Last updated: April. 21, 2016
Get Started With Apps
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Weebly is an easy to use yet powerful drag and drop website creator that allows people to easily set up a site, blog, or online store. As a developer, you’ll reach over 30 million users looking to purchase apps to power their businesses.
You'll work with Weebly's Elements API to create new integrations and elements, extending the features Weebly offers to help meet the many needs of our users. You'll be given access to APIs, code samples, and snippets to help you easily and quickly create new, and useful apps for Weebly users. |
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In this topic:
What are Weebly Apps?
Apps are containers for various things that are installable and merchandized in the Weebly App Center. They are ZIP files that contain, along with all the code, a manifest file that contains configuration metadata for your app, and assets used to display and market your app in the App Center. Consider an app to be a bundle that contains one or more of the following types of functionality:
While each type has its own development process, they also all share some development steps. Please read the App Policy Requirements and Development topics first - these are requirements and the steps that all app types must follow. Then read the topics specific to the type you're developing.
NOTE: For now, apps must be approved by Weebly prior to becoming available in the App Center, and they are available to all Weebly users for downloading/purchasing. In a subsequent release, you may be able to create private apps that are available only to the users you explicitly provide access to. These apps will not need to meet the same requirements as public apps.
- Backend service: Apps that users will install into their sites that integrate directly with Weebly to provide some sort of additional functionality, such as managing mailing lists, providing security, or additional e-commerce functionality.
- Elements: Widgets that site developers can drag and drop onto a page. You configure settings that affect how the widget displays and behaves at runtime. When users install your element, it appears in the Weebly editor and looks and behaves as though it were native to Weebly. A backend service may or may not also include an element. For example, you might provide an element for your backend service so users can drag and drop it onto their page. Or you might directly install a snippet of code onto each page and skip the element.
- Dashboard Cards: Dynamic cards that display on the Site Home and provide the user information from an installed app or provide a place to configure and maintain an app. Dashboard cards link to takeovers that display more detailed information.For example, a dashboard card for a site analytic app might display the most important analytics in a dashboard card. Clicking a statistic might link to a takeover that displays more analytical info about the statistic. An appointment app might display the day's confirmed appointments or might provide a link to create an appointment.
- Themes: Packages that provide the general look and feel for a site. You determine the color, button styles, fonts, and even flows to create a cohesive, consistent web site experience for Weebly customers.
While each type has its own development process, they also all share some development steps. Please read the App Policy Requirements and Development topics first - these are requirements and the steps that all app types must follow. Then read the topics specific to the type you're developing.
NOTE: For now, apps must be approved by Weebly prior to becoming available in the App Center, and they are available to all Weebly users for downloading/purchasing. In a subsequent release, you may be able to create private apps that are available only to the users you explicitly provide access to. These apps will not need to meet the same requirements as public apps.
Why Build a Weebly App?
Save design time:
Maybe you're a web designer building sites for specific markets, and you want a new element that you can drag and drop onto a page to save some time. You might create a custom element.
For example, say you build custom sites for restaurants, and you want all your sites to have a killer menu. You can now develop a custom menu element and easily drag it onto all the websites you manage!
Monetize your ideas by building an app to sell in the Weebly Marketplace:
Weebly offers a great platform for building sites, but we don’t specialize in everything that our users may want and/or need. That’s where you come in. If you build an app that adds functionality to Weebly you will be able to sell it through the Weebly Marketplace and get access to over 30 Million users. You keep 70% of all sales (Weebly gets the remaining 30%).
NOTE: You can create apps that offer similar functionality to what is already available in Weebly. However, if the Weebly functionality requires a premium plan, then your app may require the same plan.
Maybe you're a web designer building sites for specific markets, and you want a new element that you can drag and drop onto a page to save some time. You might create a custom element.
For example, say you build custom sites for restaurants, and you want all your sites to have a killer menu. You can now develop a custom menu element and easily drag it onto all the websites you manage!
Monetize your ideas by building an app to sell in the Weebly Marketplace:
Weebly offers a great platform for building sites, but we don’t specialize in everything that our users may want and/or need. That’s where you come in. If you build an app that adds functionality to Weebly you will be able to sell it through the Weebly Marketplace and get access to over 30 Million users. You keep 70% of all sales (Weebly gets the remaining 30%).
NOTE: You can create apps that offer similar functionality to what is already available in Weebly. However, if the Weebly functionality requires a premium plan, then your app may require the same plan.
First Steps . . .
To get started, you need to create a developers account. and also a test site where you can play with Weebly, install and test your app, and review your app in the App Center.
If you're creating an element, go ahead and try our tutorial. It'll teach you everything you'll need to create your first Weebly element!
If you're creating an element, go ahead and try our tutorial. It'll teach you everything you'll need to create your first Weebly element!
Sample Apps
Download one of our sample apps to help you get started. The Bootstrap element is a very simple app, while the Pricing Chart app shows a bit more complexity. You can also download the source for our new Weebly elements!
Lifecycle of an App
While you are working on your app, it remains in a draft state. You can continue to work on it, and have as many draft versions as you like, uploading new draft versions as you go. Once you're done with development and you've run through the App Policy Review Checklist, you can submit to us and we'll review it. Once we approve it, you release it into the App Center.
Only one version can be submitted for review and then released and active in the App Center at any given time. Once your app is released to the App Center, you can begin working on another draft that you may then submit for review. When that draft is accepted and released to the App Center, the previous version is removed and archived.
You can delete draft versions and approved versions of your app as you need to.
Basically, the lifecycle looks like this:
Only one version can be submitted for review and then released and active in the App Center at any given time. Once your app is released to the App Center, you can begin working on another draft that you may then submit for review. When that draft is accepted and released to the App Center, the previous version is removed and archived.
You can delete draft versions and approved versions of your app as you need to.
Basically, the lifecycle looks like this:
Have Questions?
If you have any questions while you're building your app, or suggestions for how we can improve the APIs or the documentation, use the Submit a Bug link in the Dev Admin portal to get it to us.
