How to Turn Your Jimdo Website Into a Mobile App (Without a Developer)

How to Turn Your Jimdo Website Into a Mobile App

Jimdo doesn't have a built-in app export button — there isn't one. If you want your Jimdo website on the App Store or Google Play, you need a different path.

That path is a WebView wrapper: a native app shell that loads your Jimdo website inside it. The result is a fully branded app published under your own name on both stores, with push notifications and a home screen icon — and no rebuild required.

This guide covers the exact process for Jimdo sites, including the things that can get your app rejected if you don't handle them first.

Why Jimdo Doesn't Have a Built-In App Option

Jimdo focuses on fast, AI-assisted website creation for small businesses and service providers. App publishing is a separate infrastructure entirely — it requires Apple Developer accounts, binary packaging, and platform compliance reviews.

Building that into Jimdo would take years and substantial cost. So the gap persists: millions of Jimdo sites, zero native mobile apps available by default.

A WebView wrapper fills that gap. Your Jimdo site becomes the content layer. The wrapper provides the native shell — the part that Apple and Google review and approve. Update your Jimdo site, and the app updates with it automatically.

What a Jimdo WebView App Includes

When you convert your Jimdo website into a mobile app, you get:

• Your app on the App Store and Google Play — published under your own developer accounts, with your branding and screenshots
• Push notifications — the ability to send messages directly to your customers' lock screens (push notifications average 60–90% open rates; email averages 20–30%)
• Home screen presence — your logo on the customer's phone, not buried in a browser bookmark
• Real-time content sync — every time you update your Jimdo site, the app reflects it instantly, with no app store update required

Services like Webvify handle the full process end-to-end — from building the wrapper to submitting the app to the App Store under your own developer accounts. If you've ever opened the Apple Developer portal and felt immediately lost, that's the part they remove from your plate entirely.

How the Conversion Process Works

The process is more straightforward than most Jimdo users expect:

1. Confirm your Jimdo site is mobile-ready Jimdo's templates are responsive by default, which is exactly what a WebView app needs. Load your site on your phone browser and check that navigation, buttons, and forms all work cleanly. If your site looks good on mobile Safari or Chrome, it will look the same inside the app.

2. Register your developer accounts You need an Apple Developer account ($99/year) and a Google Play Developer account ($25 one-time fee). Both accounts must be in your name or your business name — the app is published under your identity, not the tool's. This ownership means you keep your app, ratings, and download history even if you switch services later.

3. Package and configure the wrapper This is where a WebView app service handles the technical side: building the native binary, configuring push notification certificates, setting the app identifier, and preparing the assets Apple and Google require for review. You supply the URL and branding; they handle Xcode and the Android build toolchain.

4. Submit for review For the App Store, first-time review typically takes 24–48 hours. Google Play reviews generally complete within a few hours to two days. If everything is configured correctly, approval rates for WebView apps are high — the most common cause of rejection is avoidable (covered in the next section).

For a detailed walkthrough of the App Store submission process, this guide covers each required step →.

Jimdo-Specific Issues to Handle Before Submitting

Two things can cause App Store rejection for Jimdo apps — both are fixable before you submit:

Apple Guideline 4.2 — Minimum Functionality Apple requires that apps offer more than just a website opened in a browser. For Jimdo sites, the practical way to satisfy this requirement is push notifications: an app that can send messages to users clearly provides value beyond a browser bookmark. Most WebView app services include push notifications by default for exactly this reason.

Payments for digital goods (Guideline 3.1.1) If your Jimdo store sells digital products — eBooks, downloads, subscriptions, or memberships — Apple requires that any purchase made inside the iOS app goes through Apple's in-app purchase system, not Stripe or PayPal. Physical product stores are entirely exempt from this rule.

If you sell digital goods, the fix is routing those checkout flows to an external browser (Safari) rather than completing them inside the app. This is the standard approach used by major platforms. Most managed app services handle this configuration for you.

For service booking pages, physical goods stores, and portfolio or informational Jimdo sites — there is no IAP complication at all. You can submit directly.

How Long Does It Take?

From starting to a live app: typically 5–10 business days. The rough breakdown:

• Setup and configuration: 1–2 days
• App Store review: 1–3 days
• Google Play review: same-day to 2 days

The timeline isn't usually the bottleneck. The bottleneck is Apple's identity verification step for new accounts, which can add a few days if you're setting up for the first time.

The good news: once both apps are live, future updates to your Jimdo site appear in the app instantly. You only go back to the submission queue when you change the app itself — icon, splash screen, push notification setup — not when you change your website content.

FAQ

Can I publish a Jimdo app to the App Store without knowing how to code?

Yes. A WebView app converts your existing Jimdo website into an app without any coding on your part. The technical work — building the wrapper, configuring push certificates, packaging for submission — is handled by the service. You provide your website URL, your developer account credentials, and your app assets (icon, app name, screenshots). That's the full scope of what you do.

Does a Jimdo app update automatically when I change my website?

Yes. Because the app loads your Jimdo website directly, any changes you make to your site — new pages, updated content, new products, new prices — appear in the app immediately with no app store update required. Changes to the app shell itself (icon, splash screen, push notification configuration) require a normal app update submission.

How much does it cost to get a Jimdo website on the App Store?

Developer accounts cost $99/year (Apple) and $25 one-time (Google Play). The WebView app service fee varies by provider — managed done-for-you services typically charge a one-time project fee plus an optional monthly support plan. This is substantially less than custom mobile app development, which starts at $25,000–$50,000 for a basic app. The full breakdown of mobile app development costs → has a detailed comparison.

---

Ready to get your Jimdo website on the App Store and Google Play? Webvify handles the full conversion — from building your app to submitting it under your own accounts. Get started →