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Breaking newsnow
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Breaking news alerts
Send a push the moment a story breaks. It lands on the lock screen and opens the article itself, not your homepage.
Push campaigns and automations →Turn your news website into a mobile app
Build a news app without writing code
Put your front page on your readers' home screens. Breaking news push, subscriber sign-in and your existing ads, in native iOS and Android apps built from the site your newsroom already publishes to.
Why publishers stall before launching an app
Most publishers know their loyal readers would open an app. The problem is building and running one.
Your stories live in a CMS, your revenue runs through an ad stack and a paywall, and your newsletters, comments and analytics all sit on the website. A native build means rebuilding every template and ad slot, and news app builders often show your stories in their own templates from a feed. Either way, you end up running a second product beside the newsroom.
The guide below covers the whole path. If your site already reads well on a phone, the app is the short part, because Twinr builds it from the site you already publish to.
Why an app
An audience no algorithm can take away
Search and social send readers on their terms, and those terms keep changing. An app puts your publication on the home screens of your most loyal readers.
Reach readers as news breaks
A push lands on the lock screen seconds after you send it, with no feed or inbox in the way.
Subscribers stay signed in
Readers sign in once, so your paywall recognises them every time they open the app.
Passing readers become daily ones
Readers from search read one story and leave. Readers with your app come back day after day.
More from every reader
Your ads run in the app as they do on your site, and readers who return more often see more of them.
9:41
3Your publication
86% US adults who at least sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet
Source: Source: Pew Research Center, 2025
53% US adults who at least sometimes get news from social media, where the platform decides what they see
Source: Source: Pew Research Center, 2025
43% US adults under 30 who regularly get news on TikTok, up from 9% in 2020
Source: Source: Pew Research Center, 2025
Step by step
How to build a news app without code
Five steps from first call to a live app. We do the work; your newsroom keeps publishing throughout.
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Kickoff
A short onboarding call to agree the app's sections, alert topics and launch plan. You share access to your website and your Apple and Google developer accounts.
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Build and integrate
We build the app on your live site, with a native tab bar for your main sections. Your story formats, ads, paywall and sign-in carry across as they are, and you get a working preview on your own phone early.
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Customize and test
Design and navigation tuned to your brand, with push notifications and analytics set up in Twinr. We test articles, galleries, video, ads and subscriber access on real iOS and Android devices, then you sign off.
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Launch
Submitted to the App Store and Google Play under your own developer accounts. We handle both store reviews, then help you announce the app with a smart banner on your site, your newsletter and social.
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Engage, analyse and repeat
Send breaking news, topic alerts and morning briefings by push. Track return visits and push-driven sessions in Twinr analytics. Every story your newsroom publishes reaches the app instantly.
Features to jobs
What a news app needs, and which Twinr feature covers it
City 2–1 Unitednow
Late winner sends City top of the table.
Your morning briefing6am
Five stories to know before your first meeting.
Alerts by section and topic
Target pushes to readers who follow a section, team or topic, so alerts stay relevant and readers keep them switched on.
Segments and scheduled sends →The Daily BriefSigned in as Sam
SubscriberFull access, all devices
Subscribers who stay signed in
Your paywall and sign-in run as they do on the site, and persistent login means subscribers never hit the wall by mistake.
Native capabilities in every build →You've read 3 free storiesThis month · The Daily Brief
$4.99/ month
Subscribe on the webMetered and hard paywalls
Metered, hard and registration walls keep the rules you set on your site, with no second paywall to configure.
Native screens and app-only pages →Offline. Showing saved stories.
Reading on the commute
Offline mode keeps saved stories readable underground or on a bad connection, and shows your brand instead of a browser error.
How the native shell works →App analyticsExample data
Sessions64.1k
Retention41%
Push opens9.8k
Knowing what the app is worth
Sessions, retention and push opens tracked natively, so app readers are measured apart from your web audience.
What Twinr analytics measures →Push notifications
Breaking news can't wait for the newsletter
A morning email is fine for the briefing. When a story breaks, push reaches readers in seconds and opens the article directly, and with Twinr it's included on every plan.
See how Twinr push works → Newsletter Social App push
Speed Next send When the feed allows Seconds
Where it lands Inbox, often promotions Mixed into a feed Lock screen
Filtered by Spam and tabs The algorithm Only the reader
Opens into Browser In-app browser The story in your app
Store policy
App Store and Play Store rules that apply to news apps
The rules that decide whether a news app is approved, and what each one means for subscriptions, ads and comments.
Digital subscriptions follow in-app purchase rules
Selling access to articles inside the app usually falls under Apple and Google billing rules, which vary by country. Readers signing in to a subscription bought on the web is generally allowed.
What Twinr covers: we review your subscription flow with you before submission and set the app up accordingly.
A website in a frame is not enough
Apple rejects apps that offer little beyond a mobile website, so a news app needs genuine native value.
What Twinr covers: native navigation, push, persistent sign-in and offline reading, which is what review looks for.
Ad tracking needs permission
If your ads track readers across apps and sites, iOS requires the App Tracking Transparency prompt, plus accurate privacy labels on both stores.
What Twinr covers: the native permission prompt. Your consent banner and ad stack settings stay with you.
Reader comments need moderation
Apps that show user comments must let readers report content and block users, and the publisher must act on reports.
What Twinr covers: your comment system carries over as it is. Reporting and moderation stay with your comments provider.
Examples
News apps built with Twinr
Build options
Ways to get a news app, compared
Included Partial or extra cost Not available
| Your site + Twinr | Template news app builder | Agency or in-house build | Progressive web app | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | From $25/mo | $100–$1,000/mo | $50k–$250k per platform | Hosting only |
| Time to first release | Days | Weeks | 6–12 months | Immediate |
| Editors publish once | Yes, in your CMS | Feed or API sync | Via an app API | |
| Every story format works | As on your site | Template formats only | Rebuilt one by one | |
| In the app stores | iOS and Android | |||
| Push notifications on iOS | Built in, unlimited | Built to order | Limited | |
| Keep your ads and paywall | Yes, as they are | Set up again | Re-integrate |
After launch
You run the newsroom. Twinr runs the app.
Editors, writers and ad sales keep working exactly as they do today. The app-specific work sits with us.
Your team
Keeps publishing and selling
- Publish stories, sections and homepages in your CMS as today
- Every story on the site shows up in the app automatically
- Ads, subscriptions and paywall rules managed where they are now
- Send breaking news alerts from the Twinr dashboard
Twinr
Keeps the app running
- The native iOS and Android builds
- Store submission under your own developer accounts
- OS updates, SDK changes and store policy changes
- Push delivery, analytics and support when you need it
01 How do I turn my news website into an app?
Twinr builds native iOS and Android apps from your live website instead of rebuilding it. Your stories, sections, ads and paywall keep working as they do today, and Twinr adds native navigation, push notifications and analytics on top.
02 Do editors have to publish anything twice?
No. The app shows your live site, so a story published in your CMS appears in the app as soon as it is on the web. There is no separate app feed and no app release needed to publish.
03 Which CMS does it work with?
Any CMS that publishes a mobile-friendly website: WordPress, Ghost, Drupal, Webflow, headless front ends and custom systems. If your site reads well in a mobile browser, it can power your app.
04 How do breaking news alerts work?
You send push notifications from the Twinr dashboard, to everyone or to readers who follow a section or topic. Each alert opens the story itself in the app, not your homepage.
05 Will our ads keep earning in the app?
Yes. Your ad tags and placements load in the app as they do in a mobile browser. If you use ad tracking, the app shows the App Tracking Transparency prompt Apple requires.
06 Does our paywall work in the app?
Yes. Metered, hard and registration walls stay on your site, so the same rules apply in the app. Subscribers sign in once and stay signed in between visits.
07 Can readers buy a subscription inside the app?
Apple and Google have their own rules for selling digital subscriptions in an app, and they vary by country. Many publishers let readers sign in to a subscription bought on the web. We will walk you through the options before submission.
08 Can the app handle a big news day?
Stories load from your own site and CDN, so the app scales the way your website already does. Push notifications are included on every Twinr plan, with no per-send fee.
09 Who owns the app and the readers?
You do. The apps are published under your own Apple Developer and Google Play Console accounts, so the listings, reviews, readers and data belong to you.
10 How much does a news app cost?
A custom native news app typically costs tens of thousands of dollars per platform, plus ongoing upkeep. Twinr plans are published and start at $25 per month.
Build a news app without writing code
14-day free trial, no credit card. See your own website running as a native app in about a minute.