A mini program is a relatively new development capability, and one a developer can put together quickly. It can be found and shared inside WeChat, and it behaves well. Registration is open to individuals, companies, government bodies, media organisations and other institutions.
The four steps
1. Register
Register the mini program on the WeChat public platform. Once registration is complete, the profile can be filled in and development can begin in parallel.
2. Complete the profile
The basic information: name, avatar, description, service scope. This is not administrative clutter; the name carries weight in in-app search, and the service scope constrains what the product is allowed to be.
3. Develop
Bind the developer account, configure the development settings, then download the developer tools and work from the documentation. A professional third-party platform is the alternative, and for most businesses it is the faster route: lower cost, full function coverage, generally a few thousand yuan and at most ten or twenty thousand, with a cycle of about a week.
4. Submit and publish
Submit the code to WeChat for review, and publish once it passes.
Two routes to a mall, and their trade-offs
A template mall
Benefit one: the cost is low. One product is sold to many buyers, so the build cost is shared, and the value is good.
Benefit two: the cycle is short. Most of the time goes on adjusting the interface, registering, verifying and waiting for review, and it comes to about a week.
Benefit three: the functions are mature. Many businesses have used it, so the obvious problems have already been found.
A custom mall
Benefit one: the functions follow the requirement, and can be extended later through further development or an additional fee.
Benefit two: the business owns the copyright, and can register it.
Benefit three: the renewal cost in later years is low, usually just the server and a small maintenance fee.
The drawbacks are the mirror image: the build costs more, and the cycle is longer, generally more than a month.
How to decide
Compare the requirement against what the template already does. If the system covers it, choose the system; a custom build for functions that already exist is money spent on nothing. If it does not cover it, choose the custom build, and budget for the month.
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