How to Create an Online Store App for iPhone (2026)
Create an online store app for iPhone: catalogue, cart, checkout, order history and Apple's payment rules, built from your shop or website with Borel.
By Sigsten Gustavii· · 8 min read
To create an online store app, decide where your products live (in the app, or in the shop platform you already use), describe the catalogue, cart and checkout to an AI builder like Borel, connect a payment provider for card checkout, test an order end to end, and publish the app under your shop's own Apple Developer account.
| Route | Where products live | Checkout | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products kept in the app | The app's own database, edited from a staff screen | Stripe Checkout with your key | Lowest: good for small catalogues |
| Connected to your shop platform | Your existing platform, read through its API | The platform's checkout | Medium: needs the platform's API key and careful testing |
| Catalogue only | The app | Order in the app, pay on collection or by invoice | Lowest: no card payments in the app |
Shop apps work for shops people buy from again and again: a coffee roaster, a bakery, a fashion label with weekly drops, a bike shop with spare parts. They give regulars a faster way back than a browser tab, and a place for saved items and past orders. For a shop people visit once, a fast website is usually enough.
What an online store app needs
| Part | What it does | In a Borel app |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogue | Categories, products, photos, prices, sizes | A table anyone can browse, edited by staff |
| Search and filters | Find by name, category, price | A search field and filters |
| Product page | Photo gallery, variants, stock | Native swipeable photos and variant pickers |
| Saved items | A wishlist | Saves only their owner can see |
| Cart | Change quantities, see totals | Kept on the phone until checkout |
| Checkout | Address, delivery choice, payment | A payment page from your provider, opened by the app |
| Orders | History and status | Orders only their buyer and your staff can read |
| Staff tools | Edit products, mark orders shipped | A staff sign-in with edit screens |
The catalogue, saves and orders live in Borel Cloud, the database, sign-in and file storage Borel runs for the app. Product photos go in the app's file storage.
Make it worth installing
A shop app competes with the browser tab people already have. These are the features that make regulars keep it:
- Reorder in one tap. The last order, or a favourite bundle, from the home screen.
- Saved items that remember sizes, so a restock is two taps away.
- New arrivals on top: the home screen shows what changed since the last visit.
- Fast product photos, swipeable and full screen, the way native apps show them.
- A members' price or early access for people signed in, which gives an account a reason to exist.
- Pickup in store, with opening hours and directions in Apple Maps.
Each is a sentence in Borel. Add them once the basic order flow works, one at a time, and keep the ones regulars use.
Payments: Apple's rules for shops
This is the most common mistake in store apps. Apple's Guideline 3.1.3(e) says physical goods and services used outside the app must be paid for with something other than in-app purchase, such as card entry. Guideline 3.1.1 says digital goods unlocked in the app must use in-app purchase.
| What you sell | How it is paid | In a Borel app |
|---|---|---|
| Clothes, coffee, parts, anything shipped | A card through a payment provider | Stripe Checkout with your key under Tools, in Keys |
| Click and collect | At the counter, or by card in advance | Pay on collection, or the same checkout |
| Gift cards for your physical shop | A card through a payment provider | As above |
| A digital download or premium feature in the app | Apple's in-app purchase | Add payment builds it on StoreKit |
In a Borel app, you add your Stripe secret key under Tools, in Keys. It is stored encrypted and sent only to Stripe, and the app reaches Stripe through Borel's server, so the key is never inside the app. The app then opens a Stripe Checkout page for the cart. Test every path in Stripe's test mode before real cards are used.
Using your existing shop platform
If your shop already runs on a platform with an API, such as Shopify's Storefront API, the app can read products from it instead of keeping its own copy. Add the platform's key under Tools, in Keys, and describe what to show. This keeps one source of truth for stock and prices, but every platform's data is shaped differently, so plan more testing than for a catalogue kept in the app.
Starting from your website
Paste your shop's website into Borel's website to iPhone app. It reads your name, logo, colours and content and builds a native SwiftUI app from them, not a web page in a frame, which matters for Apple's Guideline 4.2. Then add the parts a website can't match: saved items, one-tap reorder and a fast way back.
App Store rules for store apps
| Guideline | What Apple asks | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1.3(e) Physical goods | Not in-app purchase | Card checkout through a payment provider |
| 3.1.1 Digital goods | In-app purchase for digital unlocks | Use Add payment for anything digital |
| 4.2 Minimum functionality | More than a repackaged website | Native catalogue, saves, cart and orders |
| 5.1.1(v) Accounts | Browse without login; Delete account in the app | Ask for an account at checkout or when saving |
| 2.1 Completeness | A working demo for review | A test account and products in stock |
Read the full text on Apple's App Review Guidelines page.
What a store app costs
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Borel Free | $0, with 5 credits a day | Build and try it in your browser |
| Borel Pro | From $20 a month | Install on your iPhone and publish to the App Store |
| Apple Developer Program | $99 a year | Your shop's account on the App Store |
| Running the app | Pay as you go | Catalogue, photos and orders, from a balance you top up |
| Card payments | Your payment provider's fees | Per sale, set by the provider |
That is $339 a year on Borel's lowest monthly tier plus Apple's fee, with no commission to Borel on sales. See pricing.
What Borel won't do for you
- Push notifications for drops and shipping updates. Borel apps don't send them; show news and order status in the app.
- Card processing. Borel doesn't take cards itself; your payment provider does, on its own checkout page.
- Warehouse and shipping systems. Connect them through their APIs with your keys, or mark orders shipped from the staff screen.
- Android. Borel makes iPhone and iPad apps.
How to choose the right store app builder
- Borel, for a native iPhone shop app built from your website or a description, with checkout through your own payment provider.
- Your shop platform's app builder, if it offers one and a template app is enough.
- [CatDoes](/compare/catdoes), if many buyers use Android; it builds React Native apps for both stores.
- A mobile-friendly website, if most buyers arrive once from search.
How to do it with Borel, step by step
Step 1: Describe the shop
Make a shop app for Rost, our coffee roastery, using the logo and colours from our website. Anyone can browse coffees by origin and roast with photos, tasting notes, price and bag size, and search by name. People can save favourites and reorder past orders. The cart shows totals and free shipping over 400 SEK. Checkout asks for an address and opens a Stripe Checkout page with our key. Orders show status: paid, roasting, shipped. Staff sign in to add coffees, mark sold out and mark orders shipped.Borel's planner, Penny, asks about anything unclear, then Rivet writes the app in Swift with SwiftUI and Xcode builds it on Borel's Mac.
Step 2: Add your Stripe key
Under Tools, in Keys, add your Stripe test key. Borel wires checkout to it through its server.
Step 3: Place a test order
In the iOS Simulator in your browser, add to cart, check out with a Stripe test card, then mark the order shipped as staff and check the buyer's order history.
Step 4: Go live
Swap in your live Stripe key, install the app on your iPhone with Borel Companion on Pro, and place one real order.
Step 5: Publish
Stamp checks the common reasons for rejection, and Publish builds and uploads the app under your shop's Apple Developer account, with a demo account and products in stock for the reviewer.
The Bottom Line
A store app pays off for shops people buy from again and again. Borel builds the catalogue, saves, cart, orders and staff tools natively from your website or a description; your payment provider takes the cards, as Apple's rules require for physical goods. Paste your shop's website into Borel and walk through an order on a live iPhone today.
Questions people ask
Can I make an online store app without coding?
Yes. Describe the shop or paste your website, and Borel builds a native SwiftUI app with a catalogue, cart, orders and staff screens.
Can I use Apple's in-app purchase for physical products?
No. Guideline 3.1.3(e) requires another payment method for physical goods, such as card checkout through a provider like Stripe. In-app purchase is for digital goods.
How does checkout work in a Borel store app?
You add your Stripe key under Tools, in Keys; the app opens a Stripe Checkout page for the cart, and Borel talks to Stripe from its server so the key never sits in the app.
Can the app use my Shopify products?
It can read them through Shopify's Storefront API with your key saved under Tools, in Keys. Plan careful testing, since the data has to match your screens.
How much does a store app cost?
With Borel, from $20 a month for Pro plus Apple's $99 a year, pay-as-you-go running costs, and your payment provider's fees per sale.
Do buyers need an account?
Not to browse. Ask for an account when someone saves an item or checks out, so they can see their orders later and delete the account from settings.
Can I send notifications about new products?
Not as push notifications; Borel apps don't send them. Show new arrivals on the home screen and in a news list when people open the app.
Will Apple approve a shop app?
Yes, when it is a real native shop and not only your website in a frame (Guideline 4.2), and physical goods are paid for outside in-app purchase.
A shop app pays off for shops people buy from again and again. I'd love to see yours on a live iPhone.
– Sigsten
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