As event apps mature, the options for creating them have become more and more sophisticated.

The world is conducting its business with apps - there’s no doubt about it. The leading app stores have swelled since 2008 when Apple first introduced its App Store, with Apple housing over 1.2 million apps and Android offering even more at 1.3 million apps. Now we’re spending upwards of 37 hours a month within our smartphone apps.

We’re spending upwards of 37 hours a month within our smartphone apps.

The app economy has left its impact on the events industry as well. You’d be hard-pressed to attend a major trade show or expo these days without being asked to download the event’s accompanying app. And as apps continue make their way into the furthest reaches of event planners’ portfolios, scalability is the order of the day. Hence the rise of the event app template.

Sustaining Growth

We’ve seen this type of takeover before as the internet itself began to mature. Today we’re approaching an internet stuffed with almost 1 billion websites, but we wouldn’t have gotten there so quickly without the introduction of template-based builders like Wordpress, Squarespace, and Wix. It stands to reason that the app market is primed to go the same way - but where are enterprising folks (especially event planners) going to find an event app template system that will allow for fast building and quick implementation? As of today, it can be rather difficult and costly to build an app. The good news for event planners is that a lot of the app-making innovation is happening within the events industry itself, all thanks to event app building products.

The 2 options for making an app

Develop your own

For a significant amount of time, getting your own mobile app meant hiring developers and playing the part of product manager. It may have allowed clients to ask for exactly what they wanted, but it often came at the expense of lengthy development times and exorbitant costs. Add in the hidden ongoing costs of app upkeep, and developing on your own app starts to sound like a pretty expensive option.

Use an app building platform

Only recently has the option existed for non-developers to approach building an app. The events industry, by far, are some of the first ones to enjoy robust tools for app building with the introduction of the event app template. Using an event app template can narrow the scope in terms of use case and features, but in return you’re completely eliminating the need for development resources both to create and maintain the app itself.

What is an event app template?

When we discuss an event app template, we’re talking about any tool that allows you to create an event app relatively quickly within a given format without having to start the process from scratch. Event app providers approach this in different ways and automate the process with varying degrees of input from the client. Essentially, a provider’s “event app template” equates to the quality and efficiency of their CMS, or Content Management System. The CMS is what the client will use to input information and style their app. The more specialized and defined the CMS is, the more it will feel as though you’re truly using an event app template to cut down on building time. [caption id="attachment_3596" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Guidebook's event app template interface.[/caption] How intricate and involved the CMS is varies by provider, but with a product like Guidebook you’ll encounter actual templates categorized by use case. For event organizers who are looking to create multiple apps over a period of time, a templating strategy like this can go a long way towards repeatability. It’s important to keep this in mind as you consider providers - will their CMS support or hinder your event app ambitions?

Event app template impact

As event apps become more ubiquitous throughout the industry, there’s been an increased desire to provide apps across a planner’s entire portfolio - not just at the marquee events. Planners want to benefit from the networking and sponsorship opportunities an app provides regardless of an event’s size. As the need for apps continues to grow - so will the need to sustainably and reliably create them without costly or time-intensive development resources. This puts pressure on the event app companies to provide an event app template methodology to their clients that will support the potential scale. Using an event app template could mean less upfront work for you, and the ability to repeat your success over and over without much effort. Guidebook provides an event app template for all kinds of events. Jump in, see if one is right for you, and start building an event app today for free!