Your own branded app

With a branded app, your members download an app with your gym's name and logo from the App Store and Google Play, published under your own developer accounts. Inside, it is your member portal with push notifications. The FitManager team builds it, publishes it and keeps it updated; you provide the store accounts and a few files.

How it works#

1. You open the developer accounts and create the app records in the stores and in Firebase (the checklist below).
2. You send the files and details to the FitManager team.
3. The team sets up your app's name, icon and colour, builds it and uploads it to your store accounts.
4. You submit the store listing for review from your own console.
5. Once the app is live, the store links appear on your website and in the member portal.

There is nothing to build or upload in FitManager yourself. The price of the app covers the build, publishing and updates. It does not include the store accounts, which are in your name and paid by you.

The checklist#

Send everything below through a support ticket: files can be attached to a ticket reply. Agree first with the team on the app name and on the identifiers (package name for Android and bundle ID for iOS, usually the same, for example mk.irongym.app), since you need them in several steps.

1. Developer accounts#

• Google Play developer account in your gym's name: play.google.com/console, one-time registration fee. Google verifies your identity, which can take a few days.
• Apple Developer Program membership in your gym's name: developer.apple.com/programs, yearly fee. Enrol as an organisation; Apple needs your company's D-U-N-S number.

2. Firebase project (for push notifications)#

1. At console.firebase.google.com, click Create a project and name it after your gym.
2. Add an Android app with the package name you agreed on. Download google-services.json.
3. Add an iOS app (Apple) with the bundle ID. Download GoogleService-Info.plist.
4. Open Project settings, Service accounts and click Generate new private key. This downloads a JSON key file.
5. In Project settings, Cloud Messaging, under the Apple app configuration, upload your APNs authentication key (.p8, created in the Apple Developer site under Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, Keys, with Apple Push Notifications service ticked), with its Key ID and your Team ID.

Send: google-services.json, GoogleService-Info.plist and the service account key file.

3. Google Play#

1. In Play Console, click Create app, with your gym app's name, and complete the questions.
2. Under Users and permissions, click Invite new users and invite the service account email address the FitManager team gives you. Give it access to your app with permission to release to production and testing tracks.
3. Fill in the store listing: description, screenshots, icon, privacy policy and the content questionnaires.
4. Google Play asks for the very first build to be uploaded by hand. The team gives you the build file and helps you with that one upload; after that, updates are uploaded for you.

4. Apple App Store#

1. In the Apple Developer site, under Identifiers, register an App ID with the agreed bundle ID and tick the Push Notifications capability.
2. In App Store Connect (appstoreconnect.apple.com), open Apps, click +, New App, and create the app record with that bundle ID. Send the team the app's Apple ID (the number on its App Information page) and your Team ID.
3. In App Store Connect, open Users and Access, Integrations, App Store Connect API, and generate a key with the App Manager role. Send the Issuer ID, the Key ID and the downloaded .p8 file. Apple lets you download it only once, so keep a copy.

5. After the first build#

• The team tells you when the build is in your consoles.
• Submit the listing for review from Play Console and App Store Connect. Apple's review can take a few days and may come back with questions.

Follow the status#

Open Settings, Website, Website & app. The Mobile app card shows your app's icon and name, and for Android and iOS:

The card is read-only: the team runs the builds.

Store links#

Once the app is live, the App Store and Google Play fields in the same card hold the store links. The team usually fills them in; you can also paste them yourself and click Save Changes. As soon as one link is set, your website gets an App page (/app) and an app section on the home page, and members see a link to get the app in the portal. Open the app page shows it.

Common questions#

Can I skip the store accounts and use FitManager's?#

Not for a branded app: Apple and Google require an app with your brand to be published under your own account. If you do not want your own accounts, your members can use the shared FitManager app instead.

How are updates handled?#

The team builds and uploads new versions to your accounts. You do not need to do anything, though Apple may occasionally ask you to confirm a review answer.

Can I change the app name or icon later?#

Yes. Open a ticket with the new name or icon, and the change ships with the next build.