Category: How-To

I remember the times when arranging your own trip was a true challenge only for the brave. For the rest, there were travel agencies.

With the escalation of technology, the world has become smaller and reachable. Together with that, the fact of the journey itself is no longer such a big deal. Any place you want to visit, any hotel to stay, any food to taste, is just in the distance of a few taps on your smartphone. Now there is a particular application for all types of trips and tourists’ needs.

If you want to make a travel app, you are on the right road to success. Despite the high competition, travel app development is a perspective niche for investments.

Why? Online travel bookings peaked at $755 billion in 2019, before declining 46% to $403 billion in 2020. In 2021, travel bookings increased to $613 billion, still below 2019 figures – the rapid recovery speaks to the interest of the audience in this service niche. And so, with the departure of COVID-19, further growth is to be expected. 

Moreover, online sales will generate 73% of revenue in the travel & tourism sector by 2026. The last 5 years have been an important period for the growth of online travel sales via mobile as it increased from 36% to almost 50% of all digital travel sales. What other evidence do you need?

If you want to create a successful travel app, you need to choose its type, decide on the business model, and calculate the MVP cost.

That’s where The App Solutions come in.

In this article, we highlight all the aspects of travel mobile app development.

Let’s start.

How to create a mobile travel app in 5 steps

Step 1. Chose your app type

Select the travel app type among booking, accommodation booking, transport apps, and travel guides apps.

Step 2. Conduct competitor research

Discover other travel apps in your niche, their advantages, and disadvantages. Besides, consider integrating ready-made travel app APIs.

Step 3. Select a travel app MVP features

Include the following features for your travel app MVP: user account, social sharing, booking, in-app payment, and location-based search & filters.

Step 4. Find the travel app developers

Hire the best travel app development company that proves its expertise with previous projects.

Step 5. Enter the discovery phase

Define the concept of your travel app depending on the current trends, determine the project scope and milestones, and find the best technical solutions.

Step 6. Develop the travel app

Start the app development process with a development team that will create the design and builds the code for your project.

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The most popular travel app types

To develop a travel app you need to decide what kind of app you are going to create. Below we share the most popular types of travel mobile apps with examples and some technical aspects.

Flight booking apps

Using such apps, travelers compare flight costs, book, and pay for tickets.

Now, let us look at Hopper, a flight booking application, and its main features.

Image source: Myglobalviewpoint

• With price prediction algorithms, users can purchase plane tickets and book accommodation at the lowest prices.

Image source: Myglobalviewpoint

• Using push notifications, the app informs users about the lowest ticket prices.

Image source: Myglobalviewpoint

• Hopper users receive personalized recommendations based on flights they are tracking, history of previous vacations, and their budget. 

Now let’s go a little deeper into the technological side of flight booking apps.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO DEVELOP AN APP: DETAILED FEATURE BREAKDOWN

Aside from developing a travel app API from scratch, you can integrate existing APIs. They display real-time data on flights and allow users to book tickets. You can use the following

• QPX Express API
• Travel Fusion Flight API
• Cleartrip Flights API 

To provide users with secure in-app purchases, we suggest integrating

• PayPal
• Stripe
• Google Wallet
• Apple Pay

To find out more about other mobile payment solutions, read HOW TO INTEGRATE PAYMENT SYSTEM INTO THE EXISTING APP

Accommodation booking apps

Accommodation booking apps allow travelers to view, book, and pay for rooms.  App users can also leave a review of the place they have visited and rate it. At the same time, the most innovative renting apps include a check-in feature and electronic keys.

Marriott’s hotel booking app illustrates such apps perfectly.

Image source: Mobileapp.Marriott

• Before entering the hotel guests can use a built-in check-in feature.

Image source: Mobileapp.Marriott

• The app also gives guests an electronic key to open their hotel room door. 

Let’s see the technological side of accommodation booking apps.

To save budget in the development stage, you can add accommodation booking features to your travel app using:

• Booking.com API
• Airbnb API
• Zumata API

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Transport apps

With transport mobile applications, travelers receive access to local transport information and routes. Often, such applications have a geolocation feature to define user location and suggest the nearest transport options. Big news: you can add even more value to your travel app by integrating ridesharing taxi services.

Want to see how the transport app works? Check Citymapper. This application provides users access routes with official data from local transport companies.

Image source: Independent.co.uk

• Using Citymapper, users can enter the name of the road, postcode, or landmark

Image source: Evanevanstours

• The app then shows a transport option, including public transport, cycling, Uber, or walking.

To build a transport app with built-in schedules, use:

• Google Maps

To enhance the app feature list with taxi services, you can integrate

• Uber API
• FlightStats API
• Lyft API
• Gett API
• Taxify API

Let’s move on to travel apps.

Read also: How much does it cost to build a taxi app like Uber?

Travel guides apps

With a mobile travel app guide, travelers receive access to local attractions, insider tips, events, and sights. After visiting a particular place, travelers can share their experiences with other app users by writing reviews and recommendations. You can give users even more value by integrating currency converters, offline maps, and text-to-speech features.

So let’s take a closer look at Triposo, an offline travel app guide.

Image source: Androidsigma

• After analyzing content from various websites, the app provides users with personal recommendations about sights, places to sleep and eat, and nightlife.
• Triposo is also powered with phrasebooks with a text-to-speech feature and currency converter.

Let’s dig a little deeper into technological solutions.

Travel guide apps are powered with smart algorithms. They gather data from numerous websites, parse it, and show the description for each location.

To create a travel guide application, you can collect information from the following websites:

• World66
• Wikivoyage
• Wikipedia
• Open Street Maps
• TouristEye
• Flickr

You can integrate the text-to-speech feature using:   

• The text-to-speech Google library for Android app
• The Speech Synthesis core framework for iOS app

To empower your app with voice navigation, travel app developers might integrate:

• Google Directions API

After you’ve defined the type of your future app, let’s jump right into the travel app monetization model.

Read also: How to develop an app like Yelp?

Key points to consider when developing a travel app

Before you hire travel app developers, there are some key points to consider. We at The App Solutions  often face the doubts of our clients. The most important are why to develop a trip mobile app if customers can simply get all the information from the mobile version of the website.

Criteo Analytics report that travel apps for Android or iOS bring 130% more conversion in comparison to a mobile browser. So, the result is worth the effort:

Users and their needs

Your passion for creating the best app for the travel industry, first of all, should consider the needs of your clients. Who are these people? What is their income? Do they prefer standard tourist spots or like to explore unknown places? Here you need to find out how your ideas will interest your customers. The better you know, understand and anticipate your audience, the more valuable a proposition you can present to them.

Competitor research

As you can see, the market is quite competitive’. But the good news is that key players provide their resources and databases, thereby, freeing you from a huge pool of work. For instance, Trip Advisor API gives access to a massive database of UGC (user-generated content) including photos and reviews.

Choose a development team

Finding trip app developers for hire is a crucial stage of the travel app creating process. Your team needs to be, not only professional but also share your beliefs and passions.

Your delivery team should help you to define the concept depending on market trends, determine the project milestones, and contribute to finding the best performing solutions.

Read also: How to choose best app developers for hire

How to Make Money from Your Travel App? 

According to Statista, over 90% of the apps placed in Google Play are free. The point is that most applications uploaded to the app marketplaces are supposed to be free. But when mobile application became popular, its owners applied different monetization models to gain profit.

Below you will find four monetization models you can apply to a proposed travel app.

1. In-app advertising. In this business model, the advertiser pays the app owner for running adds across the app and access to the app user base.
2. Commission. The app owner receives a commission from every booking or payment made in the app.
3. Premium version. With this monetization model, you initially provide users with free basic travel app features. Still, to receive access to advanced app functionality, users should buy the Pro version.
4. In-app purchases. In-app purchases allow users to purchase additional travel services, while the app owner receives the transition fee from every sale.  

Still, to make these business models work, your app should be popular among users.

And the best way to develop a travel app that meets user expectations is to start with MVP. 

Now, let’s dig a little deeper and find out what  MVP is and its benefits. 

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Mobile travel app MVP

MVP, or minimum viable product, is an app with a minimum set of features that may solve a definite problem for users.

Below we share the common practice of using MVP for project viability testing.

• For initial testing, you need to create the app with basic functions
• Then, you test an app MVP on the market 
• And find out whether it has the potential to succeed.

In our experience, MVP is the most reliable tool to understand your audience’s needs and expectations with a minimum budget and in a short time. 

But why should you develop MVP for your mobile travel app?

Reasons to develop a travel app MVP

As we have said, MVP helps a travel app development company to gather feedback from the app user. Their interest in the product gives the green light for the full product version development.

MVP also has the following advantages: 

• Minimize development costs. Consider that every additional app function and design costs money. By using the app MVP for initial testing, you invest minimum resources, thus save the budget.
• Test your business project. Any mobile application is a business project aimed at attracting customers and bringing in a profit. If you think your idea has a promising future, create the app MVP, and find out.
• Get feedback. Consider that your travel app should solve a particular user issue. This way, user feedback is essential for app development. Feedback includes insights into the most desired and unwanted app features, as well as solving user issues.
• Save your time. Rather than spending time and budget on developing an app that might fail, with MVP, you create a highly demanded and engaging app in the short term.
• Attract investors. To attract investment, you need something more than a business idea. By developing MVP for a travel startup, your business idea becomes more promising for investors and increases the chances of being noticed.

Now that you understand MVP goals and benefits, let’s come to the final point.

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How Much Does It Cost to Develop Travel App MVP?

In the table below, you will find the MVP feature list for different travel apps, the development time, and cost estimation.

MVP Feature	Flight booking apps	Accommodation  booking apps	Transport apps	Travel guides	Development time	Estimated costs
User’s personal account with Social Media Sign up/Sharing	+	+	+	+	60 hours	$2,300+
Location- based  Search & Filters	+	+	+	+	70+ hours	$3,000+
Booking Services	+	+	+		70+ hours	$3,000+
Payments	+	+	+		70 hours	$3,000+
Ratings & Reviews	+	+		+	32+ hours	$1,200+
Support	+	+	+		18+ hours	$710+
Navigation & Geolocation			+		120 hours	up to $5000+
Total	From 320 hours/ $12210	From 320 hours/ $12210	From 408 hours/ $ 17010	From 165 hours/ $6500

 To receive a more detailed estimation, contact our manager. 

Closing Words

With travel mobile applications, travelers can plan and book their trips in a more convenient way, therefore, the demand for traveling apps is growing.

Still, it is not necessary to spend a fortune on app development. We recommend to launch the travel app project as MVP and improve it using a continuous development approach.

What our clients say 

Thanks to online travel apps like Airbnb, people can book accommodations, buy tickets, and compare prices using their smartphones or laptops. 

That is why the online travel industry continues growing. According to Statista, global online travel sales have increased in 2019, counting 755.94 billion U.S. dollars.

And if you plan to develop a travel app like Airbnb, continue reading. 

In the article below, we share current Airbnb stats and tops competitors, the guideline on how to make an app like Airbnb, and how much it will cost. Let’s start!

Global Airbnb stats

• Being established in 2008, currently, the app has over 150 million active users worldwide. 
• As a traveler, you can choose from 650,000 hosts worldwide. 
• 6 guests check into an Airbnb listing every single second
• In 2021, Airbnb listings worldwide generated $48.9 billion in gross revenues, up 76.6% from 2020 when Airbnb listings generated $27.7 billion in gross revenues.

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How to establish an app like Airbnb on the market?

Below we describe the top four travel app revenue models so you can choose one for your future travel startup.

Peer to peer network	Advertising	Subscription
In this business model, your website or app becomes a mediator between property owners and travelers. It allows travelers to book and pay for the rent. At the same time, you can charge a commission from both sellers and buyers.	The platform shows visitors clickable buttons for booking and charge commission only in case a user clicked on such a button, was redirected to the hotel website, and made a booking.	When visitors pay for their subscription, they can check hotel contact details as well as descriptions. Users can also buy air tickets, rent a car, or even book a holiday package from a travel agency.

Feature list to build an app like Airbnb  

From the technical view, Airbnb is built with a two-sided marketplace tech stack, where there are a seller and a buyer. Below we describe the Airbnb feature of travelers and a host cabinet so that you can consider them for your app. 

Traveler cabinet

Host cabinet

Log-in / Sign-up. Such websites as Airbnb ask for an email address to create a new user account. But to make the log-in process even more seamless, your app should include the log-in via social profiles, like Facebook or Google+.  Manage account. The user profile should include the name, phone number, address, and date of birth. Search. Here, travelers choose the destination and the room they like. Filters. To help users to find the perfect place to say, Airbnb allows selecting filters, such as Guests, Home type, Geolocation, etc.  Favorites. This feature allows users to create a list of selected apartments. Messages. In most cases, travelers want to receive additional information from hosts about the place they would stay.  Notifications. With this feature, guests receive instant notifications about booking confirmation or new messages from other app hosts. Booking. The app should include a calendar so that the traveler could select desirable dates.  Reviews. Here, guests can tell other travelers their experience with accommodation and the host, which is essential for new travel apps.  Experience.  The recent Airbnb update is the new Experience feature. It means that guests can book some entertainment or activity provided by experienced hosts. The traveler can learn how to cook the traditional pizza in Italy, make a massage in Thailand, or attend the Flamenco workshop in Spain. This way, tourists have an opportunity to find out more about foreign countries and their traditions.

Log in. As travelers, hosts could also log-in with their email address or social networks profiles Profile. Here hosts can edit personal information like email addresses, mobile numbers, etc. Types of activities. Here hosts could choose whether they want to provide guests with some unique experience in their city or just accommodation. Listing. In this section, hosts make a detailed description of the accommodation they offer, the number of guests they can accommodate, sleeping arrangements, and address, followed by good quality photos. Or, they can describe what type of experience they can provide to guests, their location, and their language. Reviews. The host profile should include the review of previous guests together with the host rating.

We used geolocation search in our recent project, Quepro, a social network, where users can find local experts and communicate with them in real-time.

The geolocation radius can be manually adjusted, starting from 100 meters to 100 miles. Users can also use the app in any city in the world by manually changing the location on the map. 

Travel API

When developing a travel app, consider that API could be a very useful part of the project. API allows the app to receive access to specific functions and databases. And the best part is that your developers could easily access almost any API from scratch. Airbnb already has its own API. The Airbnb API allows developers to retrieve and integrate the functionality of Airbnb in other applications.

By integrating the existing Airbnb API, you can save a significant amount of budget and decrease the development time. If you want to develop another kind of travel app (not Airbnb clone) read our article. 

WHAT TECH STACK TO CHOOSE FOR YOUR PROJECT

How to market a travel startup like Airbnb?

Let’s imagine that you have a ready travel app with all the necessary features. But to make it successful, you should know how to grow it. Below we share the most effective options to make your travel startup popular among users.

• Social Media
• User-generated content
• Customer review

App pricing factors and cost of features

Let me start this part by saying that there are some factors, which influence the cost to create an app similar to Airbnb. Not to mention, you can choose diverse modes of crafting it, which is likely to project onto Airbnb app development cost as well. Here are the major aspects for you to consider and keep in mind:

• the size of the development team 
• a number of platforms and devices app is being built for 
• the technical complexity of the features
• design – custom vs. standard 

So let’s dive right into how much does it cost to develop an app like Airbnb.

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Prep stage for app building

Every app-building project starts with creating an overall strategy and fixing a technical base for further operations. These are inevitable steps, which basically create a ground for the future app. This phase usually takes up to 50 hours:

• about 20 goes for the overall setup of the project
• the same 20 – for implementation of API
• around 10 for database pattern
• 5 to 10 more hours – for implementation of various services and libraries

How much does it cost to build an app like Airbnb 

There are some factors, which influence the cost to create an Airbnb clone. Not to mention, you can choose diverse Airbnb app templates for crafting it, which is likely to project onto Airbnb app development cost as well.

Here are the main aspects for you to consider and keep in mind:

• Size of the development team – if you are enthusiastic enough to do a part of a project manager and administer the whole process closely, then you can keep your team short and sweet. Otherwise, except developers and designers, you’ll require a project manager, system administrator, and a couple of more insider managers;
• The number of platforms –  iOS, Android, iOS, and Android, add up several different screens to adjust the app to – all this should be considered beforehand based on target audience location, their preferred device environment, and stuff. FYI – Android app development takes about 20 to 30% more time than iOS (iPhone) one;
• The technical complexity of the features– you decide what range of elements you want within your mobile application, so rate them from simple to medium and high complexity. Mind that the price is mostly shaped by how long it takes developers to implement each of these;
• Design – custom vs. standard – if you want to use unique visuals and tools for Airbnb app design instead of standard design, it’s about to change price quite a bit too.

When talking about features, it’s important to mention that the rough timing indicated below covers all stages of creating a feature from drawing logic to testing. Elements are also listed from basic and simple to additional and complex. So let’s dive right into how much does it cost to develop an app like Airbnb.

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The Airbnb-like app development process

Feature	Description	Estimation is hours
Investigation stage	the overall setup of the project implementation of API database pattern implementation of various services and libraries	60 hours
Registration/ login feature	This is one of the fundamental segments of any app.  To start using it, you need to register and, this way, agree with the conditions and policies of the app usage.	10 to 16 hours
User profile	It will be two sorts of profiles: guest host (owner of the place) Basically, users add varied pieces of personal info to the profile like: name gender contact info (e-mail address, telephone number, actual living address, etc.) personal description some optional bits of info	16 hours
Airbnb app framework Settings	This feature allows users to customize and configure all personal data and preferences such as: updates notifications via SMS or push wish-lists payment currency and method	24 hours
Filtering element	In the guest mode within Airbnb, you have a wide range of options to choose from in order to find a suitable location. These are, for instance: the spot you want to visit number of people check-in/check-out dates room/house type price spectrum etc.	24 hours
Descriptions of chosen rooms	So once you’ve executed all desired filters, you see a list of search results.  Every item in this list has a wider description with ratings, photos, reviews, available dates, maps, and terms of getting the place.	up to 150 hours
Maps implementation	That is a visual and natural alternative to searching for your perfect location – just check various ones on the map, tap to check if it’s important for you to stay near definite sites or something.	24 hours
Signing up as a host	This is the full function, which enables hosts to place adverts, communicate with potential guests, provide booking and stuff.	100 to 120 hours
Adding to faves	This feature allows users to create personalized shortlists of locations to be able to come back to these at any time, pick, and choose.	10 – 12 hours
Embedded messenger	This is a truly meaningful tool for communication of any sort within a community.  Live talk opportunity makes users feel high reliability and authenticity of the service and its’ participants.	Up to 40 hour
Friends invitation feature for your Airbnb-like app	Not much to say, you can recommend the app to your friends through invitation.	10-11 hours

Nota Bene! Backend 

Each feature you decide to pick for your product requires time to craft and configure on both client-side (how it interacts with a user) and server-side (functionality, connections with servers, etc.).

The server-side stack is crucial as well as a wide-scale part of every app building process. It’s also going to be the most time-consuming one. After all, you want an app to perform as a killer, right? You’ll need to add around 600 hours for these operations to the entire timing.

The cost to develop the admin back-end of the Airbnb-like app starts from $35K. 

And now, when we’re done with calculating time for building your Airbnb-, it’s the right time to choose who will implement it for you. It basically covers a cash part of the question “how much does an app like Airbnb cost”.

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Globally the price differs for hours of developers. Here are average region hourly rates down below:

• USA/Canada-based dev teams – $80 to $250/hour
• Western Europe – $80 to$170/hour
• Eastern Europe – $50 to $150/hour
• Australia – $80 to $150/hour
• India – $30 to $80/hour

Conclusion

The industry of online travel continues to grow. That is why investing in a traveling app like Airbnb could bring a significant profit to your startup. When you know about essential Airbnb features, its competitors, and the development cost, you might think about your traveling app. And we are here to bring your idea into reality.

What our clients say 

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The mobile applications market is white-hot. Over the last few years, mobile devices like tablets, smartwatches, and, of course, smartphones have totally changed the way people get information and interact with it.

A Statista survey predicts over 310 billion downloaded apps by the year 2020 with total revenue of $189 billion. As of the first quarter of 2018, there are millions of apps available in the app stores:

You can find more than 2 million apps in the Apple app store and about 3.8 million items in Google Play. For Blackberry and Windows, there are 234,500 and 669,000 mobile apps respectively. 

According to another Statista report created in 2017, the fastest growing app category is shopping (e-commerce). Games, on the other hand, have slowed down. 

So, if you are thinking about creating your own app, you won’t have a more opportune moment than now: the demand is very high. This article will guide you through all steps that you need to pass on the way to your mobile application.

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Step 1. Planning & Business Analysis

It is very hard to overrate this phase of the development process. Thorough planning helps to understand where are you now and how to get to the desired point. The perfect situation is when you connect your app development team or at least share your research with them before the actual start.

For the first input, you need to study the market and check if there is any demand for your idea. This step will help you understand trends and probably to fine-tune the features. Even if you haven’t found anything that looks like your idea, don’t worry. Probably you have just invented a new unicorn. At The APP Solutions, we also provide our clients with experts in specific industries in case their business dwells in a rare or highly specific field.

After you have decided on the idea, you need to check your competitors carefully. Use the SWOT-analysis to underline their strengths and weaknesses and adjust your strategy.
At this stage, you also need to make user personas analysis and set up KPIs.

By the way, in case you are worried that your idea might be stolen, you can always sign a non-disclosure agreement with your developers’ team.

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Step 2. Technical Feasibility Assessment

It is possible to conduct the first step without your development team, but for step 2 and further, you definitely need them to be on your assistance.

Detailed technical documentation can help you determine all project features and set up milestones. Being at this step you are to decide what kind of operating systems and devices you want to build an app. Each platform has different specifications and requirements as well as types of gadgets (smartphone, tablet, wearables).

Step 3. Prototyping & Design

How to create your own app and not screw it up? Prototype it! It seems to be obvious, though many clients are trying to skip this phase. The working model of your future app helps “to translate” the idea from your language to the one that your development team understands.

Both for iOS and Android operating systems, a professional UI/UX designer is required. Our experts base their work on the material design (usability principles of every particular OS) and UI-guides.

We divide the process into the following steps:

• Creating a sketch. (The very first and draft version of your app on paper that sets up the main logic, number of screens, and the way they interact with each other.)
• Creating wireframes. (Provides the visualization of the draft app structure.)
• Creating a clickable prototype. (The initial stage of app creating itself. Helps to find out and analyze all possible use cases. Generally, after this stage, the customer together with your team discovers a significant amount of logical breaks and technical inconsistencies in the idea. But this fact shouldn’t upset you. The more issues you find and solve before coding, the more time and money you save.)
• Designing app skins. (At this stage, we collect all wireframes and put them together to improve the design.)

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Step 4. Creating Your Own App: Development

Congratulations! We have reached the most exciting and challenging phase. The first thing you are to decide is to stick to the native app or to develop a cross-platform one. At The APP Solutions, we develop native applications, which means that in the end, you have the custom app for every operating system. This type of development allows reaching faster performance, provides better security, and helps ensure users with a better experience.

Also in many cases, it makes sense to start with MVP or minimum viable product. This is the very first version of your application with only the essential features. It allows you to make a quick start with release and to test the viability of your idea. MVP helps to reduce the time for development and to occupy the market niche before your competitors.

In general, here is how the MVP model looks like:

The approach that will make the development process even more flexible is to implement an agile method due to the importance of rapid interaction, collaboration, and transparency between your team members.

The questions “How to create an Android app” or “How to create an app for iPhone” always entail the other one: “How long does it take to build an app?”

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Step 5. Quality Testing

It is common to test every part of the product manually and automatically while creating your own app. The type of QA method depends on the project, but here are the most common types:

• Requirements testing (validates the requirements with technical capabilities.)
• Compatibility testing (running the app on different devices and screen sizes.)
• Interface testing (checks the navigation, menu, and buttons performance.)
• Low-level resources testing (tests such resources of the device as a battery, memory consumption, and temporary files storage.)
• Performance testing (checks the app performance with and without an internet connection and running on low battery.)
• Security testing (provides quality assurance of user data safety.)
• User acceptance testing (involves the user partaking to check the usability and the general impression about the app.)
• Beta testing (the beta trial gives users access to the app with the application stores to get feedback from the larger audience.)

After your application is ready, the QA team starts to test whether all code parts of the app work correctly together. It is important to check all security issues carefully to protect the privacy of your users.

Our team also pays a lot of attention to the app performance and the stable operation of the system under the influence of various external factors. Quality technical documentation that you have created in step 2 will be very useful here.

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Step 6. Publishing & Maintenance of Your App

Finally, your app is released and it’s time to show it to the world. You can do it by yourself, or ask your mobile app development team to help you. In both cases, app store optimization is highly desirable. It helps users find your product in the endless ocean of options. The high quality of promotional materials will make your app also desirable.

To track users’ activity and endorse acquisition and retention you may also need some tools. The marketing team of The APP Solutions helps clients choose tools and set up analytics if needed. A general list of major marketing metrics is as follows:

• The average revenue per user
• Cost per install
• Cost per loyal user
• Love ratio
• Retention for a given period

For more information, please check our blog article 5 Key Mobile Marketing Metrics.

Even now it’s too early to relax. After the release and publishing, there still remain bugs to be eliminated. Our team ensures all projects with three months of free bug fixing. Also, don’t forget that technologies evolve faster than light speed. It would be perfect if the same team takes care of every next version of your application.

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Takeaway

It is quite normal to face difficulties during such hard and labor-intensive work as making your own app. Many factors are affecting how you create an app. The key ingredient to your success is the professional development team, who will share the passion of your idea, help extrapolate the latest trends on your projects, and will make every effort to create the app that will only complement your business goals.

Want to create a messenger application like WhatsApp? Well, you are not alone among business owners who are pursuing this business idea. But only a few proceed from considering to developing. 

For creating such a project, you need to be aware of WhatsApp’s main functionality like application, technologies behind those functions, and costs for developing such a project. 

In this article, we’ve described all these points. But before digging into the smallest details, let’s look at the bigger picture to find out whether it’s worth investing in messaging app development.  

Should you create a WhatsApp-like project for your business?

[Source] 

People prefer messaging applications to SMS, calls, and email clients like Gmail because messengers are more convenient than other communication means. Below we have some numbers that prove that messaging apps are up and running: 

• Statista reports that In April 2022, WhatsApp had approximately 2.44 billion unique active users worldwide, up 6.4 percent compared to the corresponding month in 2021.
• The chat apps market will keep up with this overall growth, and by 2025, users will make four out of five mobile connections with a smartphone
• The messaging apps’ average revenue was $8,7 billion on 2021

After considering all the information above, the messaging apps market will continue to grow, and that there is still room for new messaging apps.

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But before you create a WhatsApp-like project and enter the messaging applications market, you need to get to know your potential competitors, i.e., other most popular chat apps in 2022 as of right now based on the number of monthly active users.

For comparison, to make it clear which messengers are gaining popularity and which have sagged over time – let’s leave the older statistics here.

[Source] 

Now, it is time to determine what steps you need to take to create your WhatsApp-like messaging project. 

OUTSTAFFING VS. OUTSOURCING VS. MANAGED SERVICES: DIFFERENCES AND BENEFITS

How to create a WhatsApp application in 4 steps

Step 1.Determine the project’s MVP features list.

Create the list of the most critical instant messaging project features to build an app’s MVP (minimum viable product), i.e., the first project’s version. 

Step 2. Pick an outsourcing company

Find the development team that will satisfy your time, quality, and cost requirements. To get a clue on requirements for a development team and tips on choosing the right developers, read the article about outsourcing mobile application development without failing. 

Step 3. Launch the discovery phase

During the project discovery phase, developers create functional and non-functional requirements for your business project, project technical documentation, suggest its architecture, write user stories, prioritize functionality and create a clickable prototype. 

[The APP Solutions example of project’s prototype] 

Step 4. Initiate the development phase

Developers use the project’s tech documentation as a backlog for building the project’s MVP. The design team creates drawable screens for your business application using a clickable prototype’s design as a reference.

[Mobile app development process: steps and dev team members]

After all these steps, you receive the first version of your WhatsApp clone, ready for a release on the application marketplaces. In your experience, all the phases take 4-7 months to complete.

But it is your responsibility to take care of fundraising for the second development phase to improve your business project and market the project, so you receive the first users right after the MVP release. 

To save you from searching for all the necessary functionality, we’ve created a feature list you can use for your project. So, let’s check it out. 

WHAT TECH STACK TO CHOOSE FOR YOUR PROJECT

Creating a WhatsApp-like project: main features and tech stack

Instant chat applications allow users to exchange text, audio, video messages, and calls in their WhatsApp account and group chats. There are many functions of WhatsApp. But you don’t need to integrate all of them at once. Below we gathered the most important functions: 

Login and profile

For the first time a user opens the app, one needs to sign in and create a WhatsApp account by providing one’s phone number. 

• The application sends a message with a confirmation code to the user’s phone number, so one can log in to a WhatsApp account using the verified phone number
• After verifying the user’s phone number, the user can create a WhatsApp account with a name and photo
• When a WhatsApp account is created, the user can add contacts to the WhatsApp account from contacts, save them, start sending messages and create group chats

Message exchange

The application must store the conversation history in the WhatsApp account or a group chat and provide users with it if they logged in on another device like WhatsApp, which doesn’t keep the messages on its server.

Notifications

Notifications inform users when a new message arrives on the WhatsApp account or a group chat. To add this feature to the app, our developers will use:

• Google Cloud Messaging 
• Apple Push Notifications

HOW DO SECURE MESSENGERS LIKE WIRE AND SIGNAL MAKE MONEY?

Multimedia file transmission

Consider enabling your users with file sharing functionality that allows sending their photos, gifs, etc along with text messages. You can find WhatsApp file sharing functionality in dialogs in the upper right corner.  

It also makes sense to use synchronization with cloud services, including: 

• Google Drive
• Dropbox 
• Evernote

Location sharing

The option to share your location can be beneficial for people who are going to use your application. To create a location-sharing functionality for different operating systems, our developers use: 

• Apple MapKit 
• Google Location SDK

Now, let’s answer such a pragmatic question concerning the amount of money you will spend for your project – what does a new WhatsApp-like app cost? 

CHATBOTS FOR REAL ESTATE: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

How much does a WhatsApp-like business application cost?

Let us take a look at the table with the main MVP features for a WhatsApp clone and the estimation in hours. 

Registration and address book information

• 12 hours for iOS development
• 16 for Android
• 8 hours for the backend

Message exchange

• iOS 25 hours
• Android 32 hours
• Backend 47 hours

Notifications

•  iOS 12 hours
• Android 16 hours
• Backend 16 hours

Multimedia file transmission

• 25 hours for iOS
• 32 hours for Android
• 40 hours for the backend

Location sharing

• iOS 12
• Android 16
• Backend 8

Total: from 208+ hours for the iOS app, and from 231+ hours for the Android app.

The approximate cost to create a WhatsApp app depends on the number of features, but an essential estimation based on developers’ assumptions starts from $55K.

REASONS YOUR MAGAZINE NEEDS A MOBILE APP AND HOW TO MONETIZE IT

Create a WhatsApp-like application for business: Key Takeaways

Messaging applications are gaining momentum. The most popular messaging application, WhatsApp, includes over 2 billion active monthly users, followed by Facebook Messenger and WeChat. 

To create your WhatApp-like project, make sure you’re using the steps we listed: 

• Gathering features
• Finding developers
• Initiating the project discovery phase 
• Launching the development phase

While developers will implement the functionality and the design of your application, don’t wait time. Learn how to raise funds for further improvements for a WhatsApp-like business project and investigate marketing strategies to apply to attract users to your project. 

If you are looking for a development team to answer your questions concerning your business idea, you can rely on us. Contact our business development department to receive a free consultation. 

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Case Study: Video Streaming App Proof of Concept

By outsourcing mobile app development, you can shorten the time to market, decrease project costs, and improve the quality of your product. For this reason, around 52.5% of all IT companies have outsourced software development at least once. In this article, we will give you a handy guide on how to choose a mobile app development outsourcing company. We also explain the typical working and paying models in outsourcing so you can select the best one. 

6 Steps to hiring outsourcing app development team

Below we share steps you need to take to find perfect specialists among outsourcing app development companies existing today. 

Step 1. Know your requirements

You need to have a detailed definition of your mobile app or a project you want at the outcome. 

Step 2. Find An App Development Team

You need to select the type of outsourcing mobile application development team. Types include onshore, nearshore, and offshore. 

Step 3. Check portfolio and communicate with previous clients

Before sending emails to all app development companies, or filling in contact forms on their websites, you need to go through their portfolios. 

Step 4. Select service model 

To hire outsourcing app developers you need to choose among project-based, dedicated teams, or outstaff working models. 

Step 5. Choose a payment model 

For a dedicated team or a project-based working model, you can choose among fixed price or time and material paying models. 

Before hiring outsource app developers, you need to have a detailed definition of your mobile app or a project you want at the outcome. To achieve that, check out our article about functional and non-functional requirements. 

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Where can you find to outsource?

Check out the most popular options: 

B2B directories. Such websites list application development outsourcing companies, grouped by location, rating, and expertise. Clutch, the most popular B2B platform for finding app developers, includes advanced search, categories, classification, and even reviews of the team’s previous clients.  

[TheAPPSolutions profile on Clutch]

Freelance websites. If you need to outsource one specialist with a particular skill set, freelance sites might come in handy. One example is Upwork, where you can hire a freelancer or outsourcing team for a fixed-price or hourly rate. However, working with freelancers might be risky. It is hard to validate the experience of a developer and find out whether the developer is not reliable. 

Dev blogs. Development teams, like us, are running tech blogs with tips and case studies showing their experience in app development. If the company’s expertise meets your project idea, you can contact such a company without hesitation. 

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO DEVELOP AN APP: DETAILED FEATURE BREAKDOWN

Design networks. Many app development companies are full-cycle and create both the code and design. For this reason, design communities such as Behance or Dribble also work great for finding a team to outsource. 

Now, let’s imagine you have chosen the type of outsourcing, the team’s location, and created the list of developers to hire. What to do next? You need to check the team’s experience to find out whether they can complete your project or not. How? Read on to find out. 

Find out about the app development company expertize

Before sending emails to all app development companies, or filling in contact forms on their websites, you need to go through their portfolios. You should focus on the following: 

• Projects. Does the team have attractive projects in their portfolio?  
• Tech stack. Does the team have experience with the technologies required for your project? 
• Industry. Has the team developed a project for a similar industry to yours? 
• Clients. What do previous clients say about the team? 
• Partners. Is the team partnering with tech companies like Google or other famous brands? 

After conducting in-depth research and answering these questions, you will narrow down the list of app development candidates. Now, you can get in touch with three or five of the most appropriate teams and pass to the next stage. 

HOW TO MAKE AN APP: LIFE CYCLE OF MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

Select the best service model 

To hire outsourcing app developers you need to choose among the following working models: 

Project-Based. Once outsourcing a dedicated team, you have a pre-defined goal for the team to reach within defined timeframes. By goals, we mean a set of specified requirements your app must meet. In this way, you, as a client, are responsible for the result, not the means, technologies, and tools used for the project.	Project-based application outsource includes:  A fixed-sized team A fixed period  A fixed budget The task of developing the best possible product based on the backlog  This business model is popular among start-ups without their own development team or experience in project management.
Dedicated Team. In this business model, the outsourcing company is responsible for building the team and taking care of personal management and process quality. In this way, you receive a full-cycle development team, also including PMs and BAs working on a project pipeline or providing complete service.	In a dedicated team, the provider is responsible for: Tasks assignment Team leaders Project management Tasks schedule  Project status   However, you still make the product or project management decisions and levels may vary: You can control the project roadmap individually  Or pass the project decisions to the provider and manage the project at a higher level This business model works great for midsize teams that need to implement a part of a project like Cloud storage integration or complex functionality, like developing IA Chabot.
Outstaff or Extended team. This model includes assigning tasks to outsourced developers, as well as providing them with a place to work.	In this working model you would also be responsible for: Controlling the working process, Managing the project  Controlling vacations Regulating working time  Promoting inside the team Paying salaries Creating motivation And so on. The Outstaff is a perfect outsource app-building model for mid-sized and big companies who need to hire a particular specialist for particular tasks while staying within the project’s budget.  Outstaff is also a perfect model when a Customer has PM and, for example, CTO or someone who can provide audit and control developers by giving them tasks, priorities, and leading them from a technical management side. This model seems to have a lot of extra responsibilities on the Customer’s side. But, Outstaff is the cheapest, and very often mid-size companies to large enterprises, and sometimes even startups have their own technical leaders and chiefs. Sometimes co-founders may also have such kind of expertise and experience.

Choose the most suitable payment model 

Once you outsource app developers under the Outstaff model, you pay them a monthly salary like regular staff members. As for a dedicated team or a project-based working model, you can choose among the following options:  

Fixed price. Such a working model works only in the combination of the following criteria:

• A relatively small project 
• A limited budget
• The scope of work is clear
• The amount of time needed is easy to estimate

This paying model suits new-born start-ups which need to develop an MVP. Still, due to the human factor, it is tough to evaluate the project scope initially. For this reason, most of the dev companies prefer working on the next model. 

Time and Material. This payment model, also known as Pay as You Go, is prevalent among companies that use Agile methodology. First, you and the team will agree upon the hourly rate of each developer, and then, you pay based on the actual time spent on the development. Companies use Time and Material when:

• It is hard to determine the scope of work in advance
• The client needs to change the requirements during the process of work without modification of the agreement. 

Having become very popular among outsourcing mobile application development companies, the Time and Material model has proven to be valid for projects of any size. 

WHAT TECH STACK TO CHOOSE FOR YOUR PROJECT

[TheAPPSolution models of cooperation]

How much does it cost to outsource app development?

So how much will it cost to hire outsourcing app developers?
Let’s talk about real numbers.
Depending on the team’s geographical location, the cost to build a simple mobile app may range from $25.000 to $50.000, while a complex app with multiple features would cost from $100.000 to $200.000 to outsource approximately.

To give you a clue on the app cost based on its type, consider the following common app types:

• Real Estate Applications – $20.000 – $30.000
• A messaging app like Whatsapp – $50.000 to $130.000
• Dating app like Tinder – $80.000 to $200.000
• City guide app – $30.000 to $50.000
• Networking (social) app – $30.000+
• Banking/payment app – $40.000 to $70.000
• Taxi booking app like Uber – $25.000 to $100.000

Final word

Outsourcing app development reduces costs, increases team productivity, and allows delivering the project within schedule. This type of collaboration suits all kinds of businesses – start-ups, mid, and large-sized companies. Still, to receive all benefits from outsourcing app development, you need to select the team you are going to work with carefully. Thus, check their portfolio, tech stack, and reviews from previous clients. Then, select the engagement and payment model which is the most appropriate for you and enter the discovery phase. 

What our clients say 

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