FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions About STQRY and Audio Guides

Considering an audio guide for your museum, gallery, university, or cultural institution?

You probably have a lot of questions. 

You might be wondering how these apps work, whether or not an app-builder platform is the right choice for your organization, and what other sorts of digital experiences your audience might benefit from. 

Keep reading for frequently asked questions about STQRY, audio guides, and other interactive content.

These answers will help you figure out your path forward. (And if you have more questions, you can always reach out to us at info@stqry.com.)

How do audio guides work?

Audio guides are mobile apps that include organized tours and stops. Typically, audio guides will have one short audio track for each stop. There might also be multimedia content like images, videos, text descriptions, and audio transcripts to increase user engagement and accessibility. 

You can create a location-based tour app with geofencing using Bluetooth technology (best for short radiuses indoors) or GPS technology (best for longer radiuses outdoors). Location triggers allow users to autoplay content so that the audio tracks play seamlessly as they walk through your library or drive along your tour route. 

Check out these examples of audio guides for inspiration. 

What are some must-haves in an audio guide platform?

To create your own audio guide, you can use a no-code app builder like STQRY. The platform you choose should make it easy for you to add and arrange app content.

Look for these key features to help you create a high-quality app:

• Great UX for users 
• Interactive mapping for wayfinding
• Geo-location
• Multilingual support
• Multimedia content
• User engagement and gamification (surveys, badges, quizzes)
• Can be deployed on your devices or visitors’ devices
• Embeddable checkouts for donations, tickets, memberships, etc.

How do I know if I should choose STQRY or custom app development?

While an app-building platform is the fastest, most affordable way to develop an audio guide, it’s not your only option. 

You might also be considering custom app development, which typically requires hiring an outside software development agency to get the talent and bandwidth you need. 

Custom app development does provide more flexibility and functionality but at a high cost. You’ll pay over $100,000 per year, whereas STQRY costs just a few thousand dollars per year. What’s more, the ability to add lots of other features isn’t necessarily a good thing. Your organization might be tempted to develop features that users don’t really need. 

Can I include other app features in our audio guide?

We focus on creating software that allows you to build simple audio guides so your content can take center stage. Most organizations using STQRY have all of their needs met by our core functionality. 

However, if you want to go beyond tours, our platform might be able to accommodate that. 

For example, Revs Institute added a VR tour of their gallery to their STQRY app.

Many of our customers have also embedded cart checkouts. These can be used to sell additional tickets and experiences, book reservations, boost memberships, collect donations, and more. Typically, you can embed the checkout software you’re already using, but we can recommend options that work well for our customers if you don’t have a checkout solution yet.

You can also add just about anything from a platform that offers responsive, HTML code. All you have to do is copy and paste the code where you want the content to appear in your app. If you’re looking to add special functionality or address a unique use case, reach out to us and we’ll let you know what’s possible with our software. 

How much will it cost to build and maintain our audio guide?

While custom app development can range from $100,000 to $300,000 for the initial build, you can launch your app with STQRY for around $10,000. This includes your subscription to STQRY ($2,295+ per year), the estimated amount you’ll spend on audio content creation ($3,000 to $8,000 per tour for scriptwriters and voice actors), and what it costs to submit your apps to the app stores (around $2,000). 

But if you create all of the content yourself and use STQRY Guide to create a mobile web app instead of a native app, you’ll pay just $2,295 per year with no additional costs. Check out this article for a detailed cost breakdown. 

The low investment, especially compared to custom development, allows organizations of all sizes to augment docent availability, provide accessible and multilingual content, and cater to visitors’ expectations for self-serve experiences. 

Entrepreneurs can benefit from our affordable technology as well. Gary Patterson was able to create two profitable mobile apps, Great Hikes and Great Rides with STQRY.

How do I offer tour content if visitors don’t have their own mobile devices?

85% of Americans own a smartphone that can be used to enjoy your tour content. For visitors that don’t have their own smartphone, you can still provide access. 

With STQRY Fleet, you can make your mobile tours available on your organization’s devices. Deploy the content on mobile phones or tablets and make them available for visitors who don’t have their own devices. 

What are some other ways to create interactive digital experiences?

Digital labels are one of the best technology upgrades a museum or gallery can make. They allow you to get rid of bulky signage and replace it with kiosks that provide more information in less space. Use digital labels to improve accessibility with written, visual, and audio content and to provide to content in multiple languages. 

With digital labels, you can also create more interactive content experiences, like maps, timelines, and flipbooks. Check out STQRY Kiosk to learn how.

And with STQRY Collect, you can create SEO-optimized collections websites to attract new people to your mission and engage previous visitors online. With your digital object repository, you can store all sorts of digital files and make them available to the public. 

How can I create digital labels?

To create digital labels, you’ll need STQRY Kiosk. Replace your physical labels with tablets and touchscreen computers. Instead of just recreating the content from physical labels, you can use the digital format to provide richer, multimedia experiences. Then, use content analytics to check the completion rates and analyze which content visitors enjoy the most. 

You can also add notices and promotions to your digital labels to sell memberships or tickets or to encourage visitors to sign up for your email newsletter. (You might even offer a coupon code in exchange for their email address).

In short, STQRY helps you scale your knowledge to in-person visitors and across the web with simple, beautiful digital experiences.

Still have questions? Fill out our contact form or send us an email at info@stqry.com.