How to Turn Your Strikingly Website Into a Mobile App (Without a Developer)
Strikingly has no App Store export. Here's how to turn your Strikingly site into a mobile app and publish it to the App Store and Google Play — no developer needed.
Inside this article
Strikingly makes it easy to launch a polished one-page website in an afternoon. Getting that site onto the App Store and Google Play is a different story — Strikingly has no built-in mobile app export, and Apple and Google don't accept websites submitted directly.
The gap is real, but it's bridgeable. A WebView wrapper packages your existing Strikingly site into a native app container that Apple and Google will accept. Here's exactly how it works, what to watch out for, and how to avoid the two most common rejection triggers.
Why Strikingly Sites Work Well as Mobile Apps
Strikingly was built mobile-first from the start. Its templates are fully responsive, page load times are fast, and the builder strips out the bloated code that causes WebView rendering problems on older Android devices.
That gives Strikingly sites a head start over many other platforms. A WebView app wraps your existing URL inside a native iOS and Android shell — your content, your design, your domain. When a user opens the app, they see your Strikingly site running inside a native container, complete with a home screen icon, splash screen, and push notification capability.
You don't rebuild anything. Every update you make in the Strikingly editor is live in the app immediately.
The Two Requirements You Must Meet Before Submitting
Before your Strikingly app can be published on the App Store, two things need to be in place.
Custom domain required. Strikingly's free and basic plans serve sites from a subdomain (e.g., yourbusiness.strikingly.com). Apple and Google require apps to use a properly configured custom domain. If you're on a Strikingly plan that doesn't include a custom domain, you'll need to upgrade to Pro ($16/month) or purchase a domain and connect it. This is the most common rejection point for Strikingly-based apps.
Minimum Functionality (Apple Guideline 4.2). Apple rejects apps that function only as a thin wrapper around a website with no additional value. For most Strikingly sites, the fix is straightforward: enable push notifications in your app. A site that can message its users directly to the lock screen clears the Guideline 4.2 bar. If your Strikingly site includes a store, booking form, or blog, you're already above the minimum functionality threshold.
Strikingly Ecommerce and the IAP Rule
If you sell physical products through Strikingly's built-in store (clothing, art, food, merchandise), there's no issue. Physical goods are exempt from Apple's in-app purchase requirement.
If you sell digital products — downloadable files, online courses, or digital subscriptions — Apple's Guideline 3.1.1 applies. Apple requires that digital content sold inside an iOS app use Apple's in-app purchase system, which takes a 30% commission. The standard fix is to redirect digital purchase flows to an external browser (Safari), where users complete the transaction on your website outside the app. This is the same approach used by Udemy, Coursera, and thousands of other digital product sellers.
Services like Webvify handle this configuration as part of their build process, so you don't need to know the technical details to get it right.
What the Submission Process Actually Looks Like
Publishing on the App Store and Google Play requires developer accounts: $99/year for Apple and a one-time $25 for Google. These accounts must be registered in your name or your business name — the app is listed under your brand, not someone else's.
Once you have the accounts, the app build (an .ipa file for iOS and an .aab file for Android) gets submitted through App Store Connect and the Google Play Console. Apple's review typically takes 24–48 hours. Google Play usually approves within a few hours to one business day.
The review is not a pass/fail lottery. Apple and Google have published guidelines, and apps that meet them are approved. The common failure points — missing custom domain, thin content, IAP violations — are all preventable before you submit.
If this process sounds overwhelming, that's what managed services are for. See our guide on how to submit an app to the App Store without a developer for the full breakdown.
Why Publish a Strikingly Site as an App?
Most Strikingly users have a simple, well-designed website. The missing piece is reach and retention after the first visit.
A mobile app gives you three things a website alone can't:
Push notifications. You can message your users directly — new products, limited-time offers, appointment reminders, booking confirmations. Push notifications see 60–90% open rates versus 20–25% for email. For a service business or small store, that's a meaningful difference.
Home screen presence. Your brand icon sits on the user's phone alongside the apps they use daily. That kind of visibility is impossible to buy with advertising.
App Store discovery. Users searching for your category in the App Store can find you. A Strikingly website has no presence there. A published app does.
If you want to see the full case for why the conversion is worth doing, this guide covers the 7 core benefits.
How Long Does It Take?
The build itself — wrapping your Strikingly site into a native app container — takes a few hours. The submission-to-approval timeline is the variable: 24–48 hours for App Store, typically same-day for Google Play.
From "I want an app" to "my app is live on both stores," most businesses are looking at 3–7 days. That includes the developer account setup time, which can add a day or two if you're creating accounts for the first time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn my Strikingly site into a mobile app for free?
Not entirely. The developer accounts cost $99/year (Apple) and $25 one-time (Google). If you're on Strikingly's free plan, you'll also need to upgrade to a paid plan that includes a custom domain, since Apple and Google require it. The build itself varies by provider — some services charge a one-time fee, others a monthly subscription.
Do I need to know how to code to publish a Strikingly app?
No. The WebView wrapping process is handled by a service or tool, not by you. What you need to provide is your Strikingly site URL, your custom domain, and your Apple/Google developer account credentials. Everything else — building the app file, configuring push notifications, submitting to the stores — can be done by the service on your behalf.
Will my Strikingly app stay up to date automatically?
Yes. Because the app loads your live Strikingly URL, any changes you make in the Strikingly editor are reflected immediately in the app. You don't submit an app update every time you edit your site — the app always shows the current version of your page.
Ready to get your Strikingly site on the App Store and Google Play? Webvify handles the full process end-to-end — build, submission, and an admin panel to manage push notifications after launch.