This page serves as a starting point to understand Mxit apps, think about your app, what you need to do to get started, setting up your hosting environment and ultimately building the app. Before you submit your app for publishing, there are a few things to take into consideration, and we will detail them all below.
Understanding Mxit apps
Mxit Apps can be thought of as a crossover between chat and mobile web. So, you get to use the web tools and languages you're used to using, as well as all of the features that come with plugging into Mxit: Push messaging, mobile billing, chatrooms, advertising and access to a highly engaged community.
The Mobi Portal API translates a mobi website into a useable Mxit App. Any technology platform (PHP, Ruby on Rails, Python, and other languages) can be used to create the mobi site that will become your Mxit App.
If you don’t want to read through this whole document, here are some shortcuts:
If you have a great app idea, but don’t want to build one yourself, have a look at our Preferred Developer Directory - a list of the top developers that build Mxit apps for clients.
Thinking about your app
To fully understand what is possible on Mxit, have a look at our Developer Documentation. It’s good to have an app idea, and now you can explore what you can achieve with our APIs. A critical part of your research should include browsing the App Store (Apps contact on Mxit) which is a contact you can add containing all published apps on Mxit. This gives you an opportunity to see what has been done and gives you the chance of exploring the user experience from within Mxit.
Going through the App Store also allows you determine if somebody else has already built a similar app or game or if there is a market space available for you to build such an app. At this stage we would also strongly advise that you read the API Terms to ensure you comply with our requirements and legal policies.
So now you have read over the documentation and determined what is possible, and also explored the App Store, you need to understand the Mxit platform.
What is Mxit?
Mxit is a homegrown mobile-only social network. It has 7.3 million monthly active users, of which 6.5 million are in South Africa, and is designed for both feature phones and smartphones. Our users are highly engaged, curious and looking for information and activities that improve and enhance their lives. They spend an average of 95 minutes on Mxit each day talking in chat rooms, messaging each other, playing games, reading books, working through educational programs, connecting with like-minded communities and finding new music, new facts, new friends, new jobs and new hobbies. Always keep in mind the platform you are developing for and importantly the Most Popular Phones on Mxit as well as Mxit Statistics. The two links will help you remember your target audience so you can build more engaging apps that appeal to the Mxit community. In your research think of a catchy name for your app or game. You will need to create an avatar that represents that name as well - users are inclined to add apps with exciting avatars.