Wrap the site, sync its posts or rebuild it: three ways to turn WordPress into an iOS and Android app, compared on cost, Apple review and upkeep.
Three ways to turn a WordPress site into an app
Every WordPress to app tool does one of three things with your site. It shows the site inside an app, it copies the content into app screens, or it starts over with custom code. That choice decides what your readers see, what Apple says at review time, and what you maintain afterwards.
| Approach | What the app shows | A good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Wrap the site | Your live website inside an app shell (a WebView), with a native tab bar and push notifications around it | Sites whose value lies in plugins: a checkout, a member area, online courses, forms |
| Sync the content | Your posts, pulled through a plugin or the WordPress API and displayed in screens designed for a phone | Sites whose value lies in what you publish: news, blogs, magazines, associations, clubs, parishes |
| Rebuild with code | A custom app that reads WordPress as a headless back end | Teams with a developer budget and needs that no tool covers |
Wrapping is the fastest route: everything that works on your mobile site works in the app on day one. Its limit is the same: the app is exactly as fast and as readable as your mobile theme. Syncing gives you real app screens, but only what the connector syncs reaches the app. Rebuilding has no limit except the bill, since a custom app is a software project you pay to build, then pay to keep up with every iOS and Android release.
What Apple expects from an app built on a website
Guideline 4.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines asks for features, content and an interface that go “beyond a repackaged website”. An app that only shows a site a browser already shows is the textbook case for a rejection.
Wrapper tools know this, which is why they add native navigation, push notifications and offline screens around the WebView. A synced app starts from the other side: every screen is already an app screen, and the website only supplies the content.
Review stays unpredictable either way. On the first submissions handled by our publishing team over the last 12 months, Apple rejected about 42%, for all kinds of reasons, and 91% of those apps were accepted once the team had stepped in (internal figures, April 2026). If you would rather not deal with it, GoodBarber Takes Care handles the submission for you.
How the GoodBarber WordPress plugin works
GoodBarber takes the sync route. The GoodBarber plugin has been in the WordPress directory since 2012, and its current version, released in March 2026, is tested with WordPress 6.9. It is built on JSON API, a plugin widely used in the WordPress community, and it does one job: it lets your app read your posts, securely.
In the app, a WordPress section shows your posts with everything a reader expects:
- Full articles with their images, in the layout you choose for the section. The app does not load your theme: GoodBarber pre-processes, compresses and caches your content and images, so posts open at app speed, not at the speed of your theme.
- Your categories as filters. Each WordPress category can become a tab of the section.
- Comments. Readers read and post comments from the app, and they land in WordPress with the others. One checkbox in the plugin settings turns this off.
- Search, most popular and load more. Readers search your archive and browse older posts without leaving the app.
The app around that section is native: compiled in Swift on iOS and Kotlin on Android, with a web version of the same app on top. The WordPress section sits next to the other sections you add, such as a contact page, a map, an agenda or videos. The WordPress extension is free, for Content and eCommerce apps.
Connect your WordPress site in six steps
You need administrator access to your WordPress site and a GoodBarber app; the free trial is enough.
- In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New, search for “GoodBarber”, install the plugin and activate it.
- Open Settings > GoodBarber API and copy the GoodBarber Key shown in bold.
- In the GoodBarber back office, open My App > Structure and click Add a section.
- Choose WordPress, name the section, enter the root URL of your site (https://www.example.com, not a category page) and paste the key.
- Add filters that match your WordPress categories, then pick the layout of the section.
- Back in the plugin settings, check the option that lets only GoodBarber servers talk to the plugin.
If posts do not show up as expected, check three settings on the WordPress side: a firewall that blocks GoodBarber's servers, a cache plugin that caches the plugin's ?gbjson calls, and a Reading setting on Summary instead of Full text, which cuts posts short. The troubleshooting guide lists the IP ranges to allow, and the step-by-step guide shows every screen.
On WordPress.com, where you may not be able to install plugins, use the WordPress.com connector instead: it only needs the URL of your blog.
Publish in WordPress, notify in the app
Once the section is connected, you keep publishing where you always have. Each new post reaches the app on its own, and with automatic push turned on for the section, your readers get a notification with the title of every new post. No copy and paste, no second editor, no push to write by hand. For breaking news or an appeal for donations, you can still send a manual push, right away or scheduled, to everyone or to a segment of your audience.
Your archive also becomes something readers can ask questions of. The Chatbot extension indexes the content of your WordPress section and answers readers from your own posts, with a link to the source. Each time you publish or update a post, its knowledge base refreshes.
What stays on your website
The plugin syncs your content. It does not sync people, and that is the logical split.
- User accounts stay in WordPress. Subscribers, members and their passwords do not move into the app. Readers who need an account create it in the app, with GoodBarber's own login and membership tools, and their data is hosted in Europe like the rest of the app. Posts reserved to members on WordPress stay on the website too, since only public posts sync. If you sell access to content, the app has its own memberships and in-app purchases.
- Pages, custom post types and products stay on the website. Your About page, events from a calendar plugin or WooCommerce products need their own place in the app: native sections for About, Contact, Map or Agenda, or, for a shop, a GoodBarber eCommerce app whose catalog you can import from a CSV file.
- Your theme and its plugins stay on the website. The app shows your posts in its own design. Interactive features that plugins add to a page, such as a booking widget or a quiz, belong to the website; the app shows the text and images of your posts.
If your site's value lies in those plugins rather than in what you publish, a wrapper or a WordPress-specific builder will serve you better. The comparison below says which.
Not on WordPress? Other sites, same idea
The same sync logic works for other platforms, each with its own connector:
| Your site runs on | What to use in GoodBarber |
|---|---|
| WordPress.com | The WordPress.com connector: paste the URL of your blog, no plugin needed |
| Squarespace | The Squarespace connector, for Content apps |
| Substack or Medium | The Substack and Medium connectors |
| Blogger | The Blogger connector |
| Any platform with an RSS feed | The RSS feed connector: posts sync, without category filters or comments |
| A custom CMS | A custom article feed: your developer exposes a JSON feed, and the app gets full articles, filters, search and comments |
A site with no feed at all, a static brochure site for instance, has nothing to sync. Its pages are rebuilt once in GoodBarber's CMS, and you publish from there.
WordPress app builders compared
Published prices in October 2026, for one app on iOS and Android.
| Tool | Approach | Price for iOS and Android | Where it shines |
|---|---|---|---|
| MobiLoud | Wraps the live site; the team builds and maintains the app for you | Monthly plans that include the build and upkeep | Large media or WooCommerce sites that want the whole site in the app, with no work on their side |
| Natively | Wraps the live site | From $19 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly | The lowest monthly price in this list; also works with Bubble, Webflow or Shopify sites |
| WPMobile.App | Wraps the site, configured from a WordPress plugin | €239 excl. VAT, paid once | No subscription |
| AppMySite | Syncs posts, pages, menus and WooCommerce through its plugin; also offers web views | From $49 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly | Syncs more WordPress content types, WooCommerce included |
| AppPresser | Hybrid app built with Ionic and Capacitor on your WordPress content | From $79 a month, or $59 a month billed yearly | Deep plugin support: WordPress login, BuddyPress, LearnDash, WooCommerce |
| GoodBarber | Syncs your posts into a native app (Swift, Kotlin) with a web version | $70 a month, or $55 a month billed yearly (Premium); web version only from $36 a month | Content-led sites that want an app with its own design, automatic push, comments and a chatbot on their archive |
Read each price with what it covers. A GoodBarber plan includes the app's hosting, the back office, the web version and the push notifications (30,000 a month on Premium); WPMobile.App, for instance, sends push through your own Firebase and Apple accounts.
To choose, ask where your site's value lies. If it is in what you publish, sync it. If it is in what your plugins do, a checkout, courses or a community, wrap it or pick a builder that supports those plugins. If neither covers your project and you have the budget, rebuild it with a developer.
To see at a glance what the GoodBarber plugin brings into an app, and what stays on your site, visit our WordPress app builder page.
Try it with your own site
Install the plugin, connect one WordPress section and look at your own posts in the app preview before you decide anything. You do it yourself; no developer is needed.
Start for free: 30-day free trial, no credit card required. To go further, see the WordPress extension page or the step-by-step guide.
FAQ
Can I turn my WordPress site into an app for free?
The GoodBarber plugin and the WordPress extension are free, and you can connect your site during the 30-day free trial, with no credit card. To publish, you need a plan: the web version from the Standard plan, the iOS and Android apps from the Premium plan.
Is a WordPress app built with GoodBarber native or a WebView?
Native. The app is compiled in Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android. Your posts are synced as content and displayed in the app's own screens, not loaded as web pages.
Do my WordPress users and members carry over to the app?
No. The plugin syncs content, not user accounts. Readers who need an account create one in the app, and posts reserved to members on WordPress stay on the website, since only public posts sync.
Do WordPress pages and WooCommerce products sync too?
No, only public posts do. Pages are rebuilt with the app's native sections, such as About, Contact or Map. A shop uses a GoodBarber eCommerce app, whose catalog you can import from a CSV file.
Will my readers know when I publish a new post?
Yes. New posts reach the app without any extra step, and automatic push sends readers a notification with the title of each new post.