What is the workflow for developing a webpage for Kik Messenger

Question

I look at what it takes to design a webpage for the Kik Messenger In-app browser, and I'm confused about how the development workflow should work.

The Docs APIs say, “To launch your webpage on Kik, just open the sidebar and enter the URL of your webpage,” which would be nice except for the fact that the “sidebar” no longer exists in the current version of the application, and it is no longer possible to enter an arbitrary URL (*).

* EDIT: It looks like you can open an arbitrary URL in a browser by entering it into the chat and then clicking on it.

Given these limitations, how do people check their web pages using the app? Do you just need to use the Chrome Extension before deployment?

Related question: How do you know Kik about your web page? Some other questions on this site imply that you need to wait for their web crawler to index. This is true? If so, how exactly is this documented anywhere? It seems to me that I missed the link to the dock.

Answer 1

In December, they removed the NEW Apps tab in the Discovery section, as well as the ability to access arbitrary URLs. (as you indicated). For testing, I usually use the Chrome extension or access my test server via the chat URL.

But since the NEW tab has now been removed, it is now impossible to release new Kik applications, since people will only be able to recognize your application using the search function, and getting into the top 100 will be very inconvenient here. I contacted Kik if removing the NEW tab was a permanent change, to which I received a response that they are currently rebuilding their platform and new solutions towards what they are moving.

So, if u is currently working on the Kik App, I would recommend waiting with its release until possible future Kik browser updates are released.

As for your other question, to get the crawler to find your application, you just need to add some meta tags to your header:

<meta name="description" content="app description"> <link rel="kik-icon" href="your image")"> <link rel="canonical" href="your domain"> <script src="http://cdn.kik.com/kik/2.0.5/kik.js"></script>