YWS should have an app!

Who else thinks that YWS should have an app?

The idea keeps wandering around in the back of my mind, actually. I very much doubt it's anywhere near Nate's priority list - he has a lot on his plate with the site itself already! - but there's a little bit of me that wants to go investigate Android development and design YWS app things. I'd never get anywhere if I did, but it's there on my ideacloud.

You know Nate doesn't have to make it. Someone else could with Nate's consent...

ehte92 made one a while back for Symbian. Alas, symbian is all bus dead now.

reason wrote:i for one don't. there's already too many bugs and other issues that need to be addressed. adding an app would be one more thing to add to the list, furthermore -is it necessary? the site has been optimized for mobile use such as iPads and smart phones.

Yes, there are some other issues that need to be sorted out, but if all of that is sorted... then an app would be ideal. Some people might need to pay to have access to the internet on their phones... solution? An app!

Umm.. apps need the internet connection, as well?

Not all of them... but fair point.

It's true, writing on a touchscreen is a massive pain. But less so on a tablet than on a phone. And reading on a tablet is pretty nice. 'sides, I know from hanging out in chat that there are a fair few people who use YWS from a phone or tablet, and from the NaNo forums I know there are people who write on them. This isn't to say that an app is necessary, just that the idea of using YWS from a portable device isn't that farfetched.

The only real impediment to someone making a(n unofficial) YWS app would be if there are technical matters that require Nate to do something - having never developed an app, let alone one for a writing site, before, I have no idea if that would be the case. (Or, obviously, if Nate said he didn't want people to make one. His site and all.)

I agree! YWS needs an app!

Considering how many essential features are currently not complete, an app is a long way off, if it ever gets made.

Why is an app necessary, in any case? What would a YWS app even do?

It is not so simple as "an app." To be complete, there'd have to be at least two made: Android and Apple. Possibly a third: Blackberry. Add in Windows if you're feeling ambitious. This requires testing, which means there must either be a simulator or the actual phone on hand. Which gets expensive.

Not even major companies make apps across multiple platforms. The development costs are simply that high. Not to mention, every update on the site would then need to be coded into the app, and considering how long each site update takes, the app would take even longer and detract from future updates.

An app would also (likely) have to be coded from scratch. While YWS is heavily modified, it is based in the php framework. Coding from scratch is much more difficult and time consuming.

Also, apps are one of the major buzzwords in the advertising industry. They are a "have to have" item. As Kyll said, why? What is the added functionality that an app will bring when it comes to interacting with YWS?

Apps must have a purpose to be successful. Tumblr has an app because there's simply too much blank space on the browser site to be practical on a mobile device. Similar deal with Twitter or Facebook. Companies add on apps for practical purposes, usually to spur how much people are interacting with the brand.

Now, YWS on mobile. If you turn a device on its side, then there is the perfect amount of space. The text is a decent size, the ads on the side (which provide revenue to the site) take up a small amount of space on the side that partners rather naturally with the content. The black bar at the top already gives you all the tools you need at your fingertips.

The look wouldn't change at all and only provides more work when updates role out. Technically, the only thing an app would provide is the ability to reach YWS from the home screen of your device (possibly already signed in), instead of going to your browser and typing in "Youngwrtierssociety.com" and signing in manually.

Though I agree that in the bigger picture an app would be more trouble than it's worth, I think it would be cool to get notifications on my iPad, similar to the Facebook app. But yes, definitively not a necessity, Safari works just fine.

I would personally like YWS to have an app, but I agree that it would be way too much work than is worth it.

The only reason I would want an app is to be able to chat with people on the chatbar through the phone or tablet. That would be awesome.