I have been watching my friend Sunil Kanderi and his team innovate, imagine, ideate, iterate and implement the Craigslist app for months and finally, today it’s getting released. Here is a quick Q&A with Sunil on the app and more.
About Mokriya: Mokriya is a design-focused mobile app strategy and solutions company based in Silicon Valley. It has become a go-to mobile app developer for high-tech, consumer-facing companies like Path, Hipster, Sidecar etc and for world-class brands like Swarovski Crystal and SeaWorld. Mokriya is trusted by startups and established enterprises to deliver high-value mobile applications of impeccable quality. Mokriya Craigslist is the company’s first Mokriya-branded application.
[Disclaimer: I have been involved with Mokriya since it’s inception and Sunil is a personal friend]
RS: What was your inspiration for building a Craigslist app?
SK: Many of the existing Craigslist apps today are clunky, hard to navigate and not an enjoyable experience. It is ironic that Craigslist, a Top 10 website in US, with 50 billion page views a month, does not have a decent mobile experience. We decided to tackle this and create a compelling Mobile experience for craigslist users.
The Mokriya Craigslist app is an effort in re-imagining craigslist from the ground up using Mobile centric design principles. We’ve created an innovative vertical tab UI so users easily browse the entire Craigslist directory with just two taps. This is something you won’t see in any of the current mobile apps out there. We’ve designed Mokriya Craigslist to be completely intuitive and I’m confident that once people see, touch and experience Mokriya Craigslist, they won’t want to use anything else.”
RS: What is the contract that you have with Craigslist?
The Mokriya Craigslist app was developed through an official license with Craigslist, it can be used across all 50 U.S. states and any of the 700 cities in 70 countries served by Craigslist. We have nothing but positive experience in dealing with craigslist as tried to obtain a license for using their data.
RS: What are your top features of the Mokriya Craigslist app?
Touch-centric Interface: Mokriya Craigslist brings all of Craigslist’s categories and search features directly to users’ fingertips. All content can be accessed within two taps.
Create Craigslist listings with images in minutes: it is the simplest, most enjoyable Craigslist posting experience available and it takes only a minute or two for most posts using an iPhone or Android smartphone.
Automatic search alerts: Use Mokriya Craigslist to continually search and deliver new items that match your needs and automatically alert you when they become available. Automatic alerts help ensure that users don’t miss out on that perfect used car, an apartment listing or other items.
RS: Where will this app be launched?
SK: Mokriya Craigslist is immediately available across 50 U.S. states and any of the 700 cities in 70 countries that Craigslist serves today. The app makes it easier and faster to find and sell stuff from anywhere.
RS: What is the cost of this app?
Browsing and searching on Mokriya Craigslist is now available for free on both the App Store and on Google Play. For a one-time $0.99 fee, users can upgrade to Mokriya Craigslist Premium to post listings, receive alerts and favorite items.
RS: Do you plan to support this app on any other platforms? How about an iPad app?
The app is supported on iPhones and Android phones. We are working on redesigning the app to use all the real estate on an iPad. It should be out in the next few months. Currently, we plan to limit release to these platforms.
RS: Where can I get more information about the app and company?
For more information or to view a demo video of the new app, please visit: http://craigslist.mokriya.com.
RS: What’s brewing next?
We have some fantastic ideas for future apps. One thing will be common among all of them – Stunningly Beautiful and performant apps, with utmost importance to user centric design.