The Web IS the Platform!

Using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, a developer can build an app using responsive design, and that app can offer the same look and feel as a device-native app, without having to rewrite for every desired target platform. One code base – all popular devices!

Now, developers can build apps and submit them to the Mozilla Marketplace, so that when the consumer side of the marketplace launches later this year, your apps will be listed and consumers will be able to begin installing and using your apps from the first day of business.

Why use standards-based Web Development for apps?

Developers and organizations large and small have expressed interested in building apps for the Mozilla Marketplace. These apps are built using HTML5 for app structure; CSS3 for layout, visual aesthetics, and visual behaviors; and JavaScript for logical implementation.

This combination of the latest standards-based Web development technologies is enjoying unprecedented popularity and is changing the way we build both websites and apps.

As always, Mozilla is actively participating in the open Web standards processes and leading the community to define the necessary extensions to existing technology that will permit developers to build apps without technical impedance. For more detail, read Brendan Eich’s recent post on Mobile Web API Evolution.

On the platform side we’re not only working on the standard “Web technology stack,” but also on all of the device APIs that will ultimately make the platform “rock.”

For right now, we are focused on supporting mobile apps that will run across all modern, HTML5 capable Web browsers.

The Mozilla Web Apps platform will feature:

• The Mozilla Marketplace, the first operating system- and device-independent market for apps based on open Web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript and CSS.
• New Mozilla-proposed APIs that advance the Web as a platform and will be submitted to the W3C for standardization.
• A new identity system for the Web that puts users in control of their content, tying apps to the user and not the device or platform.

Why build apps for the Mozilla Marketplace?

The Web is the world’s largest single marketplace. By exposing apps through Mozilla’s existing communities, an app can launch to a marketplace of nearly half a billion prospective customers. Developers can also offer their apps via their own sites.

On the Marketplace side, we’ve been working on identity integration with Persona (BrowserID). We’re also developing payments, app sync, backup and recovery, as well as an outstanding online app discovery and acquisition experience, so that both consumers and developers can easily get what they want from the Marketplace experience, on the front side or on the back end.

What’s in this release?

The Mozilla Marketplace is now open for developer app submissions. That means you can secure your app’s name and place in the Marketplace in preparation for the consumer launch later this year and familiarize yourself with the developer side of the Marketplace process.

So, follow these links below to get started building your apps and then submit them to the Mozilla Marketplace!

Apps on MDN – https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/apps
Mozilla Apps Wiki – https://wiki.mozilla.org/Apps
HTML5 Docs – https://developer.mozilla.org/en/HTML/HTML5
Mozilla Persona – https://browserid.org/

And, join the discussions:

https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-marketplace for marketplace specific questions.

https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-webapps for general apps questions.