# Launch your app

> What you need before you can launch, what the launch steps ask for, and what changes once your app is live.

Source: https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/launch
Audience: event organizers, working in the Highbar dashboard

Launching publishes your event app at its own link, ready to share with attendees. Until then, only you and your collaborators can see it, through the preview in the dashboard.

![The Events dashboard with the Horizons event card marked Draft, at step 7 of 7, with a Keep building button. Other events are blurred.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/launch/dashboard-draft.webp)

## Before you launch

The **Launch App** button at the bottom of the event sidebar stays greyed out until these setup steps are complete:

| Step | What "complete" means |
| --- | --- |
| [Event](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/event-settings/event-details) | The event has a name, start and end dates, a time zone and a venue (or is marked virtual), and [Appearance](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/event-settings/appearance) has an app label, app icon, navigation bar logo and event cover. |
| [AI](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/ai/ai-concierge) | The AI Concierge has a chat icon, name, welcome message and unknown response, or you've switched it off. |
| [Content](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/content/sections-and-visibility) | At least one Schedule, Speakers or Sponsors section has at least one item in it. Maps, resource libraries, photo galleries and web views don't count toward this. |

The other steps never block launch: [App menu](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/app-menu) and [Start page](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/start-page) start from sensible defaults, and you can add people on the [Access](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/access) page before or after launching. Each step shows a check mark in the sidebar once it's done.

![The event sidebar of a draft event with a check mark next to every setup step, Event, AI, Content, App menu, Start page and Access, highlighted, and an arrow pointing to the Launch App button below them.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/launch/setup-complete.webp)

<Callout type="info">
If the button stays grey, look for the step without a check mark. The most common miss is the Event step's **Appearance** tab, which needs an app label, app icon, navigation bar logo and event cover.
</Callout>

## Launch

<Steps>
<Step>
Click **Launch App** in the event sidebar (or **Launch app** at the top of the Access page).

![The Launch app panel opened from the Launch App button, with every setup step checked in the sidebar. The panel has Your app link with the Domain name hrz26.highbar.events, Pay for real engagement with a Pricing calculator link, and Card on file with Card and US bank account options.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/launch/launch-panel.webp)
</Step>
<Step>
Under **Your app link**, enter a **Domain name**. This becomes your app's address, for example `your-event.highbar.events`. Use letters, numbers and dashes only. Choose carefully: you'll print and send this link, and only Highbar support can change it after launch.
</Step>
<Step>
Under **Card on file**, add a payment card (or a US bank account, if offered). Nothing is charged now: Highbar bills after your event, based on how many attendees actually engaged. See [Pricing and billing](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/get-started/pricing-and-billing). If your organization has a contract with Highbar, you'll see **Covered by your contract** instead and no card is needed.
</Step>
<Step>
Click **Launch app**. When you see **Your app is live!**, your app is published at the link shown.
</Step>
</Steps>

## Share your app

From your dashboard, click **Published** on the event's card to open **Share**.

![The Events dashboard with the Horizons card under Upcoming, showing Registered 2, Active 1 and Engaged 0, and an arrow pointing to its Published button. Other events are blurred.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/launch/dashboard-published.webp)

**Share** has:

- **Event link**, to copy into emails, your website and confirmation messages.
- **Download QR code**, as PNG or SVG, for signage, slides and printed badges.
- **Share via** X, LinkedIn, Facebook or email.

![The Share window for Horizons, with the Event link https://hrz26.highbar.events and a copy button, Download QR code as PNG or SVG, and Share via X, LinkedIn, Facebook and email.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/launch/share.webp)

Your app link is also at the top of the event's **Overview** page, under **Quick Links**, with **Copy** and **QR Code** buttons.

![The Overview page of a published event, with the app link hrz26.highbar.events and its Copy and QR Code buttons highlighted under Quick Links.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/quickstart/share.webp)

Attendees who open the link in a browser land on the app's install page, where they can **Use in browser** or **Install web app**. Point them to [Installing the app](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/attendees/installing-the-app) and [Logging in](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/attendees/logging-in) if they need help. Remember that with an [attendee list](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/event-app/access), only people on the list can log in.

![The app's install page for Horizons, with the app icon, the headline Your AI co-pilot & event app, Use in browser and Install web app buttons, the date and location with a map, and Event information.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/launch/install-page.webp)

## After launch

- **Your sidebar changes.** **Overview** and **Analytics** move to the top, and a new **Event app** group holds the tools for running your event, such as Community, **1:1 Meetings** and [push notifications](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/run-your-event/push-notifications). The setup steps move under **App settings**.

  ![The event sidebar before and after launch. Before launch: a Draft event with the setup steps Event, AI, Content, App menu, Start page and Access, each checked, and the Launch App button. After launch: a Published event with Overview, Analytics, and the Event app group with Community, 1:1 Meetings, App chatbot, Push notifications and Lead retrieval. Scrolled down, the setup steps are listed under App settings.](https://help.highbar.ai/images/launch/sidebar-before-after.webp)

- **Edits go live.** Changes you save to content, the start page or settings show up in the published app. Attendees with the app open may need to refresh.
- **Billing starts counting.** Engagement is tracked from launch. See [How engagement is measured](https://help.highbar.ai/docs/analytics/engagement-metrics).
- **Changing the link or using your own domain.** Contact [support@highbar.ai](mailto:support@highbar.ai). Only Highbar can change an app's address after launch or connect a custom domain to it.