MobileStore and Web App Mode

How it works

WPtouch Pro's Web-App Mode is an implementation of Safari's Web App feature, which provides an app-like experience for single-page applications. By default, any links off a page loaded as a Web App take the visitor out of the container and into a standard Safari browser window.

Safari also stores information about Web App browser sessions separately from its other browser data. This means that information about visits such as cart information is not shared between the two.

Limitations of Web App Mode

Our implementation enhances the built-in feature by capturing link clicks and form submissions and keeping them inside the Web App container. However, there are limitations to WPtouch Pro's ability to do this.

Because our implementation relies on JavaScript code provided by WPtouch Pro, we can only capture links and forms located on your website. A link or form leading to a different website may stay in the Web App container, but since our JavaScript is not loaded by that website, any clicks on those pages will cause the default browser behaviour to occur.

Why is this a problem?

When a visitor exits the Web App container, Safari no longer knows about their cart, order, or the page they just left in Web App mode. If they were on an off-site payment processor's site (such as PayPal), the processor will likely show an error message that the user will not be able to fix.

For this reason we only enable Web App Mode for MobileStore if you offer payment methods that run on your site and do not require off-site activities. When viewing your site in Web App Mode, we will also hide payment gateways that require off-site steps or that we have not verified are compatible with Web App Mode.

Web App Mode-Compatible Gateways

At present we have confirmed full compatibility with the following gateway options:

Bank Transfer (default)
Cheque (default)
Cash on Delivery (default)
Bankgiro/Postgiro (default)
PostePay
Stripe (using Stripe for WooCommerce by Stephen Zuniga)
Stripe (using the WooCommerce Stripe Gateway by Mike Jolley)

If you use an on-site payment gateway that is not included in this list, please contact us via a support ticket. To complete a gateway review, we require a copy of the gateway plugin and test transaction credentials (API keys).

Incompatible Gateways

We have tested and confirmed that the following payment gateways are not compatible with Web-App Mode:

Amazon Payments (off-site transaction)
PayFast (off-site transaction)
IcePay (off-site transaction)
PayJunction (off-site transaction)
PayPal Standard (off-site transaction)