MAM Suite turns the content you already manage in WordPress into a native iOS and Android app — think of it as the WooCommerce of mobile apps. The App Setup Wizard does the heavy lifting of putting a working app together, but it can only build with what’s already there. It reads your live WordPress site, pulls in the content from your directory or content plugin, and shapes it into screens, navigation, and branding. So if the foundation isn’t in place when you start, the wizard has nothing to build on.

This article walks through that foundation and why each piece matters, so you arrive at onboarding ready instead of half-configured. Think of it like a kitchen stocked before the guests arrive, instead of one where you’re still shopping while they wait at the table.

You’ll want three things ready: a supported WordPress site, a directory or content plugin with real content in it, and a plan for publishing. Each one maps directly to something the wizard checks or assumes.

1. A supported WordPress site

MAM Suite runs as a set of WordPress plugins inside your existing site, so you’ll need a working, self-hosted WordPress install — one you can log into as an administrator and install plugins on. The wizard lives under the Mobile App Manager menu in the WordPress admin (it appears in the sidebar as “Mobile App Mgr”), and every configuration choice it offers is stored as WordPress options on your site.

Here’s what that means in practice:

• You need admin access. The wizard and its reminder notices are gated to users who can manage_options. If you’re not a full administrator on the site, you won’t see the setup flow.
• It must be a real, reachable site. The app doesn’t hold a copy of your content — it reads straight from your live site, and this is the part customers love: update content on the website, and those changes show up in the app automatically, no extra step required. A site that’s firewalled, password-protected at the server level, or only running on localhost can’t feed a published app.
• Keep WordPress and PHP reasonably current. MAM Suite plugins target modern WordPress and PHP versions (recent MAM plugins assume WordPress 6.3+ and PHP 8.1+) — an older install will fight you every step of the way.

2. A directory or content plugin — with content in it

This is the piece people most often underestimate. MAM Suite doesn’t invent content — it presents content that a supported source plugin already manages. The wizard’s very first step checks for that source plugin, and what it finds changes everything about what happens next.

The current core integration is GeoDirectory (and its companion, GeoDirectory Events). When GeoDirectory is active, the wizard unlocks its full sequence — Home Screen, Navigation, Branding, App Previewer, and Next Steps. When no supported plugin is active, the wizard shows only a welcome screen explaining which plugins are supported and pointing you to contact the team. In other words, without a supported content plugin, you can’t get past the front door.

MAM Suite also supports WooCommerce and Business Directory, plus a range of mobile data-collection plugins for eCommerce and form-based workflows. If your site runs a different directory or content plugin, have that conversation with the team before you start — it shouldn’t be a surprise you discover mid-wizard.

Beyond having the plugin installed, two more things matter:

• A bridge plugin connects your listings to the app. For GeoDirectory, the wizard offers to install MAM GeoDirectory, the integration plugin that connects your listings to the mobile app, and it won’t let you advance from the welcome step until that bridge is in place. Expect a similar bridge for other supported sources. You don’t have to install it yourself — the wizard does that for you — but it helps to know it’s part of the picture.
• You should already have real content. The wizard counts your published listings and tells you how many it found. If you have listings, it confirms they’ll appear in your content feed. If you have none, the wizard still lets you proceed so you can explore the previewer — but your app will look empty. Onboarding goes far more smoothly when there’s genuine content to see, brand, and arrange, so get your listings (or products, or directory entries) published before you start, not as an afterthought.

Want Deals or Events tabs in your app too? Those depend on their own plugins — MAM Special Offers for deals and GeoDirectory Events for events. The Navigation step will offer to install them, but knowing in advance whether your app needs them helps you plan your content.

3. A publishing plan

The wizard ends by getting your app onto a device — first in preview, then, when you’re ready, in the public app stores. A little forethought helps with both stages.

Previewing is immediate and self-serve. The App Previewer step gives you QR codes to download the WP Mobile App Manager Previewer app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, then to load your own site’s content into it. You can be previewing on your phone or tablet within minutes — no app-store account required. This is how you and your stakeholders sign off on look and feel before committing to a public launch.

Publishing to the stores is a hand-off, not a self-checkout. When you’re ready to go live, the MAM team submits your app to the App Store and Google Play on your behalf — you kick off that process from the Publish App menu. Store submission involves accounts, identifiers, store listings, and review timelines that live outside the wizard, so treat publishing as a project with a date, not a button you press absent-mindedly at the end of setup. Decide who owns the app-store relationship, what the app will be called, and roughly when you want it live — before you reach that step.

Why getting these ready up front matters

The wizard is deliberately forgiving — it’ll let you walk through every step with an empty site and no publishing plan — but a forgiving tool isn’t the same as a finished result. Each prerequisite closes off a specific way things can go wrong:

• A supported, reachable WordPress site with admin access is what lets the wizard run in the first place, and what keeps the app’s content live afterward.
• A supported content plugin with real listings is what gives the wizard something to display — the difference between a demo and a real app.
• A publishing plan is what turns a working preview into an app your customers can actually download.

Have all three in hand, and onboarding becomes what it’s meant to be: a short, guided assembly of pieces that are already in place.

What’s next

Once your prerequisites are ready, head to the Mobile App Manager menu in your WordPress admin and start the App Setup Wizard. It’ll walk you through the Home Screen layout, navigation tabs, colors and branding, and previewing your app on a real device. See the related Getting Started articles for a step-by-step walkthrough of the wizard itself.