In-App Integration

In-AppClosed In-app refers to services and features that are available from within a software application, usually in a mobile phone app. storefronts contain checkout processes, order processes, or other customer self-service features that open within an iframe in your software. They create less friction by allowing customers to check out, upgrade, or make purchases directly in the application, without the need to open a browser.

How to Integrate

Before we can set up an In-App checkout for your account, you must provide Cleverbridge a list of the payment options you would like to offer in your In-App checkout. Contact Client Experience for support in choosing proven payment options.

The method for embedding the browser object in your application depends on the programming language you use. This can be implemented with almost every programming environment. For an example of how to embed the object in your application, see the In-Application Checkout Process: C# sample code.

To provide the best possible experience, you should make it possible for your customers to instantly activate the products they purchase in your In-App checkout. To do so, use a special license key template that enables your application to find and parse the key on the confirmation pageClosed The confirmation page is displayed after a customer makes a purchase. The confirmation page contains the order confirmation and delivery information. after the order has been placed.

For the sample Tic-Tac-Toe application, we configured a key template that includes the key twice, as shown below in the Delivery Texts area of the Product portal in the Cleverbridge platform:

in-app ordering delivery texts

The first key is an HTML comment for your application: <!--LICENSEKEY=abc-123-def -->, which complies with your application’s search function. This format also ensures it does not display to the customer.

The second key is plain text for the customer’s use: Your license key: abc-123-def. The customer can access the key from the confirmation email or for ordering the product directly in a web browser.

Best Practice

As a best practice, your application should search the HTML code in the embedded browser object regularly. This search should be conducted when a new page is loaded, or periodically, such as once every second.

Note

If necessary, you can add additional information on the confirmation page, such as reference number, total purchase amount, the customer's email address, currency, and license key (if any). This information will be added to the confirmation page as an HTML comment so the HTML does not display to the customer. It may also contain JavaScript functions.

The following examples illustrate the two formats in which you can configure this information. You can choose one of these two formats: 

<!-- PURCHASEID=55033549-->
<!-- LICENSEKEY=123-ABC-456-DEF-->
<!-- ORDERTOTAL=99.95-->
<!-- CURRENCY=EUR-->

OR

<!--
[[purchaseId=55033550]]
[[deliveryEmail=test@cleverbridge.com]]
-->

For a full list of the available license key template placeholders, see License Key Generators > Define a License Key Template.

Example In-App

The following is an example of an In-App checkout process using the sample Cleverbridge application Tic Tac Toe.

  1. When a customer opens the sample application, Tic Tac Toe, a Buy now browser object appears at the bottom of the window.

    in-app ordering 1

  2. When the customer clicks on the embedded browser object, they are directed to a customized Cleverbridge order page. To accomplish this, the object opens a Cleverbridge URL.

    in-app ordering 2

  1. The customer fills in the Your details and Payment details pages.

    in-app ordering 3

  2. This customer is directed to the Review your data page, and clicks BUY NOW.

    in-app ordering 4

  3. The customer is told to wait while the order is processed.

    in-app ordering 5

  4. After payment processing is complete, the application recognizes that a license key has been successfully issued for the customer. The key is automatically injected into the application for activation.

    in-app ordering 6

Example

To download the Tic Tac Toe application, open in-application-checkout-process-example-app.zip.

To learn how to embed a browser object in your application, open In-Application Checkout Process: C# sample code.

Additional Information

The following is additional information to consider if you decide to use the in-app integration method:

Best Practices

Just as our designers create checkout page layouts that match the style of your existing website, our In-App designers apply the look and feel of your software application. However, the following characteristics can pose a challenge to integrating in-application checkouts.

We recommend that you make the buying window as large as possible so you can include marketing tools in the In-App browser.

In several In-App processes, scrolling is disabled by the software, which can make it difficult to deal with the height of the content. If you want to implement In-App processes, we strongly recommend allowing scrolling within your application’s iframe.

If you use the Internet Explorer plugin that is installed on most Windows computers, be sure to use the latest rendering engine. If you don't, companies like PayPal may block your customers from paying.

Note

When configuring the in-application checkout process for your application, for compliance reasons you must have either a Review page or a Shopping Cart page.