It has been some of the most stressful and frustrating times at TPF towers and finally at long last The Plasterers Forum app is now available for those of you who use an apple device. Whether that be an iPhone or an iPad then The Plasterers Forum is now available in an easy to use app.
Here are some screenshots from the mobile application (yes from my android)
So what have I had to go through to get this app completed and available in the Apple store?
When I started the process, I didn’t realise how complicated it was going to be and more to the point the extra equipment, I was going to need to get the app submitted. I am personally not an apple fan and so having to delve into the dark side of mobile devices bugged me right from the start. I get frustrated at iTunes on my ancient iPod, so I was not fancying my chances. However, for the love of The Plasterers Forum and its members, I soldiered on.
I thought I was making progress about two weeks ago once I had paid the money for the app and then organised the monthly subscription fee. I honestly thought the hardest part was going to be getting my wallet out and actually biting the bullet.
Well, As you may have read the android app went nice and smooth and to be honest we have had a few bugs here or there but they are constantly being ironed out, and I have to say we are catching up with them slowly. So I thinking that the apple submission was also going to be reasonable easy was an understatement.
Once the app was ready to go live Apple wanted me to sort out some provisioning files to add to the app and to be honest even to this day I have no real idea what this files are for and what the purpose of them is. All I know is that I spent two weeks trying to create these damn files, and to top it off, I had to go out and buy an Apple mac computer and all the bits and then once I had bought all the equipment to do the job it was still an absolute nightmare.
I was extremely annoyed that to get an app submitted to the Apple app store you really need to have a Mac to do it, and even though I had bought the mac, I thought that the rest was going to be easy and boy was I mistaken. Apple likes to charge you for everything… the yearly fees and then the extortionate prices of cables and then the slow process of getting the app approved, and that does not include all the hoops I had to jump through with all the information that Apple insists on me doing.
So on Saturday after the app has been waiting for review for over a week I get an email telling me that I needed to submit a demo account to Apple so that they can login to The Plasterers Forum and have a poke around. So after creating an account and then resubmitting the app to them, I figured it was going to be another week or so before it gets approved. However, within a couple of hours and after filling in more forms and pretty much giving Apple almost every single detail about me and my company minus the measurement of my inside leg, we finally have the app available in the Apple app store.
Yes, you heard me right the app is now available.
I have had a lot of questions on The Plasterers Forum about why I am charging for the app and why cannot I do it for free. Pure and simply there are numerous on going charges to keep the app live and also the initial costs of the app to get it to the stage that it is now is just too much for myself to fund. In the end, I feel and the members who have downloaded the app so far think its £1.99 well spent. If I could give it away for free I would, and that would not make me happier, but it’s just not something that I can afford to do.
The app will make using the forum a breeze on your mobile phone, which means you will be able to stay connected to the forum throughout the day and get notifications on your phone about new topics and what not (you can turn these off).
The biggest thing I am fearing is the support, I don’t have an iPhone or an iPod because I am an android person and so trouble shooting will be difficult for me, however, I am pretty sure everything will be fine, but if you do run into problems, please contact me with as much information as possible, and if you can get screen shots of any problems that will assist me in making sure that I can find a solution to it.
The Plasterers Forum is growing at a huge rate and as a company, we are growing and evolving and constantly working to improve user experience and like to ensure that you the user is getting everything they can out of the community and the contacts whom we open you up to.
If you have any questions about the app or The Plasterers Forum then, please contact me, and I will do my best to help you as quickly as possible.
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