Hi!
I am Robbert from Apphamster.com and I have a thought to share;
_ “White label applications will play an important role in the future of App sales” _
We believe it’s time developers around the world stop developing the same apps over and over again and start reselling what is already on their shelves.
What do you think?
I am very interested in your thoughts and comments.
Thanks!
Cheers
Robbert
I think the entire appeal about indie development is the idea that you are going to make something unique. The idea of “white-label” products strips the uniqueness out of them, to the point where you are making assembly-line apps.
The important distinction here is the different between re-branded apps and the business model of selling app templates like Roaming Gamer and T and G (among others) do. Purchasing the basic mechanics and just buying an complete app and slapping your name on it are two different things.
Short answer: I think white label apps are wack.
Hmmm, fair enough.
I see your point here Panc Software.
How about budget?
Not every company / organization dying for an app has the budget, time, manpower and expertise for a custom development.
Would you not rather sell a white label to these customers, then nothing at all?
Is this group not served with white label apps?
So, I want to understand where you’re coming from, so I’m going to unpack that last comment. Let me know where I veer off from what you actually intend:
The hypothesis here is that a company could exist that has the intersection of budget room, receptive customer base and flexibility of product that it needs a mobile app, but doesn’t need it to be unique to their specific company. In this speculation, this company would be best served by essentially purchasing a stock app “off the shelf” from a vendor, rebranding it with their company logo/literature, and delivering it to the marketplace.
If the above is accurate, there are a few problems:
Using Elance, ODesk or any number of freelance websites can hook these hypothetical companies with third party developers salivating to create an app for them.
The company has some (to me, at least) fictitious customer base consisting of people that own smartphones, appreciate mobile apps but would not be turned off by a super-simple app that doesn’t provide any significant value unique to the business they are patronizing. See any supermarket app for an example.
3. The product/service the company provides is so generic that they would need the barest minimum of app development knowledge/manhours to re-brand and input their company product/service literature into the app. One might argue that they would be better served by contracting a third party developer.
If there is a company/organization that has the money to even entertain the thought of buying a white label app, but don’t see the negative connotation associated with releasing a cookie-cutter app that does the exact same thing as 1k other apps for similar companies, I would be very happy to work with them to develop a unique app for their use.
OK, true of false.
As a pizza restaurant owner I could connect very fairly with a white label app to my customers providing service, ease of ordering and repeated exposure if my app was on the customers phone.
You assume the app is some dodgy design but it doesn’t have to be of course. With a proper backend this owner could update the menu, send specials, apply a user reward program and more.
The app designer could update is with new software releases for instance. He/She could even offer a ‘lease’ plan or something.
The end result, design and user friendliness all depends on the quality of the app and app developer and the agreement you make.
Look at websites and what templates, ‘build yourself’ and white label websites did for that industry.
Your comments apply here very well as well, but it still grew into a huge industry.
I give you templatemonster.com as an example. Seriously, which end user ever downloaded something easy and useful from this, or equal, website. It all looks so clear and simple, but it’s not.
Here, your comments fully apply.
Apphamster.com doesn’t promote app templates but offers a platform where designers and customers can meet to exchange ready made apps , with a few moderations here and there.
App developers can actually showcase their apps here and show what they can do.
Different from Freelance websites, where programmers are selected by skills, advertising themselves into spotlight area’s, references and past projects, Apphamster.com offers the opportunity to showcase your portfolio.
I am not native english, so I have to use simple words, but I hope it’s more clear where the want to go with the website.
Thanks for your constructive comment Panc!
OK, what you describe above is more of a traditional freelance business model, with the prospective company interacting with the developer. I thought your reference to “white label” was the strict definition, in that a businesses buys the white label product with no support/warranty from the manufacturer.
This is why you visitors/app seekers are in direct contact with the developer.
Apphamster.com is not a list op apps that we sell, but the developer offers.
I think the entire appeal about indie development is the idea that you are going to make something unique. The idea of “white-label” products strips the uniqueness out of them, to the point where you are making assembly-line apps.
The important distinction here is the different between re-branded apps and the business model of selling app templates like Roaming Gamer and T and G (among others) do. Purchasing the basic mechanics and just buying an complete app and slapping your name on it are two different things.
Short answer: I think white label apps are wack.
Hmmm, fair enough.
I see your point here Panc Software.
How about budget?
Not every company / organization dying for an app has the budget, time, manpower and expertise for a custom development.
Would you not rather sell a white label to these customers, then nothing at all?
Is this group not served with white label apps?
So, I want to understand where you’re coming from, so I’m going to unpack that last comment. Let me know where I veer off from what you actually intend:
The hypothesis here is that a company could exist that has the intersection of budget room, receptive customer base and flexibility of product that it needs a mobile app, but doesn’t need it to be unique to their specific company. In this speculation, this company would be best served by essentially purchasing a stock app “off the shelf” from a vendor, rebranding it with their company logo/literature, and delivering it to the marketplace.
If the above is accurate, there are a few problems:
Using Elance, ODesk or any number of freelance websites can hook these hypothetical companies with third party developers salivating to create an app for them.
The company has some (to me, at least) fictitious customer base consisting of people that own smartphones, appreciate mobile apps but would not be turned off by a super-simple app that doesn’t provide any significant value unique to the business they are patronizing. See any supermarket app for an example.
3. The product/service the company provides is so generic that they would need the barest minimum of app development knowledge/manhours to re-brand and input their company product/service literature into the app. One might argue that they would be better served by contracting a third party developer.
If there is a company/organization that has the money to even entertain the thought of buying a white label app, but don’t see the negative connotation associated with releasing a cookie-cutter app that does the exact same thing as 1k other apps for similar companies, I would be very happy to work with them to develop a unique app for their use.
OK, true of false.
As a pizza restaurant owner I could connect very fairly with a white label app to my customers providing service, ease of ordering and repeated exposure if my app was on the customers phone.
You assume the app is some dodgy design but it doesn’t have to be of course. With a proper backend this owner could update the menu, send specials, apply a user reward program and more.
The app designer could update is with new software releases for instance. He/She could even offer a ‘lease’ plan or something.
The end result, design and user friendliness all depends on the quality of the app and app developer and the agreement you make.
Look at websites and what templates, ‘build yourself’ and white label websites did for that industry.
Your comments apply here very well as well, but it still grew into a huge industry.
I give you templatemonster.com as an example. Seriously, which end user ever downloaded something easy and useful from this, or equal, website. It all looks so clear and simple, but it’s not.
Here, your comments fully apply.
Apphamster.com doesn’t promote app templates but offers a platform where designers and customers can meet to exchange ready made apps , with a few moderations here and there.
App developers can actually showcase their apps here and show what they can do.
Different from Freelance websites, where programmers are selected by skills, advertising themselves into spotlight area’s, references and past projects, Apphamster.com offers the opportunity to showcase your portfolio.
I am not native english, so I have to use simple words, but I hope it’s more clear where the want to go with the website.
Thanks for your constructive comment Panc!
OK, what you describe above is more of a traditional freelance business model, with the prospective company interacting with the developer. I thought your reference to “white label” was the strict definition, in that a businesses buys the white label product with no support/warranty from the manufacturer.
This is why you visitors/app seekers are in direct contact with the developer.
Apphamster.com is not a list op apps that we sell, but the developer offers.