Don’t have enough time, money or technical expertise to build out an app for your upcoming event? No worries, Guidebook Builder from app developer Guidebook has a cost- and time-effective solution.
The Silicon Valley tech company announced today the launch of its new app-building platform. The web-based builder turns creating event apps from an expensive, tedious process dealing with software designers into an inexpensive (possibly free), DIY experience that can take as little as a couple of hours.
“Event professionals have been in desperate need of a way to have complete control over their mobile apps,” says Jeff Lewis, Guidebook’s founder and CEO. “Guidebook Builder provides that solution and eliminates any need to deal with the bugs and crashes that come with custom development.”
A simple drag-and-drop interface—which is refreshingly intuitive to use—replaces the need for programming knowledge and streamlines the entire process of adding schedules, venue maps, attendee lists and more, in addition to social media integration through Twitter and Facebook.
The functionality doesn’t stop there. Planners can enable push notifications that alert all attendees with the app of news about schedule changes, special offers or whatever info they want to broadcast. There are also multiple networking and interactive channels that can be added into event apps, such as digital business card exchanges, photo sharing, surveys and live polling during speaker presentations.
Planners can even generate a bit of revenue with guidebook-built event apps, as the builder has an option to include banner ads and other in-app sponsorships.
All in all, Guidebook Builder allows planners to create comprehensive event apps with all the information attendees need, plus interactive extras that give apps a polished feel.
When the event app is finished, it can be published directly to app stores to be downloaded on Apple, Android and Windows devices, in addition to Kindles and others.
Planners can also update event schedules, speakers and any other aspect of events on the fly so attendees always have the latest info.
Coinciding with the launch of Builder, Guidebook also announced that it has, to date, raised $10 million in seed and Series A funding—and that Toby Coppel, a founding partner of Mosaic, has joined its board of directors.
“We’re excited to partner with Guidebook,” says Coppel. “The Guidebook team has developed a best-in-class platform that offers a solution for any organization in any industry to design and build a native app in an easy and low cost way.”
