App Wizard

What App Wizard is

App Wizard is a template-based mobile app builder run by iSmart Apps Pty Ltd, whose address on the site is Rochedale South, Queensland, Australia. It is written for business owners, associations and entrepreneurs who want a branded iOS and Android app without hiring a development team: the company's own line is that "previous App development experience is not required," while experienced code writers are catered for with full HTML and native development options.

It sells two routes to the same result. You can build the app yourself in the online builder, or you can hand the job to what the home page calls an "award-winning team of build specialists" through the Custom-Build Services.

What you build and how

The build starts from a template, not a blank canvas. The home page says App Wizard has 100 fully customizable templates with designs and features to suit a wide range of purposes, and describes 3 steps. First, pick a pre-designed template that suits your business type or has the design and features you want. Second, edit and configure it: customize the app to your branding, theme and icons, and add or remove features. Third, preview and test on your own device with the Previewer apps, then finalize for publication.

The feature list on the home page is the most useful picture of what an app can contain: push notifications, geofencing, noticeboards, GPS maps, forms, videos, loyalty and rewards, calendars, in-app ordering and payments, social media pages, and login and access options, "and so much more." That covers the ground of a local business app, a club or association app, or a customer loyalty app. A shop could use ordering and payments, a venue could use calendars and maps, and an organization could use noticeboards and forms.

Code access is the unusual part. The company says its online framework is a no-code platform that also offers "full-code, HTML, CSS & app.xml access," so a builder with coding skills can go below the visual layer. The home page adds that it caters for "experienced code writers with full HTML & native development options," and describes the interface as offering "unparalleled customisability." A company blog post explains what the code layer is for: full-code (HTML) access lets a builder incorporate additional native content into an existing app template, and lets experienced coders add special touches or even develop apps completely from scratch with custom code, all online. In practice that means two kinds of builder can share one platform: an owner who never leaves the template editor, and a developer who opens the HTML, CSS and app.xml to go further than the visual options allow.

Customization in the editor is broad. Each template is described as fully customizable: you change the branding, theme and icons, and add or remove features, so a template chosen for its layout can end up with a different feature set from the one it started with. The home page frames the result as a way to "enhance your brand's stature," and pitches apps as a tool to generate new revenue streams, attract repeat business, build customer loyalty and share information with stakeholders. The company calls its framework "the world's best no-code platform"; that is its own marketing line.

Testing uses a live previewer. The home page says you can test your app's features and functionality on your device as you build, and that edits are synchronized automatically into the Previewer. The previewer covers both iOS and Android apps built on appwizard.com.au, and the point, in the page's words, is to fine-tune the app's design and performance prior to publishing. For iOS, the page notes that this requires Apple TestFlight on your device.

The publishing target is the app stores. The home page says subscriptions commence once you are ready to publish on the App stores, and the support menu lists the steps around that point: activating a subscription, a development approval form and payments.

If you would rather not build, the Custom-Build Services are aimed at people who "don't have the time or resources to build your own App." The team delivers "fully-customised, feature-packed, professional mobile Apps for all types of businesses & associations." The site publishes no custom-build prices, but offers a quote route.

The evidence

Pricing works on a build-first model. The home page says "No up-front costs. Build your App completely for free! Subscriptions commence once you're ready to publish on the App stores." A blog post on the site repeats the idea for the sector in general: some platforms let you build entirely for free, with subscription fees starting only after you publish, so there is no time pressure before publication. The home page calls its subscriptions "low-cost subscription plans" and has a separate Plans & Prices page; no price figures appear on the home page or the blog. The footer also links a Money Back Guarantee page.

Support claims: the home page promises "Responsive customer support" and step-by-step online tutorials, and the support menu adds Self-Build Tutorials and an Ask the Build Team option, so a self-builder can hand a question to the same team that does custom builds. It describes the company as award-winning for its products and customer service. Three customer testimonials appear. A testimonial from Peter Williams of the Fish Safety Foundation says he "designed, built & published it in 30 days." Neil Farmer, president of AMPI, says the team delivered "a well designed, affordable & professional App, on time & on budget." Susan Parr of Word Productions praises the support team, writing "I can't tell you how thankful & impressed I am with their character, genius, & understanding."

These are testimonials selected by the company, so treat them as its own marketing rather than independent reviews. The 30-day figure is one customer's experience of building and publishing an app, not a promised timeline.

Who it suits and who it does not

App Wizard fits a small business, club, charity or association that wants a standard feature set (notifications, loyalty, calendars, ordering, forms) inside a branded app without a development budget. The build-free model means you can design and test before paying anything. The custom-build service also suits an owner who would rather brief a team than learn a builder.

It also suits a technically minded person who wants to start from a template and then adjust the code, because of the HTML, CSS and app.xml access.

The caveats: prices sit on a separate page rather than next to the features, and the platform is built around its own feature list, so an app that needs something outside it depends on the code access or the custom-build team. The outside voices on the site are 3 customer testimonials, a small sample for judging the platform.