An Android app from your own site, and the first one is free
Turn your website or app into a signed Android app (.apk, and the .aab for the Play Store). The first app is free; no coding and no computer needed.
- Make an app for my grocery shop, Barakat Store. Show the prices of rice, lentils and oil, and let customers order on WhatsApp. Later I will turn it into an Android app for them.
- Make an app for my coaching centre, Alor Poth: the class routine, notices and exam results, so parents can check from their phones.
- My biryani shop in Chattogram is called Biryani Bari. Make a phone app with the menu, the prices and a home delivery order button.
How do I make an Android app without knowing how to code?
First make an app or a website by describing it in Bangla, and put it live for free. Then press the "Android app" button, and in a few minutes you get two signed files: an .apk to install on phones and send on WhatsApp, and an .aab for the Play Store. The first app is free; no coding and no computer needed.
Four steps to your Android app
- Make the app or site first: Write in Bangla what the app does and who uses it; the AI builds it in a few minutes. If your site is already live, go straight to step three.
- Put it live, free: Press "Go live, free" in the builder. The app opens your live site; the free your-name.banglacodes.app address is fine.
- Press the "Android app" button: It is in the builder's tool row, and on the site manager too. Check the name and icon, then press "Start making the app"; closing the page does not stop it.
- Download the .apk and .aab: Both files are ready in a few minutes, and you get an email too. The .apk is for customers, the .aab is for the Play Store.
An Android app puts your shop's icon on the customer's phone
Soon after a site goes live, customers start asking: "Do you have an app?" People lose links, but an icon on the home screen is in front of them every day. Getting a separate app made usually means finding someone, agreeing a price and waiting, and then keeping a site and an app in step.
Here the app is made from your live site, in one press. You build and change the site yourself, and the app opens that same site full screen. There is only one thing to look after, and the first app is free.
What you get with an Android app
- A signed .apk: installs straight onto a phone with no Play Store, and can be sent on WhatsApp or Messenger
- The .aab for the Play Store: the file Google Play Console asks for
- Your own icon: the site's logo, the first letter of the name, or a picture of your own, whichever you choose
- Your site's colour: the status bar at the top and the letter icon come in your site's colour
- Updates to the same app: we keep the app signing key (keystore), so a later version installs as an update, not a second app
What the Android app really is, in plain words
It is an app that opens your site, not a native app written from scratch. The technical name is a Trusted Web Activity: a thin Android shell that shows your live site full screen. Whatever works on the site works in the app, and when you change the site and put it live again, every phone shows the new version, with no new build and no Play Store review.
Know what it cannot do: send customers regular notifications while the app is closed, read SMS or call logs, use Bluetooth, or take payments inside the Play Store. If your business depends on one of those, weigh that first; for a shop, a coaching centre, a menu, a ledger or a game, this app is enough.
What an Android app costs
The first app is free and takes no Token. Every build after that, a new app or a new version of one, takes 10,000 Token, and the card shows the price before you press. If a build does not finish, the Token come back by themselves, and if your first app's build fails, the next try is still free.
The site the app is made from costs nothing to start either: you get up to 400,000 free AI Token a day, and 3 sites stay live for free at once. The Play Store registration fee goes to Google, not to us. Token packs are on the pricing page.
How the Android app reaches your customers
Send the .apk to customers on WhatsApp from the shop's own number, as a "Document", not as a photo or video. The first time, the phone asks whether to allow installs from that source; Android asks this for any app from outside the Play Store. So add a line to your message: if the phone asks for permission, allow it.
One more trap: the browser inside Facebook or Messenger cannot download files, so open the page in Chrome and press download there.
What it takes to put your Android app on the Play Store
Uploading to the Play Store is done from your own Google Play developer account; BanglaCodes does not upload it for you. Google charges a one-time registration fee to open the account, and then you upload the .aab we made to Play Console. Google reviews the app before releasing it, and new personal accounts are often asked to run a small closed test with a few testers first.
So start with the .apk among your customers, and take on the Play Store once you see people really opening the app. The .aab waits on the same card and does not need building again.
Settle these before you make the Android app
- Open the site on your own phone first; whatever is wrong on the site will look exactly as wrong in the app
- Set the logo first: the logo you put on the site from the site manager becomes the app icon, with no AI or Token needed
- Keep the name short; a long name gets cut on the home screen, and the card shows you what will appear there
- Your account has to be verified, and changing the name or icon later means "Make a new version", which is a build
- What will you use it for? An online shop, a coaching centre, a restaurant menu, your own accounts book or a game can all become apps
Questions about Android apps
How much does an Android app cost?
The first app is free. Every build after that, a new app or a new version, takes 10,000 Token, and a build that does not finish gives them back. Putting it on the Play Store also needs Google's one-time registration fee.
Can I make an Android app from my phone?
Yes. Building the app or site, putting it live, choosing the name and icon and downloading the .apk all work in the phone browser. No computer and no coding needed.
Can I turn any website link into an APK?
No. This is not a converter for any address: the app is made only from a site or app that is live on BanglaCodes. If you have your own site's code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), import it from a folder or GitHub, put it live here, then make the app.
Which file do I give my customers, the .apk or the .aab?
Give customers the .apk, sent on WhatsApp as a "Document". Tapping it installs the app. The .aab is only for uploading to the Play Store; it does not install anything on a phone by itself.
Do I have to rebuild the app when I change my site?
No. The app opens your live site, so change the site, put it live again, and every phone shows the new version. A new version is only needed to change the app's name or icon.
Will BanglaCodes put my app on the Play Store for me?
No. It has to go up from your own Google Play developer account. We make the .aab file; upload it to Play Console, and Google reviews the app before releasing it.
Can I get an app for iPhone?
There is no separate app file for iPhone. On an iPhone, open the site in Safari, press the share button and choose "Add to Home Screen"; the icon sits on the home screen and opens like an app.
Read more
- Phone apps and Android apps: the full guide
- Putting a site live and sharing it
- Bringing your own code from a folder or GitHub
- Token packs and prices
You can also make
- App: Accounts, bookings, attendance or an app for your own work
- Website: A whole website for a shop, an office, a school or yourself
- Accounts book: Sales, expenses and customer credit in one app
- Game: Quiz, memory, Snake or 3D games, played from a link