Getting Started

This guide walks through setting up a new native app for a church using our Expo-based system.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

1. Apple Developer Account — Enrolled in the Apple Developer Program ($99/year)
2. Google Play Developer Account — Registered on Google Play Console ($25 one-time)
3. EAS CLI installed — npm install -g eas-cli
4. Access to the digitalchurch-app repo

Step 1: WordPress Configuration

The church's WordPress site controls the app configuration. Enable the native app features:

1. Go to Digital Church → Native App in wp-admin
2. Enable the Native App module
3. Configure basic settings:
   • App Name — The display name in app stores
   • Bundle ID — Reverse domain format (e.g., app.digitalchurch.clientname)
   • Primary Color — Used throughout the app UI
   • Accent Color — Secondary brand color

Step 2: Upload App Assets

Upload the required assets in Digital Church → Native App → Branding:

Asset	Specifications
App Icon	1024×1024 PNG, no transparency, no rounded corners (system adds them)
Splash Screen	1284×2778 PNG (or SVG for auto-scaling)
Adaptive Icon Foreground	1024×1024 PNG with safe zone for Android adaptive icons

Asset Generation

Use a tool like Icon Kitchen or Figma's App Icon Template to generate all required sizes from a single source file.

Step 3: Configure App Tabs

In Digital Church → Native App → Navigation, configure which tabs appear:

• Home — Landing screen with featured content
• Sermons — Sermon archive with audio/video playback
• Events — Upcoming events from the church calendar
• Groups — Small group directory and membership
• Giving — Link to online giving (opens in-app browser)
• More — Additional links and settings

Drag tabs to reorder. Toggle visibility for each tab.

Step 4: Create App Configuration

Generate the app configuration for the Expo build:

# From the digitalchurch-app repo
eas build:configure

This creates an eas.json file if one doesn't exist. Each client app uses environment variables to pull their specific configuration from their WordPress site.

Step 5: Build & Deploy

See Building & Deployment for detailed build instructions.

Quick Reference

Task	Where
Change app name/colors	WordPress → Digital Church → Native App
Update app icon	WordPress → Digital Church → Native App → Branding
Configure tabs	WordPress → Digital Church → Native App → Navigation
Send push notification	WordPress → Digital Church → Native App → Push Notifications
Trigger a new build	EAS CLI or GitHub Actions
Submit to app stores	EAS Submit or manual upload