developer accounts, but make sure they understand the price and process.
  • Reseller dashboard: When you are building or managing several apps at once, things can quickly get confusing. All app makers should give you access to a good dashboard where you can see the status of your apps and  any recent updates (made by you or your clients).

White Label Apps – The Reseller Option for Starting Your Own App Business

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