How Much Does It Cost to Turn a Website Into an App?

Before comparing app quotes, write down what customers need to do in the first version. For an online store, that might be browsing products, placing an order, and checking its status. Then mark which of those tasks already work well on your mobile website.

This gives you a starting point for understanding the price. A team building new mobile screens for all three tasks is quoting for different work from a service that uses your existing pages.

What needs to be built?

A separate mobile interface needs design, development, integration with your backend, and testing. That work can be worthwhile if shopping in the app needs to feel substantially different from shopping on the website.

A website-based app can reuse the catalog, checkout, and account pages. The remaining work includes app navigation, branding, notifications, and adapting the site where it feels awkward on a phone. How much adaptation your website needs will affect the effort involved.

For SiteCargo, the setup and subscription prices are published on our website. When comparing them with a custom quote, check which work each option covers and which tasks remain with your team.

What does publication include?

Ask who prepares the store listings, screenshots, privacy information, and signed builds. Check who handles review feedback and whether developer-account fees are separate. Receiving an app file and having an app available to customers are different milestones; the quote should say which one it covers.

What happens after launch?

Consider an ordinary change: you add a delivery option to checkout. With a separate mobile checkout, someone may need to implement and test it there as well. If the app uses your web checkout, the page can be updated in one place, though you should still check it inside the app.

There will also be app-specific maintenance, including compatibility updates and new releases. Ask who does it and how it is charged.

Compare the total for the first year: setup or development, subscriptions, publishing fees, website adjustments, and maintenance. A useful quote makes those responsibilities clear enough that you can budget for the next change as well as the launch.