Apps

This page includes archived content for Apps, including obsolete web app content, Firefox OS app-related content, etc.

App Development API Reference

Technical review completed. Editorial review completed.

Designing Open Web Apps

The items under this section apply generally to Web app design.

Graphics and UX

When creating Open Web Apps, you need to give a lot of consideration to the look and feel, user experience and workflow of your applications. In previous parts of this material we looked at application planning and flexible layouts for applications, and in this section we will go further, looking at both general patterns and design techniques that work for Open Web Apps, and specific techniques and assets that will help you put together great-looking Firefox OS apps that match the experience of the device's default applications.

Open web app architecture

Apps can be installed from the server that hosts them ("self-hosting") or from a store. Mozilla launched the Firefox Marketplace in a test mode for apps in 2012. Other third-party app stores are also possible using this architecture. Apps can be free or paid. Stores can support validation of purchases to ensure that apps are run only by users who purchased them. The Firefox Marketplace will support this.

Tools and frameworks

Validating web apps with the App Validator

Some checks that the validator performs include: