Give your players a native mobile experience with your own branded iOS and Android app built as a direct extension of your Nera competition website, with push notifications powered by OneSignal.
Your website converts visitors. Your app retains them. For competition operators, the difference between a one-time entrant and a repeat player often comes down to how easily you can reach them at the right moment.
higher open rates vs email
Email open rates for competition brands average 15-25%. Push notification open rates regularly exceed 50%. When a new competition launches or a draw is about to close, a push notification lands directly on the player lock screen, with no inbox filtering, no spam folders, and no delays.
audience, not rented
Social media algorithms change. Email deliverability fluctuates. Ad accounts get suspended. Your app gives you a direct, owned channel to your player base with no middleman, no algorithm, and no risk of losing access to your audience overnight.
from notification to checkout
A push notification about a new competition takes the player directly into the app, already logged in with payment details saved. The path from notification to entry is a single tap, not a search, bookmark, or email link.
Competition websites with a mobile app consistently see higher repeat entry rates, faster sell-through on new competitions, and stronger player retention based on our experience building for UK competition operators.
Your app is not a separate platform to manage. It pulls directly from your Nera competition website. When you update the site, the app updates automatically.
Every app we build includes OneSignal integration as standard giving you a direct communication channel to every player who installs your app.
Notify your entire player base or specific segments the moment a new competition goes live. Players tap the notification and land directly on the entry page.
Automated reminders before a draw closes, creating urgency and driving last-minute entries from players who browsed but did not buy.
Notify winners instantly and let the rest of your audience know results are live driving traffic back to your winners page and building trust.
Time-sensitive promotions delivered directly to lock screens. No email delays, no social media algorithms. Immediate reach.
Target players who have not entered a competition in 7, 14, or 30 days with personalised messages to bring them back.
Everything you need to launch a branded competition app on both iOS and Android from design through to app store submission.
Built for the Apple App Store. Optimised for iPhone and iPad with native navigation, gestures, and performance.
Built for the Google Play Store. Optimised for the full range of Android devices with Material Design principles.
Full integration with OneSignal for targeted push notifications: new competitions, draw reminders, winner announcements, and re-engagement campaigns.
Add a competition on your website and it appears in the app. Update a price, close a draw, publish results all reflected instantly. No separate management.
Your app is designed to match your competition brand colours, logo, fonts, and imagery consistent with your website for a seamless player experience.
Same login, same account, same data. Players see their entry history, active tickets, wallet balance, and win history whether they are on the website or in the app.
In-app checkout with Apple Pay and Google Pay for fast, frictionless entries. Saved payment methods carry over from the website.
We handle the full submission process for both stores screenshots, descriptions, metadata, and compliance with Apple and Google review guidelines.
Apple requires an annual Apple Developer Programme fee of £79 to keep your iOS app published on the App Store. Google requires a one-time registration fee of approximately £20 for the Google Play Console. These fees are paid directly to Apple and Google, not to Nera. Your app will be removed from the relevant store if these fees are not maintained.
A structured process from consultation through to app store approval typically completed in 4 to 6 weeks.
What you get with a purpose-built competition platform versus assembling it yourself.
A mobile app does not replace your competition website it extends it. Your website remains the primary entry point for new visitors, SEO traffic, and Meta advertising. Your app becomes the retention and re-engagement layer for your existing player base.
Not every competition operator needs a mobile app on day one. Here is when it makes sense.
You have a growing player base, regular competitions, and repeat entrants. An app gives you a direct channel to retain and re-engage them without relying on email open rates or social media reach.
You run multiple competitions per week or month. Push notifications let you announce every launch, every closing deadline, and every winner landing directly on your players lock screens.
You are investing in a competition brand, not running a one-off draw. An app store presence, a branded mobile experience, and a direct notification channel are assets that compound over time.
£12.2M+
Client revenue generated
50+
Competition websites launched
5★
Google rating
iOS & Android
Both platforms included
Common questions about our app development service for UK competition websites.
Yes. The app is built as a native extension of your Nera competition website. It pulls content, competitions, and player account data directly from your site so your competition website needs to be live before the app can be developed. If you do not have a Nera competition website yet, we can build both as part of the same project.
Push notifications are powered by OneSignal, which is integrated into your app during the build. You can send targeted notifications to your entire audience or specific player segments: draw reminders, new competition launches, winner announcements, flash sales, and re-engagement messages. Notifications are managed through the OneSignal dashboard and can be scheduled or triggered automatically based on events on your website.
Your app pulls content directly from your competition website. When you add a new competition, update a prize, change a closing date, or publish draw results on your website, those changes appear in the app automatically. There is no separate app update or submission required for content changes only structural app changes require a new build.
Yes. We build a native iOS app for the Apple App Store and a native Android app for the Google Play Store. Both are submitted under your own developer accounts, giving you full ownership and control. We handle the submission process, including screenshots, descriptions, and compliance with each store's review guidelines.
Apple charges an annual developer programme fee of £79 (Apple Developer Programme) and Google charges a one-time registration fee of approximately £20 (Google Play Console). These are paid directly to Apple and Google and are required to keep your apps published on their respective stores. There is no ongoing fee to Nera for maintaining the app beyond these store fees, unless you require structural changes or new feature development.
Yes. The app shares the same player account system as your website. Players log in once and have access to their entry history, active tickets, wallet balance, win history, and saved payment methods the same data they see on the website, presented in a native mobile experience.
Typically 4 to 6 weeks from project kickoff, assuming your competition website is already live. This includes design, development, OneSignal integration, testing across both platforms, and submission to both app stores. App store review times vary Apple typically takes 1 to 3 days, Google typically takes a few hours to 2 days.
OneSignal offers a generous free tier that covers most competition operators including unlimited push notifications to mobile subscribers. If your audience grows beyond the free tier limits or you require advanced segmentation and analytics, OneSignal offers paid plans. We configure the integration as part of the build and advise on the right plan for your operation.
Content changes happen automatically through your website. For structural changes to the app itself (new screens, layout changes, additional features) we offer app update packages. These are quoted on a per-project basis depending on the scope of the changes required.
Yes. The app is published under your own Apple and Google developer accounts. You own the code, the listing, the data, and the relationship with your players. There is no vendor lock-in and no proprietary platform dependency.
