A handyman business provides a variety of services to customers. These can range from carpentry, plumbing, and cleaning to electricity, gardening and landscaping. Establishing a network of interlinked servicemen to provide these services initially looks challenging during business planning, but can be handled well by adapting to the aggregate model.

What is an aggregate model? 

An aggregate model is what powers the modern on-demand handymen apps. On these apps, multiple servicemen can sign up and offer their services. The app owner primarily earns through commission charges but there can also be secondary revenue streams.

Through this article, we aim to provide entrepreneurs with a thorough overview of how they can develop their own aggregate handyman app. First, let’s look at the key growth drivers of the industry.

Table of Contents

• Why Develop a Handyman App: Market Overview and Key Growth Factors
  1. Key Growth Factors Behind Handyman Services
  2. Most Significant Players in the Handyman Services Industry
  3. Services Delivered on a Handyman App
  4. How a Handyman App Works: Exemplary Workflow
  5. Revenue Generation Model of a Handyman App
• Must-Have Features in Your Handyman Mobile App
  1. Admin Dashboard Features
  2. How to Develop your On-Demand Handyman App?
• Summing Up

Why Develop a Handyman App: Market Overview and Key Growth Factors

Handyman services are distinctly required for construction work, house repairs, maintenance and renovation projects. In the past few years, the demand for handyman services has increased in both residential and commercial factors. 

• As per statistics, the projected growth rate for the industry is approx. 17.2% CAGR in the period 2022-2032.
• The North American region is expected to be the largest market with a share of 36.5%.
• Followed by North America, Europe is expected to be the second largest market.
• The electricity segment amongst all handyman services is projected to have the highest market share with a CAGR of 21.34%.

Key Growth Factors Behind Handyman Services

• Rise in the number of private sector companies, which are 72% more likely to  accommodate handyman services.
• Increase in the number of new residential and commercial construction projects.
• Increase in the number of millennial homebuyers.
• Need for renovation and repair work in old buildings and houses. As per statistics, around 80% of US homes are more than 20 years old and 40% are at least 50 years old.
• Regular maintenance and repair work of household appliances, plumbing systems, furniture items, gardening, roofing, etc.

Most Significant Players in the Handyman Services Industry

The leading players of the online handyman industry control diverse markets. However, being in its nascent stage, the industry is expected to see the rise of many new players who can capture more market share with accurate planning and timely launch. Till then, evaluating the top players can give you a better understanding of the business and help in handyman app development.

Services Delivered on a Handyman App

While carpentry, plumbing, assembly and electricity are key services delivered through a handyman app, there are also several other services that customers seek on the platform. The extent of these services depends upon the ever changing consumer demands, due to which the handyman app also has to accommodate the same. 

Below are some popular services that you can find on a handyman app in 2023:

How a Handyman App Works: Exemplary Workflow

The workflow of a handyman app is simple to understand and implement. However, each and every business owner may be required to make adjustments in the workflow model based on his requirements and selected value propositions. For reference, you can take a look at the workflow example below:

• Service providers register themselves on the handyman app and list their services.
• Customers browse the app for service providers and schedule a service.
• Customers pay the service fee, which is inclusive of commission charges directly on the app (both service fee and commission charges are stored in the service provider’s digital wallet)
• The service provider coordinates with the customer through live chat or voice call and provides the service.
• Once a service provider reaches the minimum withdrawal limit, he can withdraw the amount from the digital wallet to personal bank account.

In case of service cancellations, reimbursements or cash payments, the service fee and commission are adjusted from the service provider’s digital wallet.

Revenue Generation Model of a Handyman App

The revenue generation model of any business depends on several factors such as consumer preference, spending patterns, competitor behavior and digitization. For example, if customers repeatedly opt for handyman services in your target market, then introducing subscription packages on your handyman app can be profitable. In contrast, if your services are one-time buy or see seasonal fluctuations, then you will benefit from upselling service add-ons. 

Revenue generation streams on a handyman app:

• Service commission
• Subscription packages
• Featured listings
• Paid listings
• Service add-ons
• Late service cancellation charges
• Distance charges

Must-Have Features in Your Handyman Mobile App

During the requirement gathering phase of handyman app development, you will be required to state your feature requirements that will be noted down in an Software Requirement Specification (SRS) document. SRS includes the list of all features along with their working and definition. At the time of testing and quality assurance of your handyman app, the working of all developed features will be tested against the definitions stated in the SRS. So make sure to add the following features in your SRS document:

• Booking Calendar: A booking calendar will allow customers to schedule a service and also prevent double booking.
• Profile Management: A complete module to allow service providers and customers create, edit and manage profiles. It should also have related features such as order history, customer support, wallet, help and more. 
• Listing Management: Service providers should have the option to create multiple service listings and set fixed or hourly prices for the same. 
• Search Filters: For simplifying navigation, your handyman app should provide search filters like distance, cost, ratings, experience, and more.
• Order Management: Service providers should be provided with a separate tab to see all orders, including both completed and pending ones. On the other hand, customers should get options for canceling orders, rescheduling orders and requesting refunds.
• GPS Navigation: The GPS navigation on your handyman app will allow service providers to reach exact locations for service delivery.
• Chat Module: A real-time chat module for allowing service providers and customers to chat and coordinate with each other.
• Ratings and Reviews: Ratings and reviews allow customers to select the most reliable service provider. They are also helpful in winning the trust of your customers. Likewise, service providers can also be given the option to rate and review customers to improve the overall experience for all service providers.
• Social Login: Allow both customers and service providers to register within a few steps with the help of their existing gmail accounts or social media profiles.
• Multiple Payment Options: To ensure conversions, it is important to provide customers with their preferred payment options. For this reason, your handyman app should provide multiple payment methods like eWallets, credit cards, debit cards, COD and more.

Admin Dashboard Features

The admin controls all actions on a handyman app through an online dashboard panel. This dashboard is often a web app that is synced with the customer and service provider’s mobile app. For appropriate business management and growth, your on-demand handyman app’s admin dashboard should have the following features:

• Tax Management: A module for the app owner to levy different types of applicable taxes depending on target regions.
• Content Management System (CMS): The CMS on your handyman app should allow you to personalize homepage, edit web pages, blog and all other content visible on the app. This includes the listings uploaded by service providers as well.
• Order Management: As the admin of the app, you should be able to view the order history and pending orders of both customers and service providers. Along with these, the admin should also get the access to see payment status and initiate refunds for each individual order.
• Discount Management: The admin should have features to provide fixed or percentage discounts. Apart from this, your discount management features should be inclusive of coupon code management and reward points.   
• Notifications and Alerts: The option to control and set multiple notifications and alerts that are automatically sent to the customer and service provider on the completion of several triggers, such as on booking a service, adding a service to cart, on exit-intent, etc.
• Commission Management: The handyman app owner mainly earns through service commissions. He should be able to set his own fixed or percentage commission rate, which can vary from service to service.
• Payment Gateway Management: Different payment gateways come with different transaction charges. The admin should have the option to add, remove or disable payment gateways based on transaction charges and customer preference. 
• Reports and Analytics: Reports and analytics features will assist you in finding the top performing services, total revenue generated, most preferred target audience and many more business stats. These will help you in enhancing your marketing strategy and making important business decisions. 
• Marketing Management: The marketing management module should include features like meta tag optimization, social media sharing, banner management, featured listings, and more.

How to Develop your On-Demand Handyman App?

Just like any other app, handyman app development follows the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process. The SDLC process is a predefined set of multiple software development stages that include various activities, deliverables and the complete framework. The main purpose behind SDLC is to create high-quality software while refining the development process so that the entire project is completed with time and cost efficiency. 

Different Stages your Handyman App Will Go Through:

1. Requirement Gathering: This stage will include the creation of the SRS document and set the base for the entire development process. The key people involved in this stage are business analysts. 
2. Feasibility Analysis: Again the business analyst will evaluate the business requirements against certain criteria like required resources, technologies, timeframe and costs, etc. These will test the feasibility of the project within the allocated hours and budget.
3. Design Phase: In this stage, the design and development team will prepare the base structure of your handyman app. For example, user interface, backend database, feature list and security measurements. Everything will be noted in a Design Document Specification (DDS) document.
4. Development Phase: This phase will cover the transition of the design into source code. The development phase heavily relies on SRS and DDS.
5. Testing Phase: After development, your software will go to the quality assurance team who will perform various tests like unit tests, integration tests, functional tests, smoke tests, etc.
6. Deployment Phase: The handyman app will be finally deployed on your servers and made available on app in this stage.
7. Maintenance Phase: The maintenance phase includes releasing updates and bug fixes for the app. 

Summing Up

Launching any type of business requires persistent efforts and rational decision making. One also needs to prepare a business strategy for the long run. Similar is the case with the handyman industry. Where the industry is growing at an impressive pace, many startups are ready to capitalize on the opportunity. It is highly advised to develop and launch your handyman app at the right time to get a competitive advantage. You can share your requirements with our experts to get started on your handyman app and also check out our insights to gain more info on handyman app development.

The major shift in digital adoption has simplified the process of on-time deliveries for megacorporations in the logistics domain. Earlier the lack of technology made it a hectic process for customers to ship their packages from one location to another. However, technological advancements like GPS tracking, QR codes and business automation have reduced the complexity of shipping processes to a great extent. 

In terms of growth, Alliet Marketing Research’s report shows that the global logistics industry is expected to reach $80.6 billion in 2031 from $12 billion in 2021, with an exceptional CAGR of 20.8% during the forecast period 2022-2031. 

One of the leading players in the industry is FedEx, a global on-demand delivery giant that has been continuously reforming the process of delivering consignments with minimal limitations to location and time. The corporation currently serves 220 countries with 2200 office locations and multiple subsidiaries.

While FedEx along with other key players continue to dominate the industry, various market studies are positive about certain gaps expected to be bridged by new players in the market. This article studies the operations of on-demand deliveries by FedEx and further guides entrepreneurs on starting a logistics business like FedEx.

Table of Contents:

• What Is FedEx? Engagement, Operations, And Business Model
• Features To Have In Your On-Demand Courier Delivery Application
• Step-by-Step Approach To Launch An On-Demand Courier Delivery App
  ― Define Your Business Goals
  ― Create A Checklist For Your Mobile App Requirements
  ― Hire a Mobile App Development Company
  ― Create A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) For Your Mobile App
• How Much Does Courier Delivery App Development Cost?
  ― Project Complexity
  ― Operating Systems
  ― Expertise Level and Location Of The Development Partner
• Wrapping Up

What Is FedEx? Engagement, Operations, And Business Model

FedEx along with its subsidiaries is the world’s largest express shipping company delivering millions of couriers every day. It helps people and businesses ship their parcels across the globe with complete transparency through its visibility tools and purchase order management system. The revenue of the corporation for the fiscal year 2022 is $94.75 billion with a 9.36% increase from last year’s $83.95 billion. The revenue of FedEx is shared internally by three major segments, including express deliveries, ground deliveries, and freight services.

Below is the table listing major subsidiaries that work under the umbrella of FedEx corporation with their offerings:

FedEx operates with an approach of reliable and fast deliveries with its huge fleet of transports including 697 aircrafts, making it the world’s largest freight airline. The corporation claims a 99% reliability rate for on-time deliveries if the parcel gets picked up on time.

The overnight delivery services of FedEx can be classified as well-planned on-demand logistics services that ensure parcel deliveries before the predicted time. In overnight delivery services, FedEx delivers the consignment on the next business day after picking up the parcel from the customer’s location. The service is available in the United States and Canada, where general customers or businesses can ship parcels weighing up to 150 lbs. 119″ in length. As mentioned above, the overnight delivery services of FedEx come under FedEx express,  which generated huge revenue of $42.1 billion in 2021 alone.

Features To Have In Your On-Demand Courier Delivery Application

ith global digitization and easy internet access, eCommerce businesses are flourishing with continuous growth. Several online businesses usually search for a reliable logistics partner. So starting an on-demand logistics service is a completely viable and realistic business idea to materialize in present and coming years.

Shortlisting features for your on-demand courier delivery business requires an intuitive checklist that you can create on your own after researching the market. Below is the list of  features that can help you stay ahead of the competition.

Step-by-Step Approach To Launch An On-Demand Courier Delivery App

Define Your Business Goals

Analyzing successful businesses on the internet is fairly easier than understanding the whole work process that makes them successful. While giants like FedEx have been operating for decades, it is their branding and value-driven services that have created trust among customers. Depending upon the target location and audiences of your business, you can set objectives to achieve within a time frame. This helps in analyzing the progress of the organization and employees as well. To survive the competition from existing players in the market like FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc., you can formulate a marketing strategy that helps in creating trust among the customers.

You can start promoting your logistics business when it’s in the development phase itself. This helps to create brand awareness among users and small businesses. As per a report published by BusinessWire, the global market for E-commerce Logistics domain was estimated at US $233.7 Billion in the year 2020 and is expected to reach US $861.4 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 20.5% over the period 2020-2027. So when you operate an online delivery business, it becomes extremely important to invest a few efforts in B2B logistics, taking into account the high retention rate.

Create A Checklist For Your Mobile App Requirements

A mobile app  requirement checklist comprises the functions, processes, and purpose of an application. These functions in the checklist can be decided after analyzing the services and solutions offered by the business. You can start with your expectations from the application and list the features and requirements for different use cases to streamline overall business operations. Here are some details you can include in your app requirements document:

Hire a Mobile App Development Company

As soon as you collect all your business requirements, you can hire a development partner to build dedicated applications for your logistics delivery business. While there are multiple firms that develop platforms for startups, you can go with a mobile app development company with transparent processes to keep you updated on tasks performed on the project at every stage. Additionally, you can count on post-development tech support, refund policies, and communication proficiency.

For a logistics delivery business like FedEx, you will require a mobile app development company that understands your business requirements and has the caliber to develop your project as discussed and within time. You can evaluate a development company by checking its portfolio, and reviews on genuine platforms like Clutch, Trustpilot, GoodFirms, Designrush, etc.

Furthermore developing a full-fledged platform is not a valid approach for startups as it is a costly affair, time-consuming, and even impacts the return on investments made in the initial stages. You can ask your technology partner to develop a minimum viable product (MVP) for your business to mark an entry into the market. After your business gets attention from the users, you can slowly transition to a full-fledged product.

Create A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) For Your Mobile App

When just starting with your online business, you should enter with a minimum viable product (MVP) to test the waters.

After you are done with the MVP development phase, you can launch the app on the internet and start the operations gradually. You can start registering delivery/pickup executives on the app to make them familiar with the functions and services of the platform.

To begin with the marketing phase, you can start marketing it locally and digitally as well. As per their website, FedEx has traffic of around 100M visitors per month on their website. You can strategize the marketing operations depending on potential customers, market gaps, competition, goals, and budget.

How Much Does Courier Delivery App Development Cost?

The final costs of your courier app development are subjective to the features you require in your end product. Below mentioned are the main variables that decide the final cost of your courier app development project:-

Project Complexity

The complexity of your courier app is an undefined factor that can impact your development costs up to a great extent. Since the courier delivery business has to be unique and comes with several uncertainties, the costs might go high if your development partner spends too many hours on the initial documentation and prototyping. Additionally, if you require some extra features other than the terms mentioned in the contract,  you will have to pay for additional hours spent on the project.

Operating Systems

As per Statista,  there are around 130 million Android and around 113 million iOS users in the United States alone. The user base of each of these operating systems is huge to be ignored. The app development with respect to the operating systems involves different processes, including architecture and tech stack. The development costs for iOS are slightly higher compared to Android. Or you can go with hybrid app development that comes at higher prices but works for both operating systems. So, the rise in development costs is quite evident and you will have to do some extra investments to fulfill the requirements.

Expertise Level and Location Of The Development Partner

The cost of app development is generally determined by the estimated hours to be spent on the project. Once the development company shares the estimated hours for the project, you can finalize the costs depending on the hourly development rates of the company. The hourly rate of mobile app development varies on the team’s expertise level, the company’s location, and multiple unknowns in the requirements. Companies in the USA can charge somewhere between $150-$200 per hour, which is a costly affair for any startup. Searching for a reliable mobile app development company from anywhere in south Asia can reduce your development costs to a great extent as the development costs are quite lower ranging from $70-$100 per hour for an expert team.

Wrapping Up

Picking up parcels, transporting them to shipping centers, real-time tracking, payment gateways, and excellent customer service are some major elements that constitute a successful on-demand courier delivery business. Express deliveries is a major stream of revenue for FedEx and other businesses operating in similar domains. While it may seem difficult to enter the market at the initial stages, trusted data sources and market experts believe that the logistics industry still has huge gaps to be bridged. Market research and end app development are two major areas where you need to pay attention to be a successful business owner. Furthermore, working on retention rates and customer reviews are critical components for the long-term success of the business. Since global eCommerce is on the rise, you can provide logistics services to established and budding marketplaces at more accessible rates and flexibilities to ensure stability and additional revenue sources.

Last Updated: 29th February, 2024

The global ride-sharing industry has been undergoing transformation, disrupting the traditional business model that was in place for centuries. Earlier, in the 17th century, horse-drawn ride-for-hires were available in London and Paris. Then in 1653, horse-drawn hackney carriages did business and in the late nineteenth century motorized streetcars became popular. Moving forward, in 1891 a taximeter was invented from where the word taxicab was taken. This fare calculating device made the cab drivers adapt their business model as per societal and legislative demands.

In 1897, the world’s first dedicated taxi encompassing a taximeter was built in London. Since then, the taxi industry has come a long way. Moreover, with technological advancements, real-time ride-sharing industry gained ground and companies like Lyft and Uber began to experience phenomenal growth, as they offered services that helped passengers in finding a one-way ride in a short period.

In this blog, we talk about technological innovations, leading players, market trends, and then we’ll move on to understanding the business model of a ride-sharing app. We’ll also take a look at the key features of a ride-sharing app and as an entrepreneur, if you are looking to launch your own app, we discuss in detail the efficacies of custom vs readymade ride-sharing apps and the methods of scaling them to gain better wallet share.

Table of Contents

• Surge in Demand and Global Market Overview
• Top Dominant Players in the Ride-sharing Market
• Popular Trends and Future Outlook of the Ride-sharing Industry
• Target Audience of Ride-sharing Apps
• Key Benefits of Ride-sharing Apps
• Business Model of Ride-sharing Apps
• Must have Features in a Ride-sharing App
• Custom vs Readymade Ride-sharing Apps
• Scaling a Ride-sharing Business (Techniques)
• Final Words

Surge in Demand and Global Market Overview

The key factor driving the adoption of ride-sharing globally is the increase in demand for cost and time-saving transportation. Additionally, the high cost of vehicle ownership, increasing need to reduce traffic and CO2 emissions for environmental concerns, and government regulations have been promoting ridesharing. As per stats, the global ride-sharing business has grown by 50% between 2019 to 2021 and is expected to reach USD 61.24 billion by 2026.

Ride-sharing Market Overview – Regional Insights

Top Dominant Players in the Ride-sharing Industry

The ride-sharing market is highly fragmented and competitive in nature and the primary reason is the operators’ ability to use independent drivers. Technically these companies do not provide rides to customers, instead, they connect passengers with drivers and charge for the service provided. Hence, ride-sharing services are arranged on very short notice, usually through a mobile app. And, these applications are impressive as with just a click, any individual can turn into a passenger or a driver. Top players dominating the ride-sharing market are:

Popular Trends and Future Outlook of the Ride-sharing Industry

As the landscape of mobility continues to change, abundant innovation and emerging technologies have provided the ride-sharing industry a front-row seat for expansion. Besides, individuals who wish to stay safe from the threat of COVID-19 eventually viewed ride-sharing as a better alternative to more congested forms of mobility (public transportation) – that made physical distancing difficult. In this section, we talk about the popular trends and the future outlook of ride-sharing. 

Emphasis on Health, Safety, and Reliability

The Covid-19 outbreak has caused operational disruption in the framework of the ride-sharing industry. There is a paradigm shift in the travel and psychological behavior of customers. So ride-sharing companies need to assess the behavioral change in customers’ emotions and sentiments regarding hygiene, safety, security, and more.

To reduce the risk of catching the infection, ride-sharing companies have deepened their ties with healthcare organizations to provide reliable, comfortable, and sanitized transportation. Features of enhanced ventilation, plexiglass divider to separate passengers are also being added. While wearing masks at all times is mandatory, the frequency of an already robust cleaning schedule has also been increased. 

Transition Leading to a Sustainable Transportation

Ride-hailing companies have avidly embraced shared trips. Even passengers are booking taxis as a faster and more convenient way to commute. There is mounting evidence that in densely populated areas passengers are choosing relatively nimble, shared trips. This significantly helps in reducing traffic congestion and offers a city-friendly and sustainable product. Also, many ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft are using shared mobility principles that are developed by leading international NGOs for livable cities.

Electrification of Ride-sharing Fleet

Electrification of vehicles is most likely going to be a trend for ride-sharing fleets in the coming time. As electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, companies like Uber have started to explore the EV segment. Furthermore, electrification of ride-sharing will help reduce pollution, decrease vehicle maintenance costs, and, above all, lessen dependency on fossil fuels.

Self-driving Cars

We are also likely to witness an increase in self-driving cars as ride-sharing services will soon operate autonomously (entirely); especially considering the number of self-driving cars currently in development. Joining the fleet of Waymo, Uber and Lyft are also said to operate without drivers in the future. This will not only decrease the costs for companies but will also help drivers earn more revenue per hour.

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

As per reports, in 2022, approximately 54 million new connected vehicles will be on road. This means that these cars have internet services, are connected to each other, and will soon be able to communicate with the infrastructure like traffic lights, stop signs, and more, leading to increased safety on the road.

Target Audience of Ride-sharing Apps

Ride-sharing industry is rapidly expanding and gaining traction in the market. However, the adoption figures continue to vary by age, income level, and educational attainment. For example:

Key Benefits of Ride-sharing Apps

The convenience offered by taxi booking apps has made users more comfortable while providing businesses with a vantage point to deliver more value to customers by staying sustainable. Here, we share the benefits of ride-sharing apps. 

Building a Brand

Brand awareness is the most pivotal ingredient towards the success of a ride-sharing business. Companies like Uber, Lyft, and Ola have already established a strong reputation and goodwill for themselves in the market today, and thus, have become brands. Emphasizing credibility, unmatched customer services, and trust via ride-sharing apps can also help in increasing brand awareness. This helps in staying afloat in an era of cut-throat competition. Further, customizing a ride-sharing app with features that riders might like can also make the application more attractive. 

Gathering Valuable Data of Riders

Providing customers with quality services requires you to know them – their preferences and needs. When riders download ride-sharing apps, they log in using their email address or mobile numbers. Therefore, these apps help in gathering valuable data like contact information, location, and more. Additionally, when a ride is booked, other aspects like the choice of a cab, how often it is booked, time and distance traveled, and more can be monitored. All of these details help in sending personalized notifications to riders with lucrative offers like discounts, coupons, and so on, which can help in building a loyal customer base.

Getting Feedback from Riders

Rider feedback and review greatly influence the identity of a ride-sharing app. Ratings and reviews by users help in identifying the areas of improvement and the ones doing well. Subsequently, ride-sharing services are improved further, and as a result, a competitive advantage is gained.

Increased Visibility

In the age of digitalization where most people have smartphones, booking a cab via ride-sharing apps is both easy and convenient. Apps like Uber, Lyft, Grab, have already outclassed the traditional taxi services as they not only provide riders the comfort of transportation at their fingertips but also help businesses to get higher visibility, thereby, increasing the user base. 

Real-time Location Tracking

Real-time tracking is one of the biggest perks of ride-sharing services. By tracking the location in real-time the driver, as well as the passenger, can determine the exact location of each other. In other words, the passenger knows in how many minutes the cab will arrive and the driver is aware of the customer’s pickup and drop-off location. This also results in benefitting the business with reduced operating costs, improved customer satisfaction, and increased efficiency. 

Monitoring Driver’s Efficiency

Ride-sharing apps can help in monitoring the efficiency and productivity of a cab’s driver. Sometimes a driver’s behavior can affect fuel expenditure, vehicle utilization, and customer satisfaction. For example, the driver did not go to pick up the passenger, the ride was canceled, or a longer route was followed, then the needed action can be taken by monitoring the driver.

However, in cases where the driver was rude or unprofessional, then it would largely depend on the customer’s feedback. That said, close monitoring of drivers (which is absent in the conventional type of taxi booking) can greatly help improve the efficiency and success of the ride-sharing business.

Ride-sharing Business Growth with Improved ROI 

The traditional way of taxi booking has been an arduous task. But with the emergence of ride-sharing apps, the cab booking industry went into autopilot mode. Now, customers seamlessly book the cab through a ride-sharing app, get driver and payment details in advance, and upon trip completion make a hassle-free payment. This helps in improving the ROI and leads to the growth of the ride-sharing business.

Ride-sharing Business Model – A Platform for Change

Bypassing the traditional methods of taxi booking, ride-sharing applications have been gaining popularity. The underlying reason is – digital “ride-sharing” platforms are improving efficiency and providing better transportation facilities while matching supply with demand in a cost-effective way.

Ride-sharing applications have also brought the concept of aggregator business model to fore. Its uniqueness involves building partnerships with individuals who work under the brand of the ride-sharing company instead of building or developing an offering on their own. Being tech-driven, peer to peer, ride-sharing companies also have conventional corporate governance.

In effect, companies like Uber, Lyft have a business model that uses a special algorithm to put ride-seekers in touch with ride-providers. The fares are adjusted as per market conditions. Furthermore, features like trip-tracking and driver rating enhance the transparency offered making it a win-win situation for customers, drivers, and the ride-sharing company itself.

The ride-sharing business model also facilitates vehicle owners to become public service providers, as it gives them the flexibility to drive their own vehicles in areas they choose to work. Features like trip-tracking and driver rating enhance the transparency offered. It also functions without overburdening the service providers with exorbitant registration fees, tariffs, and licensing.

Essential Features in a Ride-sharing App

A ride-sharing app has three panels – passenger, driver, and admin. Listed below are the features for every segment.

Custom vs Readymade Ride-sharing Apps

The success of ride-sharing businesses like Uber, Lyft, and Grab has made numerous entrepreneurs interested in the ride-sharing business. In a bid to meet these requirements, ride-sharing app development companies are offering two types of solutions. These are:

• Custom Built Ride-sharing Apps
• Readymade Ride-sharing Apps 

Custom Built Ride-sharing Apps 

Custom apps allow the building of a ride-sharing app as per tailored requirements of a business or an entrepreneur and at a suitable pace. These apps are built from scratch providing the flexibility of:

• Customization- Features and functionality can be customized; offers the choice of having a unique design as per business requirements.
• Scalability- Custom ride-sharing apps are scalable.
• Added Security- Developers in these applications can use encryption to protect sensitive data in terms of drivers’ and passengers’ personal information. 
• Cost- Custom ride-sharing apps can cost more money (as per requirements) but the level of UX and functionality incorporated will be more refined.
• Time- The time-to-market of a custom ride-sharing app depends on the app’s functionality and complexity. 

Readymade Ride-sharing Apps

Pre-built software can aid in bringing the best results for your ride-sharing business without taxing your patience. You do not need to do anything – just buy, install and start using your app. A few factors contributing to the success of readymade ridesharing apps are:

• Time- Pre-built ride-sharing apps are built for those who consider time as their priority. No development is required so the time-to-market is less. 
• Cost-Efficient- If budget is a constraint, no solution is better than a pre-built one. These apps are built with the purpose of catering to multiple clients so the number of complex features and functionalities is limited. This reduces the development time and the cost.
• Hassle-free: A readymade ride-sharing app saves the company/entrepreneur from the hassles of project management and development. 
• Customization: Not all ride-sharing apps are fully customizable as they might lack the technical capabilities needed to customize.
• Scalability: Not all pre-built apps are scalable for the same reason as covered in the above point.

Our Recommendation

As mentioned above, ready-made ride sharing apps are cost-effective and the time-to-market is less. Hence, a ready-made ride sharing solution like VivoCabs is perfect to start your online ridesharing business. Designed and developed by FATbit Technologies, VivoCabs is a white-label taxi booking solution that comes equipped with a wide array of features such as fare estimator, multiple payment gateways, geo-fencing, SOS for users, and much more. Rider and driver mobile apps (Android and iOS) are also available. 

Key Highlights of VivoCabs 

• Fully Customizable and Scalable 
• Rider and Driver Apps (Android and iOS)
• Multiple-Payment Gateways 
• 12 Months of Free Technical Support 
• GDPR Compliant

Scaling a Ride-sharing Business – The Techniques

It is known that startups gain a lot of attention, however, with evolving customer needs and demands, it is important for ride-sharing businesses to scale up. While the focus should always be to enhance the passenger’s ride-sharing experience, expansion through adjacencies, cross-industry collaboration, and in-app mobile marketing can efficiently scale the ride-sharing businesses to gain a competitive edge.

Expansion Through Adjacencies

To remain sustainable and profitable, ridesharing companies should chart a course to expand into adjacent markets. For example, Uber leveraged the in-market (core market) with existing customers by delivering food through UberEats. The company has also incorporated a pickup and go feature into its app, that allows passengers to order and pick groceries or meals while en route to the destination.

Cross-industry Collaboration

The global market is made up of several independent industries, each having its own supply and demand. However, this method is outdated in many ways as new collaborations are straddling the boundaries. As Uber and Lyft have been the premier in the space of ride-sharing industry, they already have a huge user base that makes them attractive to bigger brands who are looking for partnerships as a part of their marketing strategy.

In the past, Uber has partnered with Hilton, Spotify, Pepsi, BMW, and so on. The passengers of Uber were also treated to free trips in BMW 7 series to promote the new car before it arrived in the U.S. showrooms.

In-app Mobile Marketing – Promotion and Referrals

With numerous ride-sharing apps getting introduced to the stores every other day, promotions and referrals offer a new vantage point that empowers businesses to outmaneuver their competitors. Hence, most ride-sharing apps use referral marketing and promotions to deliver more value and boost app downloads.

Final Words

Ride-sharing is quickly gaining momentum by harnessing the power of digitalization. Entrepreneurs, startups, or companies can benefit greatly from the changing ride-sharing dynamics. Further, innovation will drive the future of mobility. So if you are looking to start or scale a ride-sharing business, get in touch with us. We at FATbit Technologies comprise a multidisciplinary team, that blends their deep domain expertise with emerging trends, to deliver innovative ride-sharing applications.

Digital classifieds industry established its roots in 1990’s with the entrance of players like eBay and Craigslist. Successors to these two businesses in the 21st century are OLX, LetGo, Quicker, Cashify and Zamroo. One dominant name out of these is LetGo, which is available as a mobile app for both Android and iOS smartphones and enables smooth selling and purchasing of second hand items. Barely people know that LetGo is formed by the former CEO of OLX, Alec Oxenford.

Oxenford launched the LetGo app for the US population specifically in 2015 and later occupied the competitor, Wallapop in 2016. Within the short span of two years, Oxenford was able to attract 10 million users on a monthly basis. In 2020, LetGo’s estimated yearly revenue was $38.4 million.

Recognizing the business potential in the digital classifieds industry, several entrepreneurs are interested in launching their own classifieds app. However, to replicate the success of LetGo and establish their name, entrepreneurs will need to develop a mobile app with all the capabilities to tackle everyday challenges and provide a satisfying customer experience.

To help such entrepreneurs, this blog contains deep insights for building a classifieds marketplace like LetGo.

Table of Contents

• Reasons Behind the Success of LetGo
  – Strong Marketing Strategy
  – Exposure and Reach
  – Diverse Range of Products
  – Security
• How Does LetGo Make Money?
  – Display Advertising
  – Freemium Subscription
  – Paid Subscriptions
• Top Problems Faced by an Online Classified Business
  – Online Frauds
  – Outdated Product Availability Status
  – Finding Sellers and Buyers
• Other Important Features Required to Develop a Classified App Like LetGo
  – Waterfall Development Methodology
  – Agile Development Methodology
  – Which Methodology to Select for your Classifieds App?
• Conclusion

Reasons Behind the Success of LetGo

There is a confluence of factors leading to the growth and success of LetGo. The major and most discernible amongst them is the leadership of Alec Oxenford, who had already established and managed the classified company OLX. Not only Oxenford had the entrepreneurial experience to make a startup like LetGo a huge success, but also the team and connections for strategic growth.

Other reasons that lead to the popularity of LetGo are:

1. Strong Marketing Strategy

For business promotion, LetGo depended on a 360-degree marketing strategy, which was inclusive of humorous TV commercials, YouTube ads, social media marketing and automobile partnerships. The agenda of the commercials always remained to explain the benefits of the app, its swiftness in selling products and building trust to attract sellers on the platform.

LetGo TV commercial

2. Exposure and Reach

Another reason behind the success of LetGo was the wide reach that it offered to the sellers registered on the app. As per LetGo, the company crossed the benchmark of 100 million downloads within the first three years of its inception. In 2019, LetGo also reported the availability of 25 million cars on the app with the addition of 1.1 million new car listings every month. Such terrific figures highlight the immense reach and exposure LetGo provides to both buyers and sellers.

3. Diverse Range of Products

LetGo is a marketplace to sell all sorts of products. Its categories range from real estate and automobiles to home electronics, garden supplies, clothing and baby items. Having a long list of items and in vast categories made LetGo one of the top alternatives for OLX, eBay and Craigslist, which meant buyers quickly moved to LetGo when they were unable to find a second-hand product on existing classified giants.

4. Security

Ensuring the safety and security of users is essential to build a customer base on a classifieds platform. The general population, under all genuine scenarios, will only sign up on those classified platforms that sound trustworthy and reliable. From the beginning, LetGo focused on the security of users and also provided a chat messenger for on-platform conversations. Lastly, it also updated consumers on maintaining safety while selling or buying second-hand products on its official marketing collaterals.

Source: LetGo

How Does LetGo Work?

There are three key user-types on the LetGo app, which are:

• The Admin
• Sellers
• Buyers

All these user types adhere to the following workflow to enable smooth classified operations on the app:

• Buyers upload their products on the platform
• The admin verifies the listing
• Approved listings are displayed to buyers
• Buyers search for a product and contacts the seller
• The seller sells the product

Important:

• In the workflow, the admin also reserves the right to reject a listing or send it back for moderation. Once moderated, the seller can upload the same listing again
• The buyer can negotiate the price with the seller in chat messenger and come to a mutually agreed price
• The delivery or pickup of the product is also organized by the buyer/seller

How Does LetGo Make Money?

Neither LetGo charges its sellers for any registration fee nor deducts a commission for any sale or purchase that takes place through the app. Thus, the question arises how does the app make money? 

The revenue generation model of LetGo is quite different from other eCommerce platforms. Below, we have mentioned its known revenue generation strategies:

1. Display Advertising

LetGo uses display advertising on its app to earn money. It allows various sellers and vendors to set up promotional banners or other marketing collateral all over the app. The more the visitors click on these ads, the higher the revenue generation for LetGo. LetGo even sponsors advertisements in specific geographic regions, which adds value to its display advertising methods. 

2. Freemium Subscription

LetGo also uses a freemium model to earn money. Under its freemium subscription, sellers can upload listings for free but also get access to a paid feature known as ‘Bump Up’. When used, the Bump Up option shows the seller’s listings on the top position in the search results for 7 consecutive days. 

The pricing for the Bump Up option varies from product to product and ranges between $0.99-3.99.

3. Paid Subscriptions

LetGo also has two paid subscription options for sellers. These are:

LetGo Pro Plan: This plan is specifically made for commercial car dealers who want to sell second-hand cars through the app. The plan focuses on helping dealers in lead generation with advanced features like feed integration and buyer callback. Car listings under the LetGo Pro Plan are also made public immediately. The plan also comes with a 30-days free trial after which car dealers need to select one of the following payment options:

• $99 for 30 listings
• $399 for 70 listings
• $599 for 150 listings

Super Boost Mode: The super boost mode subscription of LetGo is made for every seller who registers on the platform. Under this subscription, LetGo promises to feature atleast one product of the seller every day. For this purpose, LetGo collects the data of all products on the marketplace and analyzes them for their chance of sale. Thus, the items with the highest probability to be sold are automatically put in the feature list and displayed to buyers.

The aforementioned revenue streams may not be unique to LetGo but they are quite different from commission based marketplace stores that levy a commission to the vendor on every transaction. This also implies different functionality for the software application to facilitate online classifieds business operations.

Top Problems Faced by an Online Classified Business

Later in this blog, we have discussed the features to develop an app like LetGo. However, it is essential to shed light on some key problems faced by classified apps to understand the necessity of most important features.

Moreover, the following problems will also help you prepare solutions in advance so that you can aim to establish a strong presence in the industry right from the beginning:

Problem #1: Online Frauds

Cybercrime is responsible for frauds of billions of dollars every year. eCommerce fraud is a part of cybercrime and easy to carry out on classified websites. In majority fraud cases, sellers upload a fake product and ask for online payment before the delivery. To lure customers in this fraud, the price of fraud products is usually kept unbelievably low. These frauds not only steal money from buyers but also tarnish the image of classified platforms.

Solution:

Business owners can incorporate the following features to improve security against fraudulent advertisements:

• Seller Verification: A feature to verify age and proof of address of a seller right on the platform. Several ID documents issued by the government and related statutory bodies can be used for this purpose. 
• Ownership Document Verification: The app can also ask the seller to upload some proof of purchase of the product, for example, a billing document. However, considering that consumers always may not have the bill for the products they purchased years ago, this feature is not as viable as seller verification. 

Problem #2: Outdated Product Availability Status

Another big challenge faced by classified apps is delay in ad status updates. In some cases, sellers even upload a product on the app and don’t change its status even after it is sold. Due to this reason, a product that is no longer available at the seller is still displayed to buyers and leads to poor customer experience. 

Solution

The following features will assist you in negating the damage done by outdated ad status:

• Push-Notifications: A feature to inform buyers of sales of their interested products. This can be used for other purposes as well, for example, sending advertisements, promotions and price drop information. 
• Display period: By enabling this feature, the app owner can select for how long the app will display an advertisement. After the end of this period, the ad will be automatically removed from search listings and hidden from new buyers. However, the seller can activate the ad again by logging into his/her profile. 

Problem #3: Finding Sellers and Buyers

Classified apps often deal with the ‘chicken and the egg’ problem. To attract buyers, apps need a lot of advertisements on the marketplace and for that, they need sellers. However, to invite someone to sell his/her product on the app, the owner also needs to ensure the availability of buyers on the platform. 

Solution:

The following marketing and branding features are what business owners need to find sellers and buyers for their classifieds app:

• SEO: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) features, such as meta tags optimization, Slug optimization, RSS feed and alt tags assist in improving the search engine visibility of your app. With the help of SEO, Google can display your product to any buyer who is looking to buy some second hand products. Similarly, it can be also used to attract sellers looking to sell their products on an online marketplace. 
• Social Media Sharing: Social media giants receive billions of users every day. With the help of social media sharing options, you can enable those users to do marketing for their second hand product listings themselves. Thus, directing traffic from social media sites to your classifieds app. This is possible by placing social media sharing buttons (of at least most popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) on every product.
• Seller Subscription: Similar to LetGo, you can create your own subscription package for sellers and give them varying benefits such as a boost mode for their listings and the callback feature. Your subscription can include various features that are not available on your competitor’s platform or even the same ones but at a much lower price. 
• Email Marketing: With email marketing, you can send proposals to various sellers. MailChimp API even provides business owners with advanced email generation features such as a drag and drop builder and content studio. Business emails can be also used to inform sellers of any upcoming offers and subscription packages. 
• Advanced Analytics: APIs such as Google Analytics, Tableau and Power BI can help you evaluate the performance of various landing pages on the app. They can also assist in multivariate testing and find out the ads that generate maximum value for your app. Even if analytical data does not bring you any immediate explicit benefit, it will help formulate business strategies for the future and stay agile.

Other Important Features Required to Develop a Classified App Like LetGo

Below is the list of some other features that should be present on your classified app to ensure smooth business operations:

Approaches to Develop a Classifieds Mobile App

Professional mobile app development adheres to a strict format of strategic process management, task allocation, client-side communication, SRS (Software Requirement Specification) generation and more. In the modern world, there are two popular development methodologies that are followed on a large scale. These are waterfall and agile development methodology.

Waterfall Development Methodology

The waterfall development methodology was first introduced by Winston Royce as a concept in 1970. It follows a linear approach towards software development, which originates with requirement gathering and goes through design, development and testing before deployment. The waterfall methodology is suitable for developing small-size apps that will not require any updates or changes in the long run. 

Agile Development Methodology

A big problem with the waterfall methodology was that it chiefly focused on the software development trends of the 1970s, when the competition in the digital niche was low and the majority of consumers did not have access to the internet. As a result, there were significantly lower requirements for advanced features. However, in the modern world, trends and consumer behavior change frequently and the competition is also high, requiring entrepreneurs to stay agile all the time.

This gave emergence to the agile methodology that allows for iterations in the software. Unlike developing the whole software at once like in waterfall methodology (which sometimes even took years), agile methodology progresses development in weekly iteration. The first iteration, also known as sprint in programming terminology, only includes the bare minimum features to shape the software. Later, the developed base is introduced to a broad scope of audiences, i.e., early adopters who then provide their feedback to further improve the software in the next sprint.

A huge benefit of agile methodology is the flexibility to add and remove features anytime, which allows businesses to stay market-ready at all times and keep the competitive-edge, no matter how much time it takes to complete the entire development. 

Which Methodology to Select for your Classifieds App?

Despite agile being a comparatively newer methodology, it is important to note that waterfall methodology is still widely in practice. Both these methodologies have their own set of benefits. 

The following table can give you a little idea of which methodology will be better suited for your classified app.

Wrap Up

It’s clear that Alec Oxenford, the former CEO of OLX had the experience and knowledge to start an app like LetGo and turn it into a household name. With proper guidance and target audience, entrepreneurs can replicate the same. For developing a robust application like LetGo, industrial experts can guide you on the required feature-set, deployment and iterations. They can also provide you with timely support and help you offer uninterrupted service to your customer base. For a quick start, it is recommended to discuss your project requirements with your preferred experts and get a quote for the same. Later, you can do a comparative analysis to decide which custom mobile app development company will be the best for your classified app development requirements.

Last Updated: 3rd January, 2024

The most common touchpoint today that connects almost everybody, including businesses and consumers seamlessly is the 24-7 connectivity being offered by mobile internet service providers. eCommerce is fast transcending into mobile commerce or mcommerce.

As the usage of mobile phones and devices including tablets and laptops skyrocketed, the business value added with the development of operating system-friendly applications also rose exponentially.

With the most prominent of questions being as to what is the best approach towards developing a robust ecommerce app, this blog will help you with basic considerations that must be kept in mind while deciding to supplement an ecommerce business and website with an app.

Table of Contents

• Rationale Behind App Development for eCommerce Businesses
• eCommerce App Types
• eCommerce App developmental Components
• Essential Features for eCommerce App Development
• mCommerce Trends In 2024
• Simplified Process for eCommerce App Development
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Rationale Behind App Development for eCommerce Businesses

Developing an ecommerce app that can be accessed and operated from about anywhere at any time, is more of an asset necessary for the efficient performance of any business today. With retail mostly happening through mobile and online channels, an application can add immense value to the chain of events that control business transactions.

A look into the statistics also indicate a favorable reasoning for ecommerce app development with nearly 80% of smartphone users making some or the other purchase online. As more and more people are shopping over the internet, it becomes all the more imperative to have a mobile-friendly channel for the sales of commodities.

An analysis into the benefits of ecommerce apps, can further help in the decision making process. Listed below are the advantages of ecommerce apps to businesses:

1. Online shopping is the new trend
2. Benefits for small and new businesses
   • Helps attract customers easily
   • It is a competitive advantage
   • Helps increase sales
3. Everything mobile is the millennial choice
4. Enables better customer service
5. Allows customization of offerings – easy to build a customer centric business
6. Easy analytical analysis of all activities
7. Enables contactless payments
8. More and improved marketing 
9. Brand building and propagation is easier
10. Customer loyalty is enhanced

Creating an environment where customers are able to get a more personalized and responsive shopping experience is bound to retain them. They will want to re-visit and even recommend the shopping platform or app ahead for perks like loyalty and recommender benefits. 

Achieving different business objectives through different types of applications is a significant benefit usually overlooked by business owners. When launching an app can help meet business goals like better UX-UI, leading to better user engagement and increased conversion, understanding what type of an application is needed can be a positive step towards meeting the aim.

In the section ahead, before we address the approach to be taken for an ecommerce app development, we discuss briefly the different types of apps that can be developed, for different business objectives and models.

eCommerce App Types

Smartphones for shopping have driven mobile commerce (mcommerce) to a platform which is proving to be a constant propeller for businesses. The success mantra has brought a new dimension for businesses to draw revenue. Mobile applications have added timeless connectivity for customers. They are now able to access their favorite stores at any time to place their orders.

Based on various models that exist within the businesses, the applications that will support the operations are also different. Developed to fulfill certain business goals and meet objectives, the applications are differentiated based on their features as well as functionalities.

If you are to launch an ecommerce business, there are high chances that you fall in one of these four broad categories:

• Business-to-Business (B2B)
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
• Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

There are however other types of models that operate, and there are companies that run on a blend of 2 or even more models.

Depending on the type of transactions expected as part of the business model, wisely choose an app type that allows convenient exchange of commodities and assets over the channel. The application will intend to serve as an important mode of communication between the two parties. Both the seller (offering party) and the buyer (receiving party) must be able to complete their role through the app.

Different types of ecommerce apps, developed to facilitate different activities that will be happening over them, are described here:

1. B2B (Business-to-Business) eCommerce App

Applications capable of enabling business deals over their interface fall into this category. Goods, as well as services, can be exchanged via a mobile channel, catering to big transactions for large quantities of exchange.

Alibaba, Amazon Business, and Quill are examples where industries sell to retailers, who further sell to consumers. So the products sold here can become raw material or items of sale for other industries ahead.

2. B2C (Business-to-Consumer) eCommerce App

The applications developed to supplement a B2C model will consume the company at one end and the end user of the product at the other. Sales happen directly through the application channel. Amazon and Dominos are examples of such ecommerce apps.

Such applications provide the consumer with direct access to all the products being offered by a company, where retailers might limit the stocks and variety when dealing with multiple brands.

3. C2B (Consumer-to-Business) eCommerce App

Businesses are also buyers for niche domain specific offerings like content, design, and technical assets. C2B applications like Clutch and GitHub are a platform for subject matter experts to display their talent and build such business relationships.

Businesses build unique merits on such buys and recommend enhancing the practice of sharing precious talent through such channels.

4. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) eCommerce App

When consumers exchange their products, offerings, or services amongst themselves, without the role of any business or company, a C2C type of model functions through a mobile app.

Applications like OLX and eBay, which allow consumers to sell their products to other people like themselves, endorse such sale and purchase, enabling connectivity between a wider user base like the community.

5. Other application types

Ticketing Booking eCommerce App

These ecommerce apps are to make bookings for cabs, hotels, live shows, games, travel, professional or social events, and parties. The organizers utilize the application to share details of their activity, and interested people avail the facility to buy tickets or passes by paying through the application interface.

Goibibo and Momondo are popular examples of ticket booking applications. Other such ecommerce apps allow an exchange of such commodities between the organizers, event managers, and the end users directly.

eCommerce aggregator App

The mobile applications that build a connection between the end customer and the service providers like Walmart Inc. and Etsy Inc. are aggregator ecommerce apps. They tend to offer a platform to service providers for listing their offerings, items, or products, and buyers can buy or avail them off the application interface.

The application owners themselves do not provide any of the listed services, nor do they need any infrastructural setup, but propagate the services of sellers who join the app for their business.

When developing an ecommerce app, certain components are common across the different types discussed above. These components contribute to the smooth functioning of the application.

eCommerce App developmental Components

eCommerce app Development is a guided process. The objective or business goal to be met decides what all to be included and in what format. But certain elements are common in all ecommerce apps.

Discussed below are those essential components that help build an application for full-circle functions to be performed efficiently.

1. Multimedia Content

Different types of content running within an ecommerce app, text, images, videos, graphics, and even audio, that drive the user journeys on the application comprise the multimedia content. They are the main reason a user remains hooked to the app and conducts transactions over it. 

Drafted with an effort to imitate interactions between two humans, the content is responsible for generating customer loyalty and conversions on the app.

2. Content Storage Servers

Servers powerful enough to support diverse content in large quantities need to be installed. The digital content is distributed to users and received with important information regarding their details. The servers must be robust, secure, and reliable to cater to the user-base on the app.

a. Multimedia Server Processors

The servers that convert raw data from various media sources into readable information require processors that are reliable and robust. Dealing with data and information that is critical from the user’s perspective, the processor works on it and stores it for all ecommerce apps.

Since these processors handle an excessive amount of data from thousands of users simultaneously using the application, they must be backed with symmetric multiprocessors with parallel processing capabilities. Different forms of data are processed for information exchange through the app interface.

b. Client Server Architecture

The basic architecture of majority of ecommerce apps is centered around message passing between the client/consumer and the server. The format is of a ‘request-response’ type, in the sequence of events taking place.

A user interface is mostly a device that takes the query which is taken care of at the server end. Storage, security, execution, as well as progress, are all happening at the server end of the ecommerce app.

c. Servers for Videos and eCommerce

While developing an application for any ecommerce purpose, it must be kept in mind that various forms of video data will be fed into it, and received from it for various activities. Video servers must be an integral component while planning the development of an ecommerce app.

These servers manage videos for telecommunicating, shopping, advertisements, video chats, and corporate multimedia. They must harbor the capability to deal with planktonic quantities coming in from several thousand users simultaneously.

3. Information Exchange for eCommerce Apps

Information exchange happening over an ecommerce app is majorly utilizing 3 services in coordination with each other:

• Wireless services – managing the cellular, paging, and radio applications
• Telecommunication services – telephonic connectivity, both local and international
• Cable services – handle internet and related services with coaxial, satellite lines, optic fibers, and computer services

These together control the communication channels running over any ecommerce app.

4. Access Devices – Consumer End

The usage of any ecommerce app at the consumer or buyer end is dependent on the execution or end device. Different users use different devices as per their comfort and tasks at hand. Devices can vary from a static personal computer to a television, mobile or smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, voice assistants, and many more.

Their experience also varies as per the device used. The development must be robust enough to give a uniform UX across the different devices.

The basic inclusions when in place, finalizing the features an ecommerce app must have is the next task at hand. Here is a segment that describes the features that must be developed from the MVP stage itself.

Essential Features for eCommerce App Development

Mapping the most important features while developing an ecommerce app is one of the most crucial factors that play a part in the success of the business running over the app. Knowing that people are using mobiles for almost everything they do, the development must take care of integrating maximum convenience while a transaction happens through an ecommerce app.

The chosen feature list will help define the final structure of the ecommerce app development , its design, and the cost of development.

Many features can be added or left out from this list based on the different goals of the ecommerce app being developed. Custom mobile app development is thus always the best approach when deciding to develop an ecommerce app.

mCommerce Trends In 2024

Chatbots

Customer interaction is key for brands to build engagement with their customers. Communication opens up a channel for interactions 一 making customers feel connected with the brand. Moreover, getting queries answered in a quick time will also help in conversions on the mobile app.

Chatbots foster customer engagement, providing a channel for solving their queries, marketing activities, cross-selling, receiving feedback, and more. Furthermore, customer communication also fosters brand relationships, amplifying brand loyalty.

Additionally, the data received from chatbots also opens up opportunities for businesses to set analysis-driven objectives.

Voice Assistants

In the modern age, the faster your services are the better customer experience you can offer. Voice assistants achieve just that. A faster, intuitive way for the customer to browse and search the website, making them integral to mobile apps of 2024, and beyond.

Big Data

Big Data has started to reshape modern-day business operations. It is a real-time analysis of user interaction across channels, bringing a connected and holistic experience to the customer. The role of Big-Data is maturing as businesses are increasing efforts to get customer attention.

Analysis of how the target audience across demographics and age, engages across channels for a business 一 provides insights into mobile app development for a company. Leveraging Big Data, the UI/UX of the app can be tailored to better meet end-user needs.

Moreover, Big Data can also lead the way for the marketing strategies of a company. With data-driven insights, results can be better achieved.

AR and VR

Augmented reality and Virtual reality aim to enhance user engagement by providing an immersive experience. AR can let users experience virtual objects in real-world scenarios. With the technology, a computer-generated image is superimposed on a real-life live image on devices.

What began with video games like Pokemon Go, has transcended to amplify user experiences in online retail and ecommerce.

eCommerce companies like Amazon, Ikea, and others have leveraged the use of AR technology to let customers experience how products will look in the space they aim to use.

Virtual Reality or VR, on the other hand, leverages the use of technology that simulates a real-world environment in the virtual world. The computer-generated three-dimensional environment gives users the experience of being present there. Some industries that have benefited immensely from VR are fashion, real estate.

VR is best experienced by devices and wearables that support the technology.

Integration of Apps with Wearables

The sale of wearables has been gaining steam for some time now. More companies are rolling out reliable and rich-featured products by the day, giving customers a good range of options to choose from.

According to Market Watch, the sale of wearables increased by at least 25 million units in 2021. The sale of hardware is driving the need for software integration. The importance of integrating mobile apps with wearables is increasing, emphasizing their significance as a key consideration in 2024. It can provide businesses with a competitive advantage in the market.

Geofencing

Geofencing is an integral personalization feature that can let businesses tailor their marketing services based on the location of the customers. Leveraging the technology, they can send notifications on the customers’ app whenever they are near a physical store.

This capability can be used in multiple ways by businesses to gain traction on their products and services. For instance, items in stock, high-demand products, lucrative discount schemes, and other marketing strategies can be used to gain customer attention.

Enhanced Security Measures

The global rise of ecommerce has also led to the evolution of malicious activities. The last decade has witnessed the disruption of payment processes across the ecommerce ecosystems.

Security concerns will keep on increasing as the threat of malicious attacks continues to be on the rise. Data protection also remains a key concern. Vulnerable data is the invitation to catastrophic outcomes.

Moreover, there is still a segment of customers that is reluctant to shop on smaller devices and prefer desktops to mobiles for their transactions.

Enhanced security measures is a not just a trend for 2024, but in all likelihood, a necessity that will be prioritized in the time to come as well.

eCommerce App Development: The Process Simplified

Mobile app development requires inputs from experts from different areas, including a member with subject matter expertise in the area of the ecommerce business for which an app is being developed. Entrepreneurs and new businesses often find themselves at crossroads with questions like:

• What to consider before beginning?
• What type of technology partner to tie up with?
• How much responsibility sharing can be there?
• What all features to develop that are necessary to begin with?

All these questions need to be answered well in time before moving ahead with the app development. Here we share below, in sequence, steps that will help you across the process without any hassle.

Identify App Goals

The success of any ecommerce app is dependent on how efficiently it can meet the business objectives. If what objectives need to be met through the app are unclear, its development will always falter and fail the purpose.

Be specific in laying down set objectives, so as to plan for integrating specific functionalities that need to be developed. The idea should be to collect relevant data through the app, so as to refine the business, with better services and products.

Identify the Audience

Those who will use the ecommerce app will ultimately decide the fate of the business it is supplementing. So, it is imperative to clearly map the user-base and their likes, dislikes, demography, interests, and feedback on the app.

Understanding the nature of the app user will help develop user journeys and stories that leave a lasting impact, and keeps the customer coming back to the app. In the process of identifying the audience for the app and their interests, the niche for the app is also identified. This in a way helps shape the process of ecommerce app development.

Select the Right Technology

As we now understand the users of the app being developed, and the functions it will perform, the next step is to decide what type of an app is needed. For ecommerce, two formats: PWAs and Native apps form the best choices.

• PWAs or Progressive Web Apps are, as the name implies, progressive websites that operate with the agility and performance of a mobile application. The only difference being that they need not be downloaded from play stores, instead need internet connectivity to be accessed through browsers.
  PWAs can be the choice in case there is a limitation with regard to the budget, and the traffic on your ecommerce platform is already good.
• Native Apps are regular applications that need to be downloaded from play stores, and need to be developed specifically for operating systems like Android and iOS. The scope to play with the UI-UX in case of Native apps is large, and allows users to experience premium features offered by mobile phones, like access to photos, camera, an interactive interface, and the ability to use the app when offline.
  They add to the appeal of the ecommerce store along with allowing immense data on the customer’s behavior and choices to be saved as reference for refining services and products.

Choosing what path to take will depend on the end offering that is made to the customers who choose to visit the eCommerce store. Opting for app development presents opportunities for customization and scalability. Here, you can consider Yo!Kart, a software product by FATbit Technologies that provides readymade, feature-rich mobile apps. Plus, you can also get mobile apps customized to align with your unique concepts, ensuring the delivery of the mobile app of your vision.

Identify Requirements & Features

Moving ahead after deciding what to develop, for whom to develop, and how to develop, it is now time to brainstorm on the features to be included in the ecommerce app. We did identify some must-have features that should be a part of almost every ecommerce app.

The team must give their inputs and suggestions to the development team as to what all should be included as part of the offering to the customers or app users. A business specific feature list prepared after thorough planning needs to be identified.

Clarity on the features to be integrated and developed before the actual development of the app begins will help make the app development an efficient exercise.

Process and Budget Planning

Identifying or wanting to include features and functionalities into the ecommerce app is a process that involves much thought, but relating the requirements to the budget is a concern that must not be ignored.

Planning for the integrations and development must take into consideration:

• Whether the app is a bespoke app or a generic app
• Whether a SAAS solution or one-time offering is being developed 
• Various pros and cons of each kind of addition to the app

All these points when discussed will help narrowing down to a budget that will be justified towards the type of ecommerce app being developed.

The owners must make sure that even while choosing an agile software development company for the app development, none of the requests must go beyond the budget estimates at any time, to maintain a comfortable business ROI.

Quality Testing and App Release

No matter how robust the development process, and how experienced the brains behind the planning, there are bound to be loopholes. A thorough testing process for load, regression, device, performance, responsiveness, and usability must be a part of standard app development procedures.

After rigorous testing the app is packaged for release onto the play stores. The app must be ideally developed for both iOS and Android play store launch. Make sure there are qualified testers on the team to generate proper quality documents after the testing.

These documents help in building the credibility of the app while releasing it on the play Store.

Marketing the App

Now that the app is released and out for downloading and use, marketing the ecommerce business and the app will help generate business leads.

Use SEO tools and a combination of marketing strategies like content, social media, and loyalty programs to popularize the name of the ecommerce brand. The marketing tools are best utilized if integrated while the app is being developed. 

This helps the app or the business owner initialize marketing activities at the launch, growing the business to a scale where a separate marketing team can be built.

These steps will definitely add to the quality and efficiency of the app development process. From here the further objective should be to improvise and develop an app that meets current market standards for quality and technological maturity.

Concluding Remarks

eCommerce businesses today are innovating their customer centricity to a level where they are becoming a part of everyday lives of people. Integrating intelligent features so as to build responsiveness and engagement with buyers has augmented the entire online shopping experience.

The development of an ecommerce app has hence geared up exponentially to keep pace with the consumer demands and expectations. The possibility of receiving an in-store experience with the convenience of being at home has driven the customer to define standards for the ecommerce app developers.

A new businessman in the ecommerce industry will often find himself at the crossroads of figuring out what all to add, build, exclude, and launch for meeting the new consumer in their journey of technological maturity. This blog will help them define a basic flowchart of steps to be taken while developing an ecommerce app for their business.

Most ideally, partnering with technology service providers offering custom mobile app development will serve the best purpose in developing an ecommerce app. More so, connect with software companies where agile development forms their core strength. They will most likely translate the ecommerce business vision into a perfect ecommerce mobile app.

Without a doubt, a good technology partner will help an ecommerce business scale to new heights by developing an engaging mobile application to escalate customer experience. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or an ecommerce business owner, take a call, and connect with one today.

FAQs

What is an ecommerce app?

An ecommerce app refers to a mobile app with online shopping capabilities. It can be of several types. For example:

1. A mobile app that connects users to the online store or marketplace of a business, for example, Amazon and eBay.
2. An app to run a standalone mcommerce business where customers can get products or services only via the app and no website exists. Uber is a very popular example of such apps.

As the ecommerce industry is huge, an ecommerce app can be developed for several business niches such as online tutoring, on-demand home services, car rental, furniture rental, food delivery, grocery delivery and more. 

How do I develop an ecommerce app?

There are two ways to develop an ecommerce app. The first one is to go for bespoke development where the business owner will need to find a technology partner (such as a software development firm) and state the partner all his/her requirements. The partner will work on the mobile app. This approach is time consuming and often expensive as it includes hourly development prices.

The second approach is to go for a ready-made software. This approach will require none to minimum customization and can be deployed quickly. 

What are the basic requirements of an ecommerce app?

The requirements of an ecommerce app vary from business to business. A food delivery app requires a different set of features than a taxi booking app. However, there are still very few features that overlap on the interfaces of many types of ecommerce apps. For example, a search bar, chatbot, and payment gateway.

All ecommerce app development requirements are noted down in an SRS (Software Requirement Specification) sheet and the software development team uses this sheet to develop and test the functionality of the app as per the stated requirements. 

What is the cost of developing an ecommerce app?

The cost of developing an ecommerce app varies from company to company and country to country. Below are the average hourly estimates in renowned software development countries:

USA: $50 – $200
Canada: $50 – $150
Mexico: $40 – $120
UK: $50 – $125
Australia: $50 – $125
India: $25 – $100
Philippines:  $25 – $75

How long does it take to develop an ecommerce app?

Via custom development, ecommerce apps can take anywhere from 3 months to 12 months to develop. Via a ready-made software (if available for your business type), the same can be done within 1 week to 3 months. 

How is an ecommerce mobile app useful for businesses?

Following are some benefits of using an ecommerce mobile app:

1. Increased Presence: Via a mobile app, businesses are always remaining within the reach of their customers who don’t even need to open a web browser to shop from your business. They can easily find your app in the menu of their smartphones.
2. On the Go Shopping: Mobile phones also enable on the go shopping whereas desktops don’t. If a person is traveling by foot or is far from home, he/she can still browse the ecommerce app and place orders.
3. Advanced Marketing: With the help of ecommerce mobile apps, businesses can send push notifications to their customers. Thus, instantly informing them of any offers and discounts.

Brand Recognition: Having an ecommerce app also gives a brand boost and makes the brand stand out. Customers often start recognizing brands after seeing their apps on Android or iOS marketplaces.

Last Updated: 20th November, 2023

The blessing of digital growth and high proliferation of smartphones has led to a seismic shift. Individuals are deriving enormous value from custom built applications as mobile phones continue to connect and empower them.

Additionally, businesses have understood that applications tailored to meet definite needs of the audience increase customer engagement while promoting products and services at the same time. Covered in this blog are distinctive insights on developing a custom mobile application.

Table of Contents:

• What is Custom App Development?
• Custom Mobile App Development Types
• Advantages of Custom Mobile Apps
• Industry Specific Mobile Apps
• Modern Technologies for Custom App Development
• Step by Step Process of Custom App Development
• How to Make Money from your Custom Mobile App?
• Why Custom Mobile App Development is a Better Choice?
• Recent Projects Completed by FATbit
• Conclusion

What is Custom App Development?

Custom app development is a process of creating robust solutions that are aligned with the requirements of individual businesses. Custom mobile apps deliver agility with customer-centric processes, pivotal for seamless end-user experience, creating brand value, and more. This segment can further be divided into:

• Custom Mobile App
• Custom Web App

However, in this blog, we will only be focusing on the development of a custom mobile app.

What is a Custom Mobile App?

Applications that are specifically designed and developed for mobile devices with a specific OS like iOS, Windows, or Android are known as custom mobile apps. These applications are tailored to the requirements of clients, to meet specific needs of their audience (target).

Applications that are custom-built provide a highly interactive UI to the user and can be easily downloaded from the app stores. Every custom application is built with a definite set of functions and activities to perform.

Custom Mobile App Development Types

According to Statista, mobile apps are projected to generate more than 935 billion in 2023, so developing a custom mobile app is the way forward to enhance consumer reach and gain online market presence. However, the next step of choosing the type of development for your app is crucial. Covered below are two types of custom mobile applications:

Native Apps

These are software programs that provide flexibility to develop a custom mobile application and cater to specific platforms or devices. Native applications allow coding from scratch and are ideal for building lifestyle, gaming, productivity, shopping, weather apps, and more. They also provide optimized performance by incorporating the latest technology. With that said, these applications are the most expensive and can take the longest to build.

Hybrid Apps

These applications are a cost-effective and time-saving alternative to native apps. Built using Javascript, HTML, and CSS, these applications are developed once but can be deployed on multiple platforms. However, their performance is slightly below that of a native app, but due to the internet speed, difference in performance is shrinking noticeably.

Advantages of Custom Mobile Apps

Diverse and dynamic custom-built applications have offered exponential benefits to businesses across the globe. Apart from providing a competitive advantage, listed below are some other benefits of custom mobile apps.

Improves Efficiency & Productivity

Custom mobile applications are designed keeping particular requirements of clients in mind. This helps as the focus is primarily on the main functionality. This enhances productivity and performance, leading to higher efficiency.

Offers High Scalability

Custom mobile applications are developed by keeping certain parameters in mind. So, when a business starts growing, applications that are custom-built serve the purpose even when the scope (business) expands as they are scalable. On the other hand, regular applications might only be able to handle a limited load. 

Secures App Data

Custom mobile applications have in-built security features that general apps may lack. These customized security features prevent data breaches that might cost fraud, identity theft, loss of intellectual property, data tempering, and more. 

Integrates with Existing Software

A custom development app company can integrate apps and softwares as per client’s request for specific operations. For instance, an application can be integrated with WordPress to obtain better user experience.

Improves Customer Relationship

Apart from other benefits of a custom mobile application, customer engagement is the most holistic one. Customized apps allow users to give their feedback and provide businesses with an opportunity to have a one-on-one exchange with the company. It allows businesses to solve problems and develop meaningful relationships with their customers. 

Facilitates New Client Data Retrieval

In a custom-built application, client data as per requirements can be collected discreetly by adding forms and surveys to the app. It is time-saving for both employees and clients as physical document submission is not required.

Record Digital Files for Accountability

To cater better to users, information containing ideas and thoughts can be recorded and stored securely using custom mobile applications. These recordings can be accessed by authorized staff only, thereby, improving accountability and helping the business serve its customers better.

Ease in Project Management

Custom-built applications can be installed to manage the progress of projects with their deadlines. After the completion of each phase, updates can be sent to the client. These applications also help with the billing cycle for each stage of the project.

Provides Real-time Project Access

A custom business application provides information in real-time as it synchronizes all of the communication. This provides real-time access of information to every member of the team. The application helps in ensuring that everybody is aligned with the project requirements and the progress made so that deadlines are met. It also favours the clients to have complete information, post-project development.

Industry Specific Mobile Apps

Several industries in today’s era are looking to elevate their brand and make profit by catering to the need of user convenience. Covered below are various industries that have embraced custom mobile applications.

Healthcare Apps

Healthcare apps are customly designed to assist individuals in monitoring their own health conditions, allowing them to keep a track of their medication and seek consultation. These applications also allow healthcare providers to report and share patient’s personal health records remotely.

Through these applications, patients can message and schedule an appointment without any hassle. These applications have the ability to improve the experience of a patient as they are convenient and they can also reduce the costs of care.  

Eg: Generis: DNA & Nutrition

Manufacturing Apps

Manufacturing apps turn industrial workflows into data collecting, instrumented digital processes that integrate operator, machine and sensor data to achieve business goals. Ranging from real-time equipment monitoring to universal CRM software, manufacturing apps are fine tuned for tracking and recording.

Eg: Manufacturing 360

Transport and Logistics Apps

With technology acceleration, gone are the days when customers waited for several days to receive information regarding their consignment. In a data-driven world like today’s, tech-savvy customers access all the necessary information quickly on the move by using a transport and logistics application. These applications help with streamlining the processes, fleet management and providing real-time data to customers anytime and anywhere.

Eg: Veeqo 

Retail Apps

Retail business apps allow retailers to engage with their customers and provide complete information about the products virtually. Retailers can easily track and understand customer behavior so that they can develop product marketing strategies to scale their business.

Retail applications also provide an unprecedented opportunity to retailers for providing sales support, increase customer retention and provide better customer experience. These brands are effective in brand building.

Eg: Xero

e-Learning Apps

The traditional ways of teaching and learning have been changed with technological advances and the emergence of Covid-19. Students and teachers can virtually connect via e-learning applications and are not required to be physically present in a classroom.

e-Learning apps facilitate learning and students can access resources available on the application. Teachers can easily deliver lectures in an engaging way, grade and give feedback by using these apps.

Eg: Coursera

Entertainment and Media Apps

Media and entertainment are no longer untouched by the proliferation of mobile apps. By using mobile technology, entertainment and media industry avails lucrative benefits like reducing content duplicacy, providing videos, movies, songs to streamline and download either free of cost or at reasonable prices. This segment mostly covers:

• Video streaming apps
• Music streaming apps
• Photo editing and sharing apps
• Gaming apps

Eg: YouTube

Food and Hospitality Apps

The option of ordering meals from anywhere at anytime using the food delivery apps has surpassed user convenience. Food and hospitality apps also act as a one-stop solution for increasing customer engagement, ordering food conveniently, making reservations, and hassle-free payments. In the backdrop, the workforce constantly stays connected to meet the needs of the guests.

Eg: UberEats

Modern Technologies for Custom App Development

Step by Step Process of Custom App Development

1. Pre-app Development

Brainstorming

The first step before approaching a custom app development company would be brainstorming. As a starting point, one must have an idea and should research based on it before getting started with the custom app development. Thinking about an idea that either facilitates many lives or resolves an issue is important.

Identifying the Target Market 

Once an idea has been brainstormed regarding solving a problem, then understanding the target market is important towards the application’s success. Universal examples can be considered under this section.

Airbnb wanted to earn money by focusing on low/middle income travelers, while Duolingo targeted people who wanted to learn a foreign language but lacked funds. These descriptions of the target audience are excellent examples to start with marketing research. 

The following questions can be used to base the research of target audience:

• Who are they? ( Age, Gender, Occupation, Income, Location, and more)
• What will make the application unique?
• What purpose will be resolved by the application?

The data can be gathered by asking the people around and finding their preferences. Collecting data will help in developing target user profiles. 

Business Strategy

Once the idea and the target audience is defined, it is time for planning. Developing a sophisticated strategy towards the success of the application that will impact customer satisfaction rate leading to revenue generation is important. The questions towards developing a business strategy include:

• How will the end-users learn about the application? 
• How much budget will be required to gain market traction?
• How much will one user acquisition cost?

These questions might help more once the app is released, but they also impact the technological side of the application and are crucial for deciding deep linking, SEO optimization, slots for ads, and more. 

Specifications & Core Functionality (Tech Stack)

This step includes defining overall technical and functional specifications so that the developers can understand the vision and deliver the solution as per requirements. 

From the technologies available in the market, it is important to choose the technology stack for both frontend and backend development. The main components of tech stack include:

• Back-end Technology Stack- Includes programming languages, database and web servers, powering the application from server-side.

• Front-end Technology Stack- Forms the visuals of the custom mobile application and comprises HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Besides, Javascript and Jquery facilitate interaction of users with the application.
  

Third-party integrations can also be considered for multiple payment gateways, social media plugins, and more. High-level planning like expected number of screens with button names, functional design, and more can also be included. However, at this stage of planning, gathering more information to define the specifications will ultimately generate faster development results.  

Choose your Development Method

After deciding the technology stack, a method of development can be chosen. Two distinct methodologies are prevalent in the market that can be used to develop a custom mobile application. These are:

• Waterfall Methodology- The working takes place in a sequential method with a linear process, where going back to the previous phase is not allowed. The next phase is only pursued when the previous phase has been completed. 
• Agile Methodology- Is flexible and works on iterations to incorporate time to time enhancements. This leads to the delivery of the working app (or a functionality) after each development span.

Finding Experts to Develop a Custom Mobile App

Once the idea, business strategy and tech specifications have been thought through, it is imperative to find and partner with reliable app developers or a leading custom app development company. The following points can be considered while finding experts to develop a custom mobile app:

Go Through Listings- Go through listing websites to assess the credibility of mobile app development companies and services offered by them. 

Check Portfolio- Portfolios of selected development teams can be browsed to see if they have prior experience of developing a similar application. 

Check Market Presence- This can be done to check if a company has received an award for the solutions developed. The social media presence of those applications can also be checked.

Check Customer Feedback or Referrals- A company or a team of developers who have positive feedback or referrals are easier to work with. Check for client testimonials and compare before selecting. 

Consider Location (Offshore or Onshore)- It is important to consider whether you would want an offshore development team or an onshore. The onshore development team consists of native or local individuals while the offshore is opposite. Here checking the hourly pricing of development is important before making a choice.

Sign a Contract- A contract having all the app requirements, technical specifications, deadlines, and more should be signed so that unfortunate incidents such as disputes can be handled.

2. Development

Set Measurable Milestones

To keep track during the development process it is important to set milestones. These benchmarks ease the tracking progress. The idea is to divide the development project into smaller parts.

Each project segment should complete within the specified time. Based on the complexity, the completion of the task could vary from a few days to a few weeks. The progress can be measured against the timeline of milestones to make sure that the team is meeting the deadlines.

Create an MVP

Development of a custom mobile application should start with MVP (Minimum Viable Product) development. The creation of MVP focuses on the app’s most essential features, i.e. what will make the app functional? Those features are to be incorporated first. Other features can be added later.

For example, referring to the analogy of a house. The MVP would be walls and a roof, not the interiors. Considering a custom messaging application as an example, the MVP would allow two or more users to send messages to each other as the core functionality. Other features like video chat, uploading features, or adding a background to the app can be incorporated later.

Quality Assurance

Once the MVP of the application is built, it needs to be tested for any functionality errors. In the real world, unidentified bugs can create havoc if found by users, so the QA process should not be undermined.

There are many different ways an application can be tested. A quality assurance person can check on Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and more. The initial requirement is matched with the MVP, responsiveness is checked and bugs and errors are reported to the development team.

In addition to testing the app by a QA specialist, usability testing with actual test users, such as early adopters, can also be done. Once the application is fully tested and is free from functional defects, it can be deployed. 

Deploy

This is the last stage of the development process. Once the app is tested it can be deployed for the general audience to use. To get the app to the market, it needs to be submitted to different app stores. The requirements vary for Google Play Store and Apple App Store. So the submission guidelines should be well understood, otherwise, the app could get rejected.

3. Post Launch Preparation

Marketing your App

Mobile app marketing is all about increasing user interaction with the application. Even the finest app developed can go in vain if it is not well promoted. So a new custom mobile application should be marketed appropriately to garner user interest.

Having a digital presence on various platforms drives visitors to the applications. Promoting the application on social media channels like, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more, can target a broader audience.

Behind the marketing strategy of the application, the idea should be to attract more users. Other marketing methods can include app demonstrations through video promotion, PPC campaigns, Search Engine Optimization, App Store Optimization, and more. Needless to say, early stages of marketing ultimately define the success of the application.

Track KPIs

The only way to track the success of an application is by measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as speed and uptime. But sometimes, something as simple as database performance or server utilization can be critical to the application. However, the most effective KPIs are custom to the application itself. These can be based on:

• Are users adapting to the application?
  
• How many users are downloading?
• Are users uninstalling the application?
• Do users reuse the application?
• Which component of the application is generating results or requires improvement?

For example, there is a feature on the app which the majority of users are taking advantage of, but during development it wasn’t considered as the core component. In such a case, the information received from tracking can help in determining how to make the feature more accessible like adding it to the homepage or moving it up on the side menu. Basically, monitoring KPIs and reacting quickly to any potential errors can help in achieving business strategic goals.

Gather Feedback

It is important to get feedback from users once the application is launched. As soon as the application is deployed and real customers are using it, ask them for their opinion about it. Users who participate in the feedback will genuinely be invested in the success of the application.

Sometimes, feedback can be related to the cost increase or change needed. But, it is important to ask questions that give users the opportunity to be honest. Their response can help in prioritizing features that need to be incorporated, ultimately preventing churn.

Make Improvements 

As discussed in the previous step, feedback is crucial. Working on improvements and releasing a new version of the application as per feedback helps with user retention. An app that fails to improve can cause people to stop using it and push them to choose alternatives. When changes are done to an application, same steps of development as discussed above, should be followed.

Subsequent deployments can create errors that did not exist in the past, i.e. something that worked in the previous release might have stopped working due to the updates in this one. Hence, before making the app available to the public with new updates, it is important to put it through quality assurance.

Maintenance and Support

Like improvements, maintenance for an application is ongoing. If your application comes out with new versions, mobile operating systems for Android and iOS will come out with updates too. To make sure that the application is compatible with the latest versions of the operating system, retaining the development team is important.

Compliance levels and regulations are subject to change too. Keeping a custom application in sync requires ongoing maintenance. And, as the application scales, better customer support is required as users might have questions, complaints or feedback regarding it.

4. Official Release

Behind a successful application, is a team that constantly works on its updates and improvements based on the user-feedback, as discussed formerly. After following similar steps of development and quality assurance (regression testing), new version releases are made available to the public.

How to Make Money from your Custom Mobile App?

A Custom mobile app is a great way to generate revenue for your business. Listed below are various monetization methods.

In-App Advertising

Advertising is the most practiced way to earn money from a custom mobile application. Partnering with businesses who are looking to build an online presence and giving them visibility on your screen in the form of advertisements/banners will make way for a constant inflow of money.

In-App Purchases

In-app purchases allow customers to make the most of the services offered by a custom mobile app. But, enhanced facilities and value additions come at an additional cost. A good example of in-app purchases would be that of a gaming application. As the users progress through the game, they can unlock levels, purchase coins or badges by paying real money through in-app purchases.

Subscription

Subscription is another way of earning money through custom mobile applications. Users are charged on a monthly or annual basis for using the application. The subscription fee covers perks consisting of free access to useful content. If it is a fitness application, then a user can interact with coaches and avail the diet plans at no additional cost. Users have the flexibility to choose the plan of subscription according to their requirements.

Paid Apps

A custom app development company can build tailor-made applications to meet specific requirements of the users at an additional cost. The price of the application depends on the market’s pricing matrix. But a demo version of the custom application can be created so that the users experience first-hand perks of the application. Once customers are aware of the sophisticated features incorporated, they are more likely to pay for a premium version of an application.

Sponsorship

Sponsorships are more exclusive than advertisements and are less random than banner ads. If a custom mobile app is built keeping a specific niche in mind and the needs of the target audience are met, then sponsors might get attracted to the app. They might exchange a prominent placement in the app if it will promote their business. Using analytics data for fact-based demographic profiles and usage patterns will be imperative to reach the right sponsors.

Why Custom Mobile App Development is a Better Choice?

With the increase in adoption of mobile devices and technology, customer expectations of having an application of their choice has increased. Mobile apps that offer more features (customized) catering to a specific purpose are increasingly becoming popular among the masses and entrepreneurs are constantly trying to capitalize on the solutions. Reasons include:

1. A Solution Provider & Problem Solver

Apps with custom requirements address a vast array of problems. Almost every business is investing in making custom applications to fulfill their business needs, boost brand awareness, enhance customer base, generate income, and more. The general audience also uses custom-built applications as a one-stop destination to make purchases online or to efficiently stay connected with friends and family via chat. 

There are specialized people whose job is to identify problems and to come up with solutions that are later developed for customers, clients, or users. As long as the perspective is clear with defined goals, problems big or small can be solved by customized apps.

2. Adding Value

A custom mobile application is a great way to interact with your customers. Considering food delivery applications where customer engagement plays a vital role, businesses can add value by running promotions that are accessible 24×7. 

They are the most credible and reliable ways for a business to:

• Collaborate
• Deliver a personalized user experience
• Garner reliable customer data
• Get honest customer feedback
• Create additional revenue streams

All this information allows entrepreneurs or startups to run successful campaigns that have a huge impact in creating brand awareness and adding value with ease. 

3. Customer Loyalty

Custom mobile apps cater to user specific needs efficiently and effectively. As customers prefer personalized experiences, to best suit their needs, features that are custom built can be incorporated into an application. Furthermore, loyalty programs can be run to retain and reward customers for loyalty.

4. Branding

Branding is a way of creating an image with a set of distinguishing features to promote recognizability and brand awareness among the audience. By interacting with the app, users can perceive and form a visual image that is important in formulating the reputation of the brand. A few core elements essential for branding are:

• Logo and App Icon
  
• Graphics 
• Keywords 
• Landing Page 
• Product Videos

By building an interactive custom mobile app, you are painting the picture of your company. It is important to stick to your brand’s colors, fonts so that the brand can be easily recognized.

5. Increased Sales

Building a custom mobile application requires in-depth research. This helps in impressively meeting the needs of the audience as in every phase of development enough brainstorming is done by the company’s skilled professionals. This results in a high end custom built product that seamlessly provides exceptional user experience, reduces churn and increases the chances of sale. Additionally, these applications prevent customers from purchasing products from other players in the market because 46% of consumers like to shop using the purpose built app of the company which can eventually increase sales.

Recent Projects Completed by FATbit

FATbit Technologies has crafted cutting-edge experiences for its clients by orchestrating user-centric products. Further, by incorporating agile methodologies, the company has built intuitive mobile and web applications, thereby, making businesses scalable and profitable. Recent projects architected by FATbit Technologies include:

Uni Diamonds – Exclusive B2B Diamond Trading Platform

Based in Israel, UNI Diamonds is the world’s first online business-to-business Diamond Trading Marketplace. Launched as a common trading platform for diamond sellers and buyers to search, compare, buy, sell or bid diamonds post verifying the information as per available market data.

With the following domain-specific features the team of FATbit Technologies delivered front-end web and mobile applications (Android and iOS). These are:

• Smart search
• 360 Degree vision view
• Stone view analytics
• Diamond price negotiation
• Time-bound diamond rental
• Bidding module
• Direct purchase
• Multi-user role
• Full logistical solution
• Google tag manager
• Price synchronization

SpinTel – Telecommunication Company

A telecommunication company based in Australia required Android and iOS applications for its customers. The requirements were well understood and for further enhancements, the team of FATbit shared their inputs to accentuate user experience.

By using the application of SpinTel users can:

• Monitor their service usage
• Receive important alerts about their accounts and services
• Chat with the support team
• Quickly access full features of ‘My Account’ that include:
  • Manage account and services
  • Buy data-blocks
  • Change plan 
  • Move the broadband service to another address

The deliverables of the project required integration of custom mobile apps with existing infrastructure of SpinTel. Both android and iOS mobile applications were delivered with strict adherence to guidelines for scalability and security.

Elapso – Automatic Wallpaper Changer App

Elapso is an automatic wallpaper-changing mobile app that was designed and developed from scratch by FATbit Technologies. Wallpapers are a reflection of the user’s mood so the application was designed with a beautiful interface and was custom built as per the client’s requirements. Other features of Elapso include:

• App content can be viewed in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Italian)
• A practical and beautiful way to break the pattern of monotonous thoughts
• Phrases and quotes can be changed every hour or every day
• Offers trial period, subscription plans, and auto invoice generation
• Easy to use

The deliverables of the project-centered around user experience design and the majority of work were done in the development phase. The application was highly personalized to meet the finalized requirements from the client.

Conclusion

The mobile app industry has reached a new equilibrium by radically changing, redefining the market and reconditioning users. Keeping in purview, user convenience, the demand for custom built applications has risen exponentially.

Organizations are continuously evolving for operational efficiency and to meet user needs (deep rooted in their choices). Addressing the requirements, a custom mobile app development company can craft a best-in-suite solution for businesses to do more.

The role of technology in legacy processes has changed the way services are designed. Education is one of the prominent areas where the scope was immense and the outputs have been quite rewarding.

Online and eLearning have emerged as the most significant focus for both those seeking means to learn and the development service providers as well. Every aspect of eLearning today is developed with the thought of keeping the essence of knowledge sharing and teaching alive. The available options and choice of modules have contributed to taking knowledge seeking to a new level.

Educational apps seem to be the future that will set the stage for what dimensions to expand on. Through this blog post, we give you information on steps you can follow as a guide if you are one of those seeking to enter the ed-tech space and contribute to the growth of this sector.

Table of Contents

• Latest Trends in Mobile Learning and Education App Development
• Benefits of eLearning App Development
• Different Types of Education Apps
  ―Learning Solutions for Students
  ―Learning Platforms for Teachers
  ―Self-Learning Solutions for Professionals
• Essential Features to Include While Developing an Education App
• Create an Education App – The Guide
  ―Questions to be Answered Before Proceeding for Educational App Development
  ―Step-wise Process
• Factors & Considerations: Education App Development Services
• Factors that Might Cause Roadblocks
• Conclusion

Latest Trends in Mobile Learning and Education App Development

As learning transitions from classrooms to homes, developing learning formats that are easily accessible over multiple devices has become an imperative. Allowing learners to enhance their horizon of the way they pick up their courses or tutorials, mobile devices like tablets and mobile phones are increasingly becoming the popular mediums.

With the expected rise in mobile assisted services like grocery, food, and general e-commerce, the app development companies have solved education through the means of mobile too. Apps like Duolingo, Coursera, Google Classroom, and many more for different kinds of learning have gained much traction, especially during the unfortunate pandemic lockdown.

Trends and Stats

Current trends bring clarity about the choice and convenience of the learners as well as the teachers or experts involved.

• With eLearning apps being the most downloaded with an 8.5% rate, the highest on mobile devices.
• With the growing market for online learning tools, the demand for new ed-tech tools amongst investors is increasing.
• Advanced technology-backed tools are attracting all the investments.
• With the whole of eLearning occupying close to 20% of the investment structure, almost 16% directed only to mobile learning tools.
• Along with smartphones and tablets, the cloud coming into the picture has made PCs almost obsolete. Smart cloud storage has enabled accessing data on mobile devices from anywhere at any time.
• Improvising the learning processes lead to the introduction of microlearning, allowing professionals at work to catch up on topics quickly as ready reckoners. Corporates today are opting for applications providing crisp pointers on various matters of expertise.

Looking at the current scenario as well as the predictions for the future, mobile apps seem to remain as the choice for developing most learning options.

The figure below depicts the rise of educational apps in 2020, dominating the industry as the pandemic wave hit the world.

Source: Statista

eLearning Market Tendencies and Favorable Geographies

If we consider where the mobile app development industry is headed to, the geographies actively engaging in development of the mobile formats of eLearning are probably going to change as well as dominate the market tendencies.

Migration of learning patterns to online or eLearning depends on certain market factors like stability, economic growth, adoption rate of technological developments, and penetration of smartphones and their usage by large. As projected, the USA and Canada seem to fit these criteria of becoming the largest educational app markets by 2025.

Considering the most prominent of the factors, the students, and the rate at which their base is foreseen to increase, the Asia Pacific region will presumably dominate. Also, rate of implementation of technology in these regions as well as in Singapore and Australia is highest, so lucrative geographies for the ed-tech app development markets lie in these areas.

Benefits of eLearning App Development

While we consider discussing the benefits of eLearning app development, it is important to understand the benefits in both, business as well as academic learning. Although there are specific advantages to both segments.

For Businesses:

– Track employee progress easily
– Provides ready access to solutions
– Improve productivity and efficiency

For Academic:

– Bridge gap and connect experts to learners across boundaries
– Allow a flexible learning format for all types of requirement

We enlist here for you the most prominent benefits that strike a chord as to why eLearning app development is going to be the most widely accepted formats.

Mobile or Ubiquitous Learning

An eLearning application enables users to access their knowledge banks from absolutely any place being fed with an internet connectivity. Mobile devices like tablets and smartphones have become common household gadgets, and if these were to become platforms of gaining education in any form, their purpose would be served.

Educational applications downloadable on iOS and Android systems will facilitate a ubiquitous form of eLearning. Students or learners can connect for their learning program both via audio as well as video over the application itself. Offering connectivity and harboring large quantities of content at any point of time are just a few of the benefits that add to the weight of going for an ed-tech app development.

Progressive Form of Learning

Learning is a prominent area being conceptualized on a whole different platform enabled by technological advancement. eLearning applications available readily over mobiles, tablets, and desktops have taken skill enhancement and education to a new level. 

Providing robust server support with enormous storage capacity, the eLearning applications are exploiting the cloud technology to the best of its capabilities and in the best interests of the industry segment.

When the learning formats and modules become so advanced, the basic nature of the process becomes a progressive one. eLearning app development has connected the software world so intricately into the everyday lives that it has now become impossible to stay away from the impact of progress across domains.

Systematic and Self-learning Focussed

References have depicted that when the learning process is intermediated with intermittent testing, it enhances memory and results in better retention of concepts. eLearning applications supplemented with pop up quizzes, quick multiple choice tests, and assignments bring an element of self-assessment in between the learning process.

The process in which learning proceeds with components of learning content and evaluation at regular intervals promotes a streamlined learning with better retention in the working memory.

The scores prompt the learners to do more and achieve more moving ahead in the course of the program enrolled. The app design allows integration of this element, enhancing the learning process holistically.

Better Outcomes

Improved learning elements, options to merge interactive learning with self-study, and self-assessments with eLearning applications will automatically give better outcomes with respect to performance and progress.

Learners will be motivated to cover more and will always be enthusiastic about what will come ahead, giving an edge to the eLearning apps as a medium for learning.

Economical

The economical significance of developing educational apps is convincingly demonstrated by the fact that where only 1-2% students are registering for on-campus courses, the growth in the percentage of students choosing online methods is nearly 5%.

Costs related to travelling, on-site campus fees, as well as other facilities are anyways more compared to what the eLearning apps charge. The method of learning through education apps proves economical as well as more in control of the learner, and hence ends up being the choice.

Different Types of Education Apps

Education app development is increasingly becoming the pathway ahead for major technology service providers and the module of choice for the eLearning audience. The development of these apps is however dependent on the audience it will invite or target. 

Based on the majority of user types of educational apps, they can be classified broadly into learning solutions for students, teachers, and adults who take up self-learning through online courses.

Learning Solutions for Students

Developing educational or learning apps for students is one of the most profitable steps to take from a business point of view. Catering to a user base that is the litmus test for the success of a technological development is a challenge in its own. Students by definition can vary with respect to age and type of knowledge being gathered.

The mobile learning solutions developed thus need to be diverse as well as specific, both at the same time to draw maximum benefits while reaching the widest user-base possible. We have tried to discuss the prominent types of learning apps being developed for students.

Apps for Classroom Curriculum

Educational apps developed with the purpose of facilitating students with their everyday classes are mostly supporting the school curriculum. The apps provide a medium for the students and teachers to connect for teaching the subjects as per regular school schedule. There is provision to share video, image, as well as written content during the ongoing video classes.

Also, the teachers and the students both can upload, access, moderate teaching material, assignments, and schedules over the app. The flow of information both ways allows a virtual classroom like environment. 

These apps came out as a massive contribution to the education industry during the global pandemic 2020. Schools, colleges, and students were able to survive their roles due to the popularity and reach of smartphones in every nook and corner.

Apps for Exam Preparation

While educational eLearning applications allow users access learning material at the ease of their availability with respect to time and location, they can be developed for more specific causes that augment the entire learning experience.

Developing specific applications that support various test formats like multiple choice and subjective, tutors can upload various question paper types for different subjects, just to acquaint the students with examination scenarios.

Users from all walks, school students, entrance exam aspirants, as well as advanced studies, download these apps to get an understanding of the kinds of questions that they can face in their exams. The instant evaluation of their attempt allows them an assessment that helps propel their learning process.

Apps for Language Learning

Learning an additional new language is more of a trend. Since the world is becoming a closer knit place, people want to learn a new language to explore opportunities in the geographies of their interest.

eLearning applications developed for language learning purposes provide a platform for language experts or tutors from various parts of the world to sign-up for tutoring lessons, either one-on-one or group sessions, and share their language proficiencies as per demand.

The learners can search for tutors and compare profiles as per their need, purpose, and expectation from the language course.

Suggested Read: How To Build An Online Language Learning Website Like Verbling– Business Model & Key Features

Apps Catering to Online Courses

Advanced and professional courses are no more limited to a college curriculum. Students prefer taking extra courses to strengthen their knowledge spectrum for a particular subject or even the entire field. These apps are specially designed with separate databanks for different course materials. 

Users can register and access material for the course purchased and personalize their account based on their choices. Meticulously designed courses to provide complete understanding of a topic in many interesting ways helps improve compliance to the subject matter as well as drive interest to learn more.

Learning Aids – Gamified Apps

The apps that offer smart or unique ways of learning different concepts are developed on gamified basics. They help engage students in different activities in order for them to learn a particular topic. With gamified programs supporting the learning process, the popularity of these apps is most among the school going students.

Reading concepts on the mobiles or devices could get tiring after some time. The gamified apps tend to break the routine and refresh minds by involving the students to actually participate in creating, developing, building, and applying the things they have studied.

Apps for Kids

Despite the debate of reducing screen time for kids, the COVID outbreak forced adoption of modern eLearning methods. It is this opportunity that the developing community grabbed and made the best out of, so as to make the kids feel channelized in the most efficient ways.

eLearning applications that make learning an entertaining and engaging experience for small kids changed the idea of introducing learning concepts to children. Parents today look for apps that take their kids through an innovative process of learning different things, those with which they can relate to in their everyday lives as they grow.

Learning Platforms for Teachers

While developing education apps the focus is almost always on the learners. But expert instructional designers understand that a dedicated app is needed for their teaching and assessment activities also. These apps provide them the tools and easy management of their student learning aids preparation and saving them for further references.

Suggested Read: How to Start an Online Tutoring Platform – In-Depth Study of Business Models & Key Features

To Store Teaching Material

Online or eLearning desires preparing teaching aids and content in formats that can be easily shared via app platforms. PDFs, powerpoint presentations, videos, as well as audio content requires quite a lot of space on the device memory.

Apps have made feasible storing endless amounts of such data or content on the cloud, and accessing it all easily at any time. Becoming a one spot storage location for all the teaching material, systematically organized into separate compartments for convenient access whenever needed is one of the primary benefits the educational app development has added to eLearning.

Planning and Scheduling Apps

Those managing students and preparing material for learners are doing a lot of planning as per the progress of each course or curriculum. Separate apps that provide calendars with options to set reminders and updates enhance the efficiency of those organizing various eLearning programs.

Planning and scheduling apps just make their lives easy by helping them store upcoming events and activities in a manner that they can easily be reminded of them well in advance.

To Evaluate Student Progress – Grading Apps

Educational apps making lives easy could not have been better demonstrated than by grading apps. Where an average teacher spends more than 95% of the time checking and analysing assignments, grading apps help automate the process, saving their time, giving them more to plan new tasks.

These apps not only evaluate the assignments, but provide a student-wise, class-wise, subject-wise, and various other types of analytical reports to the teachers to use during the online learning programs.

To Assess Performance – Testing Apps

Testing apps are developed specifically for teachers to easily prepare different formats of assessments for the students of different classes, curriculums, or courses. These apps allow teachers to easily generate tests and assignments along with their answer keys stored in a stepwise manner.

Students can register and access these as per their individual or class learning needs. The applications can be developed so as to assist students to analyse their growth subject-wise. The apps can also be supplemented with an LMS (learning management system) that allows specific tests or assignments to different students based on their grasp of the subject.

Self-Learning Solutions for Professionals

Experts interested in sharing their knowledge and contributing to the advancement of their fields need to have dedicated platforms for the same.

eLearning mobile applications that allow them easy ways to upload and share their teachings, via video lectures, learning aids, written content as presentations, and more, are increasingly gaining popularity among the teaching community.

Advanced Courses

These apps are supported by a strong cloud infrastructure that harbor data related to advanced professional courses. Those registering on these apps usually pay per course or lecture or a series of talks.

The apps enable accessing data on cloud infrastructure uploaded by individual experts or facilitators like Udacity, conveniently available even in offline mode if purchased and downloaded inside the application.

To Attend Live Talks

Certain eLearning apps are developed only to connect learners and experts for live talks and lectures. They provide a base where viewers can register for scheduled lectures from professors and seniors anywhere in the world.

They facilitate live access to these programs, and even some interaction or question-answer sessions post the talks. A direct server provides a platform for all users to connect simultaneously and visualize the talk along with audio connectivity for interactions.

Essential Features to Include While Developing an Education App

Some of the components of the education app architecture that help coordinate the development process are:

• Interface: Interaction between users – Synchronous or asynchronous
• Communication – One way or both ways flow of information
• Monetary Interactions – Purchases happening over the app
• Code Availability – Open source or on-pay basis
• Multiplicity – A single app or a community
• Location – Services as per user location
• Safety – Exchange allowed as per user identity

Source: ResearchGate

Create an Education App: The Guide

Development of an application for the purpose of learning via mobile devices like smartphones and tablets is a combination of creativity as well as understanding the eLearning processes. Prior to beginning the development, understanding who all will use the education app is an information of primary importance for the developer.

Questions to be Answered Before Proceeding for Educational App Development

Certain clarifications if at hand before any efforts are put into the development of an eLearning app, the outcome or product will probably suffice all requirements and meet all expectations. A few questions between the product admin and the tech team will speed up the process, enhancing the overall process of learning.

Clarity in Requirements – How much to build?

When we start developing any application, we must be aware that there are endless boundaries to explore across. But we must keep in mind that there are certain limitations to be honored. Considering the primary objective of the eLearning app development, the design and inclusions must be pre-decided. 

Whether the app will cater to students, young or senior, professionals, or teachers only, will help decide on the architecture and integrations at an early stage. The inclusions for server support as well as data storage can be based on the requirements shared by the admin. Developing to a point where the app could go live and start enrolling users must be the agenda initially.

What technologies to integrate?

The development team should be made clear whether the app being developed will serve as a platform for live classroom teaching, or will simply cater to textual content sharing between users. Integration of supporting technologies will depend on the primary purpose being met through the educational app development.

The tech team will appropriately decide to include HTML5, JavaScript, and cloud connectivity based on the sophistication of the knowledge and users who will register on the app.

What business model to follow?

Some education apps are only to provide a platform for learners and tutors to connect online and teach, whereas others will be facilitating a lot of activities simultaneously. Whether just exchanging video content, connecting for group seminars, viewing presentations, or discussing a topic, all of these when happening over a single app, demonstrate different business models.

If the business model, or kind of admin, tutor, learner engagement is definite from the beginning, the app designer and developer can together build an interface that will contribute to the efficiency of the entire process happening over the eLearning app. Appropriate software architecture will allow a smooth and uninterrupted learning to happen.

Step-wise Process

Now that we have reviewed various parameters and pointers to consider and when to create an education app, here is a run through the points that will help through the process.

Ideas for the App

The main point of consideration to begin with is the kind of app to be built. Be certain whether the app is primarily for the students/learners, the tutors/teachers, or corporate professionals. The user stories should be accordingly designed and the flow down the app should be able to help meet the ultimate goal of the education app development.

Business and Market Research

An in-depth knowledge of the eLearning market will help develop an application that caters to the users in the best possible way. A sound business research will provide insight into the competitor apps, and contribute in filling the existing lacunae. Information of the problems being faced by users by the way of a thorough study on the existing educational apps will help a great deal.

Team for Development

The team that goes behind creating the educational app must be complete from all aspects. A team that goes behind building a robust eLearning application should have the following expertise:

• A UI-UX professional – to build screen flow or user journeys.
• Developer or Coder proficient in app building languages like Swift, Kotlin, Java, React Native and in managing MySQL databases.
• App tester skilled in exploring the built architecture for all operations. 
• Release assistant trained in DevOps for efficient deployment of the application on play stores across operating systems.

Technology Stack

A senior business analyst engaged from the tech team will understand your requirements and the purpose of launching the educational app. A technology stack that helps meet the custom requirements is necessary rather than choosing to fix what tools to exploit for the development.

• Majority apps that support eLearning processes, across iOS and Android operating systems, with 3-D animations and gamification functionalities are Native applications. 
• If planning to opt for a simple and quick launch, the HTML5 web apps, or Hybrid cross platform apps will serve. 
• Other than limitations in allowing you to experiment with the eLearning processes over the app, these will allow some basic exchange of information, along with settling comfortably on the pocket.
• Expert advice will always however side the Native application due to the vast opportunities it will place at hand to develop attractive UI-UX.

App Testing

The developed educational app must be tested on all spheres, for the server performance as well as the user interface and features. The tester on the development team will usually be exhaustively exploring the built sections, as per different user profiles that will be expected to use the application.

Some ready-made app testing tools or manual testing can help accentuate the testing process, and bring out the areas where refinement is needed. The app must be tested extensively for the following:

• Regression testing
• Load testing
• Device testing
• Usability testing
• Status report

App Release

The release of the created eLearning application post the testing process will include detailed release notes along with the testing status report supporting the documentation. The DevOps expert on the team will be responsible for launching the application on play stores for both iOS and the Android operating systems.

The final operation sign off will allow streamlined downloading of the application on all devices.

Factors & Considerations: Educational App Development Services

As a business owner, deciding to build an education app is not a step to be taken without keeping in mind the factors surrounding the development scenario. The rationale behind the education app creation must be met from all aspects of its design and development.

Factors to Keep in Mind for UI-UX

The user journey across the application developed for eLearning must provide with ease, access to various modules. The flow of the app should allow the user to comfortably move from feature to feature and make transactions as required for the course material. An unhindered and streamlined application will add to the appeal, maintaining the user interest.

Content Authorization and Certification

Every eLearning application providing courses with study material and learning aids must add some checks to authorizing the content uploaded or available over it. The tutors, teachers, and experts must have verified profiles that authenticate the available matter, adding to the reliability of the application.

Also, the certifications provided on completing the course must be through an authoritative body, whose acknowledgement adds to the credibility of the user’s time spent on learning over the app.

Choosing an App Development Company

A very important parameter while developing an educational app is choosing the right technology partner. A team with adept members, skill sets, and knowledge on the eLearning domain are a must.

Opt for developers who have already delivered eLearning solutions and teams that have successfully helped launch eLearning portals and applications. Only those who have troubleshooted the challenges on the way to developing eLearning platforms will be able to guide you the best way forward.

Factors that Might Cause Roadblocks

Some areas that might crop up as roadblocks while developing the eLearning education app prominently revolve around the generic issues that are prevalent around any online service being offered via a mobile application.

The infrastructure must be chosen depending on the user volume, flow or journey of the user through the application, and the data sharing it supports. Some problems that might arise despite keeping all the checks:

• Data security on the server
• Speed of the internet connection utilized while running the app
• Outdated technology that fails to meet the current document or content requirements

The development team if proficient will have all these factors in mind and will design the application in accordance with the latest development tools and technology.

Conclusion

Since the world is now at an entirely new place in terms of accepting technology mediated processes in all spheres, online education and eLearning have come out as popular areas that demand an app interface.

With every educational organization and prospective entrepreneur wanting to enter the league of going mobile with their course or eLearning module, a custom mobile application seems to be the ultimate answer. 

But developing a competitive and convenient application that makes the learning process worth the time spent online and gives it an edge above the traditional methodologies is a piece of skill. This quick guide will act as a checklist to keep an eye on the important aspects that must not be missed while the development process of an eLearning application.

The enormous success of online music platforms like Spotify makes startups think of creating their own music streaming apps. However, entrepreneurs must have an in-depth knowledge of the phases involved in the music app development process. In this blog, information regarding the design phase, development phase, and key reasons of using the agile methodology for creating a music streaming app is shared. But before moving further, let’s understand why developing a music streaming app like Spotify is a lucrative business idea for entrepreneurs.

Table of Contents

• Why is Creating a Music Streaming App like Spotify a Profitable Business Investment?
• The Design Phase
• Technology Stack for Creating a Music Streaming App
• Agile Methodology: Why Entrepreneurs Must Use it for Music Streaming App Development
• Essential Features to Include in the MVP of Your Music Streaming App

Why is Creating a Music Streaming App like Spotify a Profitable Business Investment?

• The global revenue in the music streaming segment is expected to reach upto US $21,315m with a CAGR of 5.4% by 2025. 
• The total number of active users are estimated to amount to 933.2m by 2025.   
• As of October 2020, Spotify has a total 320m active users out of which 144 million are paid subscribers. 
• In the third quarter of 2020, Spotify generated revenue of over 1.98 billion euros, up from 1.73 billion in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal period.

The Design Phase

The user interface of a mobile app is responsible for delivering an outstanding customer experience with a polished look. In this fast-paced era, where decisions are taken within the blink of an eye, an appealing user experience design could be the best way to keep your users hooked onto your music streaming app. Below-listed are some crucial steps involved in the design phase of an app development process:

Wireframes

Wireframes are designed to get a clear view of the initial look of an MVP. These are the conceptual layouts that define the visual structure of a mobile app. The main purpose of creating a wireframe is to narrow down the ideas and organize the visual components like buttons, pop-ups, and text-fields in particular screen size. Wireframing an app also helps designers to overcome technical limitations in the initial stages of the development process. For a music streaming app, one can create a wireframe using online wireframing tools like Adobe XD, Sketch, Canva, Moqups, and more.

Style Guides

A style guide depicts how all UI elements of your music streaming app will be visually represented. It not only makes the designing interfaces more methodical but also helps developers identify incongruous interface elements without any hassle. Some crucial elements that must be used to create an impressive mobile app style guide include:

• Colour Palette- to decide the color of your app theme
• Typography- to identify font family, size, and style of your app’s text
• Grids- to ensure proper spacing between the elements
• Icons- to find the app logo and inner-app images

Mockups

A mockup consists of both structural and visual elements. It is designed by applying the style guide of a mobile app on to the wireframe to showcase the high-fidelity design of the end product. The primary reason behind creating a mockup is to understand how visual elements of an app will look like before the final stage of the design phase. Entrepreneurs can use mockups to share basic design ideas with their clients in the early stages of an app development process. In short, mockup could be defined as a design model with additional visual elements than a wireframe, but without the detailed functionality of an app prototype.

Prototype

Though mockups are used to demonstrate the basic app functionality via static designs, prototypes are used to depict how your mobile app will function. A prototype could be considered as the demo version of an app that enables developers, clients, and users to inspect the effectiveness of an application through a proposed mobile app design. The feedback received from users regarding your prototype could help you rectify minor app errors and develop a robust mobile app.

The Development Phase

The development phase of a music streaming app is about writing the code using the right tech stack and implementing an effective app development methodology to speed up your app development process.

Technology Stack for Creating a Music Streaming App

The tech stack of a music streaming app consists of programming languages, tools, technologies, and frameworks, required to create front-end (Client-Side) and back-end (Server-side) of an application.

Front-End Technologies

For Mobile Apps

The programming languages for creating the front-end of an android app are Java and Kotlin. In the last few years, Kotlin has become the most preferred app development option for developers due to code conciseness and compatibility.

For an iOS app, Swift and Objective-C are the widely used programming languages for front-end development. Swift offers some powerful features like clean syntax, higher speed, quicker code compilation, security, and many more.

For Web Apps

One can build the front-end of a web application using HTML and CSS. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language that is used for structuring and placement of information on a web page. CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets that enhances the look and feel of a web app. 

Back-End Technologies

PHP is the prominent language for server-side scripting. Though the server of a music streaming app receives millions of user requests simultaneously, many people prefer to use Node.js over PHP to provide a smoother user experience. Besides, below-listed features unveil why Node.js is the best choice for creating the back-end of a music streaming app like Spotify:

• Scalability: Node.js can handle multiple user requests with very low latency due to its single-threaded event-driven architecture.
• Modularity: Node.js supports modular architecture that makes it easy for users to make modifications in the existing application.
• Security: Node.js is brimmed with numerous features that protect mobile apps from modern-day hacktivists and cyber vandals. 
• Speed: Node.js comes with ready-to-use codes, in-built libraries, and plugins that enable developers to build a mobile app in a time-efficient manner.

Database Server

In case of a music streaming app, the database server is used to provide audio streaming services to the users. Due to its compatibility with standard streaming protocols, Wowza Streaming Engine is considered the best media server for audio and video streaming. From Adobe Flash Player to Apple’s QuickTime player, Wowza media server can stream to numerous playback devices simultaneously.

Agile Methodology: Why Entrepreneurs Must Use it for Music Streaming App Development

Agile methodology is the most popular software development methodology based on iterative and incremental approach. It is a dynamic app development process in which the entire mobile app project is divided into sprints which are treated as smaller development cycles.

These independent sprints are distributed to various project teams. After the completion of each development cycle, it is presented to customers to gather their reviews and feedback. Due to its iterative nature, entrepreneurs must use the agile methodology for creating a music streaming app like Spotify.

Apart from that, here are some prominent reasons that make agile the widely-used methodology for music streaming app development.

1. Effective Risk Management

A music streaming app has to go through a number of iterations which allows entrepreneurs to take calculated risks. App users can use MVPs to check the basic app functionality and notify developers about existing bugs. Music streaming mobile app developers can make necessary changes as per the user’s feedback and all risks can be managed before the final release of the app.

2. Improved App Development Speed

The entire project is distributed among various app development teams which helps in reducing dependencies and inter-team discussions. Furthermore, it is easy to keep a track on activities performed by team members on each sub-project and to handle project deadlines without any difficulty.

3. Enhanced App Quality

Every sprint is tested which decreases the risk of encountering an error during the quality testing of the entire app. App developers can inspect errors and make adjustments accordingly in the early stages of the development process without compromising the app quality.

4. Reduced Development Cost

Agile, unlike traditional app development methodologies, enables entrepreneurs to make an estimation about the overall app development cost. Since app developers receive the user feedback after completing each module, it’s easy to avoid including the features that don’t catch the user’s attention. Skipping the functionalities that don’t engage app users will not only save valuable time but also reduces the risk of cost overruns.

Essential Features to Include in the MVP of Your Music Streaming App

1. Registration/Sign-up

The registration process should be simple to provide a seamless user experience. Social media integrations could help users to log in to the app within just a few clicks. It is recommended to ask users about their birth year and zip code so that your music streaming app could recommend tracks as per their age group and region.

2. Search

This feature will help users to find a track based on their favourite artists, albums, genres, and other interests. Adding a voice recognition option will help users to search for a song or an artist using their voice commands.

3. Payment Gateway Subscription

Including multiple payment gateways like net banking, debit/credit card, UPI, e-wallets, etc. will allow paid subscribers to make online payments with ease and convenience.

4. Push Notifications

It is the best feature to enhance user engagement and provide a more personalized experience. Users will receive timely updates regarding the latest music industry trends, release of new songs, upcoming albums & movies along with many other relevant details.

5. Online Streaming

An online streaming option will let users enjoy live events, virtual concerts, jamming sessions, radio room discussions, and other music launch activities from anywhere and anytime as per their availability.

Conclusion

Whether it’s a youngster or a senior citizen, music streaming apps like Spotify have become the real craze of the people of every age group. Music streaming is a hot trend these days and considering the current market scenario, it won’t be wrong saying that the demand for music streaming apps will not fade anytime soon. Therefore it is the right time for entrepreneurs to invest in music streaming app development.

Doctor appointment booking apps have increased the overall effectiveness of clinics, hospitals, and online healthcare marketplaces while streamlining processes. Such apps permit patients to connect online with doctors. Not only doctor appointment booking mobile apps are a reliable & effective solution, but they are also the future of clinical progression and a distinct, new phase in the patient-doctor relationship.

Perks of Developing a Doctor Appointment Booking App

For Patients

Doctor appointment booking apps grant patients an option to ‘Book Anytime, Anywhere’ and also allows easy access to doctors. Furthermore, the appointment booking feature makes the lives of elderly patients, and those who are suffering from life-long ailments or are bed-ridden more comfortable.

Cost Associated with eConsultation is less than in-person Visit

According to UnitedHealthcare, an e-consultation visit costs $50 as compared to $130 for an urgent care facility visit and $740 for an emergency room visit. Furthermore, as per recent research, 71% of emergency room visits can be avoided. Most of the patients don’t need to visit the emergency department for minor health problems.

For Clinics & Hospitals

Doctor appointment booking apps enable healthcare providers to manage their appointments with increased efficiency while providing more reliable management. Essentially, it has features like displaying closed appointments and no-shows, complete appointment history of the patient, and analyzing the doctors, thus improving proficiency, keeping errors to a minimum, and saving valuable time on tiresome administrative tasks.

Workflow & Revenue Streams

Workflow:

Patient 

• Sign In
• Search & Select Doctor
• Book an Appointment
• Receive Notification 
• Consult with Doctor
• Select Payment Method
• Give Feedback

Doctor Side

• Sign In
• Complete Profile
• Share Timeslot
• Approve Appointment
• Communicate with Patient
• Payment Management 
• Prescription

Admin Side

• Sign In
• Data Appropriation
• Calendar 
• Notification
• Communication
• Payment
• Prescription & Feedback

Revenue Streams

Commission-Based model

In a doctor appointment booking app, the admin has an option to earn profit by charging a commission fee behind each booking. Here are the steps that may take place under commission-based model:

• A patient browses the website and initiates a search based on the medical problem.
• After selecting a doctor, the patient proceeds to make a booking fee.
• Once the payment is made online, the admin receives the complete booking amount.
• After deducting the commission fee, the admin transfers the remaining amount to the doctor.

Paid Listing

The paid listing feature works with specific filters that can be used in a doctor appointment booking app. For example, a patient can perform a search to find doctors for specific medic problems, treatment types, problematic body parts or organs, treatment at a nearby medical facility, and others. Accordingly, the search results may appear.

In such a feature, the doctor pays to get listed on the search results page. While there are multiple ways to implement this feature, following steps can elaborate the use of this feature in a simple and general way:

• After signing-in, the doctor may click on the “Advertise” tab and select “Paid Listing”.
• A new web page may load with multiple options to make the Paid Listing appear on relevant search queries.
• After selecting the criteria or placement of the listing, the doctor proceeds to make the payment.
• Using a payment gateway, the money is transferred online to the website admin.

General Advertisement

A doctor can advertise on specific web pages at certain places. The homepage is generally the most common place for advertisement. Different sections of the website can be used to display an advertisement. Ideal places include header section, mid-section of the webpage, and above the footer for banner advertisement. The places can be modified during the web design and development process and as per the client’s preference. Here is the general process to explain how a doctor may choose to advertise:

• The doctor may visit the promotion and advertisement section.
• Depending on the client requirements, different options can be provided. Few of them include pay-per-click charges, placement of advertisements.
• Option to upload an image that can be used as advertisement.

Now, let’s take a look at what the leaders, ZocDoc and Practo, offer.

SWOT Analysis of ZocDoc & Practo

ZocDoc:

More of ZocDoc:

• An in-app reminder keeps them stuck to their medications and appointments.
• A map to search for doctors in their insurance network and vicinity.
• Reviews from patients are significant when other users are looking to book an appointment with a physician.

Practo:

More of Practo:

• Practo created a SaaS product for doctors to easily organize appointments, track past medical records, and provide e-prescriptions.
• Practo adopts a Premium Listing method according to which doctors, clinics, and hospitals have to pay for the listing price to stay on top of the search list.
• Practice Management System (RAY) for doctors and clinics to capture patient data and give reminders and messages to the patient – sold to Doctors on an annual contract basis.

Salient Features of a Doctor Appointment Booking App:

• Practo created a SaaS product for doctors to easily organize appointments, track past medical records, and provide e-prescriptions.
• Practo adopts a Premium Listing method according to which doctors, clinics, and hospitals have to pay for the listing price to stay on top of the search list.
• Practice Management System (RAY) for doctors and clinics to capture patient data and give reminders and messages to the patient – sold to Doctors on an annual contract basis.

Doctor Panel

• Introduction – An ‘About Us’ or a general introduction section about the clinic/hospital is important to attract users. Write down an informational piece of message that should introduce your services to your users, and also inform them why they should choose you as their primary healthcare provider.
• Login Process – Make sure the login process is easy & quick. A doctor appointment booking app should also have the option of logging in with a social media account or via an OTP.
• Doctor’s Profile – A doctor’s profile should contain information about their certification, experience, competency, and languages spoken, their specialty, price, preferable time for an appointment, available insurance, and their location, among other things. It should enable their users to make an educated decision about their choice of doctor.
• Appointment Management – A doctor appointment booking app should permit doctors to manage, check, cancel, or view the status of their appointments. This feature leads to better optimization of the time and money of a doctor/clinic/hospital and is essential for a more reliable working system.
• Request Management – Accepting & rejecting appointment requests is a simple task but a designated feature/button in the doctor appointment booking app will make it even more accessible to the doctors.
• Functionality – Before everything else, showcase specialty/functionality for your users. Your patients should know what kind of service they are to expect from the clinic/hospital & whether it caters to heart, bones, diabetes, or other conditions or not.
• Telemedicine – Telemedicine, also known as online consultation via built-in chat or video-calling, has changed the way the healthcare industry used to operate, therefore, it is vital to have this feature in your doctor appointment booking app. Moreover, some patients demand to consult a doctor first before visiting the clinic.
• Customer Data Management (CDM) – Cloud-based e-records/Patient-Treatment History and Family History are crucial for understanding the illness of the patient. CDM plays a significant role in determining a dangerous illness in its early stages which could be a defining agent between life and death.
• Trackers – Your Doctor Appointment Booking app must have a feature where the patients can track their medicine prescribed by their doctor. This tracking system also assists patients to adhere to their medication schedule.
• Data Sharing – Health Literacy is low in the US, facilitating the option of sharing files with clinics, specialists, clinic staff, and more & hence become a vital feature to have.
• Payment Modules – Automated invoice and payslip generation, multiple payment options, payment history, fee calculation, among other things are essential for a systematic working of a doctor-patient relationship.
• Rating – Ratings given by the patients should announce the credibility, legitimacy, and ability of a clinic since it also paves the way for better adoption of improved healthcare methods. 
• Online Prescription – Online prescriptions are way more useful since they contain in-depth aspects of medications, its usage, and names. Also, you can directly send the prescription to the pharmacy and receive medicine while staying in the comforts of your home.  
• Banking – Revenue transfer to the bank & generating automatic invoices are key for a medical practice’s survival. Add a proper feature in the doctor appointment booking app accordingly.

Patient Panel

• Patient Profile – Name and phone number, address, and other essential information should be included in the complete profile of a patient including their photo. 
• Functionality – For a patients’ panel, an option to determine the requirements according to category i.e heart, bones, to every area must be included. 
• Dynamic Search Filters – Specialty & expertise of the doctor, price range, time availability, and accessible insurance are the dynamic search filters that should be granted to the users. With the help of these filters, patients can make an intelligent choice while choosing their healthcare provider.  
• Appointment Management – Booking, rescheduling, canceling, and managing appointments using a calendar or home-visit will make it substantially easier to manage daily affairs. 
• Payment – Multiple payment options – Credit card, Debit card, e-Wallet – makes the process of appointment booking much more manageable. It should have fewer actions, must minimize the processing time, and should be laced with top-notch security. 
• Tele conferencing – Online consultations or built-in chat enables a patient to discuss any additional concerns or queries. An add-on feature of app-to-app calls could also be a vital component of a successful doctor appointment booking app.  
• GPS Tracking – In order to easily locate the patients and/or the clinic/hospital, GPS tracking is needed. 
• Push-Notifications – Reminders, Push Notifications & Social Media sharing are also crucial. These provide the latest updates i.e., from HIPAA and other medical institutions which enable patients to stay up-to-date with the current scenario. 
• Wearables – Apple watch is one of the prime examples of how wearable devices have revolutionized the Healthcare industry. Their integration with the Doctor Appointment Booking app is significant as it will alert the emergency services in case something goes wrong or special attention is required for a patient. 
• SOS – One-Touch-Ambulance-Call button is mandatory for a patient panel. Doctor appointment booking app should render convenience & assurance to the patients, therefore, it becomes essential to look after patients’ health, especially in an emergency. 
• Medication Tracker – Online prescriptions are way more helpful since they contain in-depth information on medications, names, and its usage. 
• Ratings – Ratings given by the patients should indicate reliability, legitimacy, and expertise of a clinic/medical practice. It also paves the way for a more suitable appropriation of enhanced healthcare classifications. 
• Support – A Doctor appointment booking app must have a support section. Since not all the users are tech-savvy or know the whole process, a support section will enable users to understand it better which will allow clinics to work more efficiently. 
• Referrals – Loyalty Programs are essential considering not all the patients are from well-to-do families and may require assistance. A referral program will enable them to avail services of a doctor appointment booking app without burning a hole in their pockets.

Admin Panel

• Manage Users & Doctors – An admin panel requires data associated with doctors and patients both to manage it properly and more comprehensively. 
• Content Management System – The role of an admin panel in CMS is to ensure informative blogs/articles to exclusive health-related posts by health experts are made available to the users of the doctor appointment booking app. 
• Analytics – It is used for the identification, understanding, and presentation of meaningful patterns in data. Predictive analysis & real-time is the base of effective health management of the patients.  
• Marketing Tools – For the promotion of a respective clinic/hospital, marketing tools are important. Since the admin panel takes care of external things, effective marketing should be put into regular use to maximize their effects. 
• Modes of Communication – From email to video conferencing, a doctor appointment booking app should offer multiple modes of communication for the benefit of the doctor and patients alike. 
• Notification Module – Notifications keep you up-to-date about the daily tasks and keep the whole process in-check & in order.  
• Report Generation – It is essential to check the daily activity of the app, therefore, the report generation feature is a must for a doctor appointment booking app. It enables you to understand where you may require some improvement and which area is now your strong suit. 

How Technology Complements Healthcare Industry

Pain Points and Use Cases:

Use Cases

Comprehensive EMS Data Collection – With the guidance of the Clinical Data Management system, EMS providers can compare a hospital’s diagnosis in real-time, and take necessary measures accordingly. It digitally stores data, thus substantially improving the workflow of the healthcare marketplace.

Innovation in mHealthcare – Several apps available on the online marketplace help women relax and soothe their pain during pregnancy. With a doctor appointment booking app, women can e-consult doctors,  especially during odd-hours or in regions where medical services are not as effective.

Patient Management – Doctors, nurses, and other caregivers within a healthcare marketplace can use their smartphones to manage patients. In a doctor appointment booking app, its main features include managing patient rounding, patient information, room allocation, diagnosis, e-Prescriptions, billing records, among other things. It results in better staff optimization and improved productivity.

Timely Medications and Systemized Processes – For a doctor appointment booking app, the core function of this feature is to send out push notifications as per the medication schedule. This feature also makes it easier for physicians to keep track of their patient’s health.

Life-saving Wearables Devices – Wearable health trackers and smartwatches can gather important health data such as heart rate, blood sugar, posture control, sleep patterns, and other physical activities. It helps patients get more control over their health and fitness routine.

Extending Rural Access –  Around 3.6 million Americans miss getting medical care due to lack of affordable, accessible, and reliable transportation. Other factors like geographic scope, cultural backgrounds, and languages spoken, along with other economic, health, and social obstacles may prove prohibitive for patients in getting medical care.

With doctor appointment booking apps, accessibility in rural areas has increased that enabled them to get medical care which wasn’t possible earlier.

Pain Points

Sensitive Data

According to a recent study, 81% of the mHealth apps share consumer data with Google and Facebook. And only half of these mHealth apps are clear about their data-sharing practices. This ambiguous practice puts patient data security at risk as they are unlikely to consider future implications when met with a pressing healthcare issue. On top of that, most of the mHealth apps are prone to Cyberattacks. Business owners generally put security on the back burner, thus, further exposing the user data to threats.

Solutions

• Provide access control of Patient Health Information (PHI) to relevant people.
• Permission should be required to check access is given to the right person.
• Automatic log off features with specific options can be implemented.
• Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be used to check the integrity of health data.
• VPN also makes use of strong encryption algorithms to protect PHI.
• To protect the patient data an option to delete the data from user-end can be provided.

Security-first Software Development

According to the HIPAA Journal, several mhealth apps, including FDA-approved ones, have security issues. Furthermore, a study conducted by Arxan Technologies revealed that 84% of FDA-approved mhealth apps present a notable threat of data exposed and devices being compromised. These vulnerabilities arise because most of the business owners do not prioritize a security-first doctor appointment booking app development, that exposes their whole system to danger. Preventive measures like developing a  HIPAA compliant app and involving a security expert will immensely improve the digital delivery of the doctor appointment booking app.

Solution

• Maintain a 24/7 log of traffic on the network and identify rogue attacks.
• To secure the data, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) should be preferred.
• An alternative secure solution can be to use a superior algorithm in the OSI stack.
• While encryption is ideal, considering going for end-to-end and MD5 encryption.

Communication Barriers

One of the major problems faced by the mHealth industry is the absence of clear communication channels. Lack of proper infrastructure, inadequate internet speed, shortage of technical knowledge, among other things are some of the major communication barriers faced by healthcare providers.

Communication personalization is a decisive force for healthcare marketers in a value-based healthcare marketplace. Additionally, the use of telecommunication, online discussion platforms, and real-time meetings to facilitate asynchronous consultations improved approachability.

Besides, digital communications modernized healthcare experience considerably. Now, healthcare professionals have the freedom to monitor health symptoms, signs, and even blood pressure level while being located far away from their patients.

This helped in the effective and economic management of chronic conditions. With the rise of mHealth apps, smoother communication via intuitive communication channels will be a guiding force for doctors and patients alike.

Solutions

• Priority can be given to intrahospital communication such as transmitting patient records
• Channels of communication should be open between hospital and 3rd-party researchers
• Superior error control mechanisms can be used to ensure relevant entries in the database
• Adequate use of tools pushes patient-doctor and inter-departmental communication

Big Data for Transparency

Big Data is collecting & analyzing consumers’ physical and clinical data that is too complex to be understood by conventional means of data processing. To pick up warning signs of serious illness early in a patient’s life, doctors want to learn as much as they can because treating a disease at an early stage is far simpler and way less expensive.

Also, with the help of healthcare data analytics, portraying a complete picture of a patient’s health will let the insurers provide a more suitable package. By creating a holistic, 360-degree view of consumers, patients and physicians, hospitals can improve healthcare efficiency, effectiveness, and personalization of the treatments. Identification of patterns in health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and hospital growth is vital for the advancement of the healthcare sector as a whole.

Solutions

• Risk scores feature can be provided based on patient-generated data.
• Risk scores can be used for insights on hospital readmission rates.
• Analytics can be integrated to predict patients who may skip an appointment.
• Visualizations tools can be used to present scheduling changes.
• The analytics feature can present insights into supply chain ordering patterns.

Rural Connection

For several years, doctors and hospitals have been trying to find a fitting solution for the limited healthcare access for the population residing in the rural parts of the U.S. The problem is two-fold – their inability to attract, afford or retain speciality providers and lack of health insurance. Thus, Telemedicine could very well be the answer to these problems.

Telemedicine addresses economic stability by accommodating rural residents to save money on travel expenses. It also overcomes the difficulties residents face in areas where public transportation is inadequate and strengthens overall patient engagement. Since the treatment is usually delivered locally, it also benefits several specific rural populations, including rural residents with disabilities, those struggling with substance use disorders and/or mental health conditions, and those with limited English proficiency.

Solutions

Video conferencing feature can be used to connect hospitals in rural areas with those in metropolitan areas.

mHealth App Variants

Everyday Health Apps

Everyday Health apps essentially consist of tracker apps that aid in keeping track of the daily activities. By using analytics, it weighs metrics and other details to make distinct conclusions. Apps like Runkeeper, Calory Counter, and more send the notifications to its users with the updated numbers on their respective devices.

Hospital & Electronic Health Records (EHR) Apps

EHR apps are popularly used to document patient history while allowing online access to Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for the attending physicians. These apps not only save data that improves productivity but also permits physicians and clinics to provide safer remedies & prescriptions.

With app features like online appointment and in-app payments, EHR apps can substantially improve the overall proficiency of a hospital or a clinic. To set reminders for appointments and adherence to medication, EHR apps also provide an in-App Calendar.

EMR App

EMR (Electronic Medical Records) apps have proven to be a great differential in the healthcare industry. These apps enable physicians to online access patients’ medical histories that empower doctors to provide safer healthcare services. COVID-19 pushed the need & demand for EMR apps considerably. During such a perilous time, it enabled physicians to observe their patient’s situation and disease without risking their health.

Factors to Consider While Developing a Doctor Appointment Booking App

Target Hardware – While developing on iOS is faster development time with Android takes more time. Accordingly, the cost also varies. Furthermore, the target audience is the major deciding factor when it comes to choosing the right hardware.

Interoperability – Interoperability with the existing Clinical Management System (CMS) used by the hospital staff is essential. It enables the clinic/hospital to assert an effective and seamless working system, therefore, ensure that your CMS has interoperability.

UI/UX Considerations – 21% of millennials tend to delete the app if the user experience is not good. Design of a doctor appointment booking app should be user-friendly. Moreover, it should be according to the target audience needs – large fonts for old people, neutral colour for the colour blind.

API Components – Ensure the API components used are deployed accurately for more secure authentication and communication between separate components of the app.

Develop Iteratively – An initial app design is likely to be flawed, resulting in cost overruns and sometimes, even project cancellations. Industry experts support using agile development considering risks are mitigated at the beginning, changing requirements are accommodated efficiently, and reusability can be increased that results in a robust end product.

Data Security – The app servers are built for speed, not security, and are not difficult to breach into thus, business owners must insist on end-to-end encryption or send data over secure communication channels.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – MVP accommodates a great deal in arranging customer’s feedback which is important for business development & growth. It is essential to have sufficient features to provide the primary users. As a business owner, it will also help you understand how many added features you need in order to draw more users to your platform.

Device Security – Cybersecurity is a major issue today. Android apps are less secure than iOS apps are, and yet, Android constitutes more than 80% of the smartphone market today. Make sure that you’re hiring a professional & experienced doctor appointment booking app development company that will ensure the safety of the device and the user data by deploying secure methods.

Testing Healthcare Applications – Testing is imperative; a business owner must test the security in accordance with different authenticities like PII, PHII, and HIPAA compliance. For doctor appointment booking apps which require a geo-location service, carefully check the accuracy and preciseness, build a real-world scenario, test the application with poor connectivity, test performance by setting high load and performance benchmarks, and check the adaptability of your app by testing it on various platforms like iOS & Android.

Doctor Appointment Booking App Success Formula

• Retaining user-base is of utmost significance and as a business owner, you can achieve that by offering rewards, discounts, promos, loyalty offers, and other benefits.
• The focus should be on establishing a dependable network of doctors.
• Before everything, doctors’ authentication is paramount. Lives are at stake so as a business owner, you must validate each doctor’s certificates, licenses, and other vital documents.
• The Revenue Model of your Doctor’s Appointment Booking app is crucial. Therefore, carefully select your monetization strategy that will be beneficial for near-term as well as long-term plans.

Conclusion

Even though technology has taken over the world for good, real progress in the Healthcare sector still has a lot of distance to cover. Business owners need to acknowledge the importance of doctors for they are the present & the future of the Healthcare industry.

With the emergence of Telemedicine & mHealth, doctors can treat their patients virtually, and people in suburban & rural areas can finally avail healthcare facilities they have been longing for ages. To build a custom mobile app hire a custom mobile app development company like FATbit Technologies. As for business owners, mHealth is one of the fastest-growing & emerging industries in the world which should encourage them to invest their time, money & skills in this sector.

Last Updated: 21st November, 2023

Many people who are doing 9 to 5 jobs use mobile apps in their daily life. While many continue to use the apps, few think about developing and launching a mobile application. There are many new online business ideas based on different apps on online selling and buying, food ordering and delivery, social networking, online learning mobile app, and more.

Designing and developing a mobile app presents a unique challenge for a person with little or no knowledge of Android or iOS app development. A team of mobile app developers can enable an entrepreneur by delivering a custom mobile app that is robust and scalable.

According to a market research conducted by Statista, the total number of downloads for mobile apps may go up to 258 billion by 2023. At the same time, if you have doubts about how much the mobile app market is worth, then studies suggest that it may be around 700 billion.

It is equally important to make the right choice if you’re planning to hire a mobile app development company to develop your Android or iOS app.

With numerous app development companies available, selecting one can be a challenging task. To help you make an informed decision, I’ve listed some top mobile app development companies that you could hire to develop user-centric Android or iOS mobile apps for your business.

Table of Contents

• Benefits of Mobile App Development to your Business
• List of Best Mobile App Development Companies 2024
  • Best Mobile App Development Companies in India
    ― FATbit Technologies
    ― ValueCoders
    ― WDI – Website Developers India
    ― Arka Softwares
    ― CMARIX
    ― Mobulous
    ― Neetable Technologies
    ― Agicent App Company
    ― iTechnolabs
    ― Prometteur Solutions
    ― Hyena Information Technologies
    ― Aalpha Information System
    ― BootesNull
    ― DxMinds
    ― Classic Informatics
    ― Explorate Global
    ― Silicon IT Hub
    ― PixelCrayons
    ― Suffescom Solutions
    ― IPIX Technologies
    ― Lemosys Infotech
    ― Konstant Infosolutions
    ― NectarBits
    ― IndiaNic
    ― Consagous Technologies
    ― Hyperlocal Cloud
    ― Apptunix
    ― RipenApps
  • Best Mobile App Development Companies in the US
    ― SumatoSoft
    ― Nimble AppGenie
    ― Simform
    ― AppClues Infotech
    ― TechAhead
    ― Appinventiv
    ― Hidden Brains
    ― OpenXcell
    ― Utility
    ― Cubix
    ― WillowTree Inc.
  • Best Mobile App Development Companies in Other
    Countries
    ― ICTS Custom Software
    ― Cabot Technology Solutions
    ― Zesium
    ― Savvycom
    ― Cypress
• Conclusion

Benefits of Mobile App Development to your Business

Useful Marketing Channel

Businesses need marketing channels to spread the word around as well as to add value. The value varies depending on the marketing strategy. Mobile apps can be identified as an important marketing channel that can be leveraged by brands. For example, using the push notification feature, the brand can stay connected with its target audience.

Getting Ahead in Competition

It is challenging to sustain a business in today’s competitive era. A brand’s absence on one marketing platform may become a competitive advantage for its competitor. Depending on the marketing strategy in place as well as business objectives, a mobile app can be leveraged in different ways. The use largely depends on the type of business. For example, consider the following list of different mobile app types:

• Loyalty and reward mobile app like Starbucks
• Entertainment app like Netflix and Hulu
• Customer service and live chat app like Tawk.to or HeyZilo
• Content apps like Tasty from BuzzFeed

More Engagement

Mobile applications present a unique opportunity to engage with the target audience. Common examples include creation of discount offers, and launching deals that target certain segments of the target audience. Such deals can also include loyalty programs to retain customers over a longer period of time. There is a cost associated with engagement activities and developing a mobile application enables a brand to lower the cost. Here are few points to keep in mind while considering impact of mobile app on engagement:

• Across Timezones – Customers can operate Android and iOS mobile applications around the clock and throughout the year.
• Timely Information – Mobile applications compliment brand loyalty as one can push timely updates on new discounts, offers, and deals.
• Ease of Payment – Mobile payments are increasingly being used and well-supported by different business models. Mobile payments function exceptionally well with digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

More Revenue Streams

There are certain revenue streams that are preferred only on mobile applications. Such revenue streams can be categorized under “In-app Purchases” and the offering varies from one business to another. For example, a meal ordering and delivery application may add the following add-ons as a part of “In-app purchase”:

• Add a sweet dish during checkout to boost revenue.
• Include a tip for the delivery staff member.
• Purchase a subscription package to lower the delivery cost.

More Rewarding (In Case of Loyalty Apps)

Many business owners may face confusion in this area. Loyalty is a broad concept and may be implemented in different ways. The difference depends on whether a business operated within business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C). To identify this difference, consider the following two examples:

• Example 1 – A person wants to purchase a new automobile and goes to a car dealership. He also wants to sell his old car and adjust the cost. The car dealership may offer a value for the old car. Furthermore, if the company of the old car is the same as the new car, the dealership may offer a loyalty reward.
• Example 2 – The Starbucks app enables one to collect rewards with each purchase and use them as and when required.

The general goal of loyalty mobile apps is to focus on three points – rewards can be unlocked instantly, loyalty bonus can be availed with each product recommendation, and a small discount percentage for recommending a product over social media.

List of Best Mobile App Development Companies 2024

Mobile App Development Companies in India

FATbit Technologies

FATbit Technologies is a reputed custom mobile app development company that specializes in providing Android and iOS app development services to its clients using agile methodology. Founded in 2004, the company employs 180+ professionals who have successfully delivered 5000+ web and mobile apps for industries like education, fitness, healthcare, sports, media, entertainment, and more.

The company has been recognized by various market research and review agencies in the last couple of years. As a prominent leader in the IT industry, FATbit Technologies has also been featured in Fox 40, Business Insider, Forbes, Entrepreneur, HuffPost, Nasdaq, Business Reporter, and more. In addition to custom software development services, the company offers more than fifteen ecommerce software solutions for entrepreneurs, small-medium businesses, and large corporations.

Services and Solutions:

• Android App Development
• iOS App Development
• Hybrid Mobile App Development
• Mobile User Experience Design
• Mobile App Support and Maintenance
• Mobile App Testing
• React.Js Development Services
• React Native Development

ValueCoders

ValueCoders is an Indian outsourcing company for offshore software development services. Since its beginning in 2004, ValueCoders has been providing mobile app development services to its clients around the world. They combine their business domain knowledge, proven project management experience, and technological expertise of more than 450 trained professionals to produce high-quality solutions that add value to businesses.

In the past years, they have delivered 4200+ projects and worked with 2500+ clients across different industry domains such as healthcare, retail, ecommerce, travel & tourism, etc. Besides working on stable technologies such as iOS, Java, Android, Kotlin, & Swift, ValueCoders has core expertise in new technologies like Blockchain, AI/ML, IoT, and more.

Services: Web & mobile app development, Business intelligence consulting services, DevOps consulting & engineering, Software testing & QA services, Blockchain development services, and many more.

WDI – Website Developers India

Website Developers India (WDI) is a leading mobile app development company based in Mumbai, India. The company deploys “UX first design” strategy and the latest technology stack to deliver market-ready mobile apps and websites. WDI has been working in its respective space for 2 decades and has won multiple awards and recognitions for its work.

Being a growing leader in mobile app development, the organization delivers fast, high-performing, secure mobile applications that add significant strategic value to your team and product planning. The approach followed by WDI includes planning your MVP, identifying your target audience, and defining your conversion goals.

Every project delivered by WDI involves a delivery schedule that keeps the client updated with the development stages of the project. They remain agile to emerging customer requirements and have the ability to respond in the quickest possible time to any variable change in your business model or emerging needs.

Services: Mobile App Development, iOS App Development, Android App Development, Native App Development, Hybrid App Development, Design Thinking

Arka Softwares

Arka Softwares is an industry-leading mobile app development company with 100+ passionate developers and designers. It is headquartered in Jaipur, India with other offices in USA, UK, and Australia. Since its inception in 2010, the company has been helping its consumer-oriented clients to steer businesses with innovation-driven web and mobile app solutions. So far 600+ projects have been delivered to their clients from across the world including ambitious start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Moreover, Arka Softwares is dedicated to delivering digital products that can minimize modern business challenges and clear the path for future opportunities and possibilities.

Services: Web & App Development, Software Consultancy, Prototype & Concept Development, Android App Development, iOS App Development, Hybrid App Development, AI App Development, IoT Interface Development, Salesforce Development, CRM/CMS Development, Security & Compliance, Marketing & Analytics.

CMARIX

CMARIX Technolabs is a popular mobile app development company. Comprising a team of 170+ skilled developers and designers, the company has tailored 1100+ Web & 290+ Mobile applications across different business domains. It has 6 offices globally – India, United States, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, and Bahrain and takes pride in offering top-notch app design and development services. Their applications are known to be user-friendly that can aid in attracting users, pivotal for business growth.

Services: eCommerce development, Web application development, Mobile app development, Software development, Enterprise product development, Quality assurance & testing, Cloud deployment & maintenance, and more.

Mobulous

Mobulous is a top mobile app development company that provides excellent mobile and website development services with cutting-edge technologies including Artificial intelligence, Blockchain, Machine Learning, and many more. Since 2013, the company has developed and deployed platforms for multiple startups with the objective of desirable services.

The company has a team of highly skilled professionals that help businesses meet their requirements and more potential users. Mobulous has worked with several big brands, including Indiamart, Hitachi group, Square Mile, BBC, and many more. It has also been featured as the best mobile app development company in renowned publications such as Clutch, Goodfirms, Insight Success, etc.

Mobulous aims to provide users with custom mobile app development at an affordable price.

Services: Website Development, Mobile App Development, Hybrid and Native App Development, Blockchain Development, Cloud App Development.

Neetable Technologies

Neetable is a leading Custom web and mobile app development agency providing innovative app development services in the USA, UK, UAE, and India. With their user-centric and industry-leading app development solutions, Neetable helps companies and established brands worldwide to build impactful digital engineering solutions.

The company works with Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, and startups to provide enterprise-ready technology solutions. Its goal is to provide unique solutions that differentiate them from their competitors.  Neetable’s expertise in building mobile and web applications includes building intelligent solutions by leveraging technologies such as React.js, Node.js, Python, React Native, Flutter, Java, Python, .NET, Azure, AWS, etc.

Neetable serves a wide spectrum of industries including healthcare, fintech, edutech, food and beverages, logistics, etc. Neetable’s clientele includes MerckGroup, Phox Health, Equidefi, M&M Welding & Fabricators Inc., Milli-Q, and others.

Services: Mobile app development, Web app development, Custom software development, UX UI design, Blockchain Development, QA and testing, Hire dedicated developers, Cloud computing, DevOps, and MVP development.

Agicent App Company

Agicent App company has been offering high-quality mobile app development services since 2010, so 12 years and on. Agicent has flexible payment models for the clients and works on both fixed price and hourly or dedicated development team models. With a strong team of 80 +, Agicent has its offices in Noida, New Jersey, and New York, USA.

Agicent has delivered more than 1000 Apps, web apps, and IoT solutions to their 500 + client base in the united states. Agicent is the maker behind the famous HASfit App (4 million users), Astro for all app (50 K users in first 6 months), Wellcure Natural remedy App, Panasonic Lumix, and more.

Services: Mobile Apps Development, Mobile Apps design, Web Apps development, Offshore Software Development services, IoT and Embedded Software Development, Telecom Software Development.

iTechnolabs

iTechnolabs is a leading mobile app development company that offers businesses a wide range of web and mobile app solutions. Additionally, the company also excels in blockchain development and artificial intelligence solutions for efficient day-to-day operations.

iTechnolabs provides enterprise-ready mobile app solutions that help businesses in achieving maximum profitability. The company has an in-house team of experts with proven experience in app development in multiple niches including ecommerce, real estate, healthcare, and online education.

The custom mobile app development service at iTechnolabs helps you launch your business with uniqueness in design and optimal performance for an unmatchable experience for your target audience. At iTechnolabs, the team of professionals works together to ensure that your business achieves and keeps you updated on every stage of progress and effective communication throughout the development process of their apps.

Ultimately, the company strives to provide clients with user-centric and enterprise-ready solutions. As part of its mobile app development services, iTechnolabs develops Android, iOS, hybrid, and apps for wearable devices.

Services: Website Development, Creative Design, Digital Marketing, Mobile App Development, eCommerce Store Development, Blockchain development, and services in Artificial Intelligence.

Prometteur Solutions

Prometteur Solutions is one of the leading mobile app development companies in India. The company has a team of highly-skilled specialists who have delivered several iOS and Android mobile applications to their worldwide clients. The company was founded in 2013 with a vision to become the best IT service provider in the world. Whether it’s a startup or an SMB, the company makes best efforts to build long-term business relations with businesses of all sizes.

The team of developers at Prometteur solutions uses advanced tools and technologies to develop innovative iOS and Android apps. Headquartered in India, Prometteur Solutions has served clients from various industries like education, travel, retail, corporate, real estate, telecommunications, and many more.

Services: Web and mobile apps development, UI/UX design, IoT app development, ecommerce app development, cloud app development, digital marketing services, etc.

Hyena Information Technologies

Hyena Information Technologies is a well-known mobile app development company in India that specializes in offering innovative mobile app development services to clients all over the world. Founded in 1999, the company has a staff of 1000+ IT specialists that have completed several mobile app development projects for industries such as ecommerce, education, fitness, healthcare, sports, media & entertainment, and so on. Various research and review agencies have acknowledged the firm in recent years.

Services and Solutions: Mobile app development, android app development, iOS/iPhone app development, IoT app development, artificial intelligence, RPA, big data, machine learning, HR management, workforce management, cloud migration.

Aalpha Information System

Aalpha Information System is a top-rated mobile app development company in India. Having experience of over a decade in the IT industry, the company has served numerous clients based in 45+ countries.

With a dedicated team of 250+ IT professionals and a vision to transform businesses, Aalpha Information System believes in providing best-in-class app development solutions, that drive business growth. The company has been recognized as a top-rated mobile app development company by Clutch, GoodFirms, and many others.

Services: Custom Software, web & mobile app development, Saas development services, MVP development Services, eCommerce development, UI/UX design, Blockchain development, Game development services, API development services, Testing & Quality Assurance services, etc.

BootesNull

BootesNull is a leading web & mobile development company based in India. The organization holds 5+ years of experience in mobile app development. Within the initial time of the business establishment, the company also expanded its operations to Canada.

To craft a robust and result-driven web and mobile solution, Bootesnull blends technical expertise with its industrial experience and advanced strategies. BootesNull has created 150+ successful development projects.

The technology stack primarily used by the company includes Flutter, Java, Android, Kotlin, & Swift. Clients are pleased with the excellent IT services at an affordable price provided by Bootesnull.

Services: Web application development, Mobile app development, eCommerce development, Software development, Enterprise product development, Frontend Development, Backend Development, CMS Development, API Development, Quality assurance & testing, and more.

DxMinds

DxMinds is a renowned mobile app development company with its offices located in India, Australia, U.S., and Dubai. Founded in 2018 with a vision to become the most trusted digital transformation partner, the company employs a team of 200+ professionals committed to delivering user-centric app development services to its clients.

DxMinds has won “The Startup of the year award” in 2020 for its tremendous contribution to the IT sector. Within the timeframe of just 3 years, the company has served more than 60+ clients. Among solutions delivered, few include fantasy sports application, on-demand service app, on-demand delivery partner app, doctor consultation app, online book store app, agriculture process app, and more.

Services: Mobile App Development, AI App Development, Chatbot App Development, Blockchain App Development, Hybrid App Development, Progressive Web App Development, and more.

Classic Informatics

Since 2002, Classic Informatics has been offering top quality mobile app development services to startups, small & medium-sized businesses, and enterprises over the last 19 years. The company employs a team of mobile app developers that stay updated with the latest trends in the mobile industry to build flawless apps & solutions.

As a global mobile app and web development company, Classic Informatics has worked with numerous reputed firms like Canopy, Omnix International, The Market Mogul, Crane, Vonality, etc. For its tremendous contribution in the IT industry, the company has been recognized by GoodFirms, Clutch, TopDevelopers, and more.

The company focuses on adding value by creating mobile applications that are smart, future centric, scalable, and offer an engaging user experience.

Services: iOS app development, Android app development, Hybrid app development, Native app development, Web app development, MVP development, Cloud & DevOps development services, etc.

Explorate Global

Explorate Global is a leading mobile app development company that offers quality mobile app development solutions to businesses of all sizes. When it comes to business solutions the company drives brilliance through their expertise in mobile app development that helps you stay at the top of your business market. The company has an enthusiastic team of app developers who have rich experience in building exclusive and innovative mobile apps.

Mobile app development services offered by Explorate Global are designed to deploy robust apps leveraging a responsive development approach and standard coding proficiency, equipped with design patterns. The company incorporates cutting-edge technologies in mobile app development to keep your mobile app way ahead of the competitors.

Services: Native Application Development, Hybrid Application Development, Cross-Platform Mobile Apps, Custom Mobile App Development, Progressive Web App Development.

Silicon IT Hub

Silicon IT Hub is a future-ready web and mobile app development company established with a vision to drive the digital revolution. With its inception in 2012, the company has started growing at an ever-increasing pace by aiding businesses of every niche globally. The company owns a team of more than 150 professionals who have deployed a plethora of mobile and web applications to more than 500 customers in each corner of the world. Whether it is a simple mobile application or enterprise-grade solution, Silicon IT Hub is a one-stop solution for any customized software needs.

Services: Mobile app development, UI/UX design, Web app development, Amazon Web services, Blockchain App Development, IoT App Development, and more.

PixelCrayons

PixelCrayons is an award-winning digital consulting & engineering firm offering end-to-end solutions to enterprises, ISVs, digital agencies, and startups since 2004. Headquartered in India, PixelCrayons is highly acknowledged for its process-driven web and mobile app development, client-friendly policies, and on-time project delivery.

The company employs a team of 500+ skilled professionals, who’ve developed web & mobile apps for more than 6800 customers from 38+ countries. Over the last 16 years, the company has served numerous global leaders in the industry including Adobe, HP, eBay, Vodafone, Puma, and more.

PixelCrayons offers different solutions by leveraging internet of things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence-based chatbots, and more. In addition to Android and iOS mobile app development, the company provides wearable app development, quality assurance and testing services, and more.

Services: Custom web & mobile app development, UI/UX design, eCommerce development, Staff augmentation services, Testing & Quality Assurance services, etc.

Suffescom Solutions

Being one of the top custom mobile app development companies in California, Suffescom offers quality web and mobile solutions to businesses of all sizes. With proven knowledge of various industries like ecommerce, real estate, healthcare, and education, the Suffescom team can provide mobile app development services based on specific business needs. The team of 200+ professionals at Suffescom Solutions works together to deliver profitability for businesses with effective communication throughout the app development process.

The company offers various mobile app development services such as Android and iOS app development, wearable app development services, and IoT app development. Few of their clients include Couch to 5K fitness mobile app, Sendy pickup and delivery mobile app, and more.

Services: Web app development, Mobile app development, eCommerce app development, Education app development, Blockchain app development, and more.

IPIX Technologies

IPIX Technologies is a global leader in providing mobile app development services in India, U.S., and UAE. Their team of 250+ professionals has delivered over 3000+ web and mobile app development projects to clients since 2007. The company uses agile methodology to build scalable products.

Over the last few years, IPIX Technologies has also been listed among the top mobile app development companies by Goodfirms, Capterra, IT firms, and Clutch. The primary clients served by the company include Moby Group, GEMS education, Innova, Abella & company, etc. Other than custom mobile app development, IPIX Technologies provides Laravel, React.js, and Node.js, React Native, and flutter app development services.

Services: Custom mobile app development, Website development, UI/UX design, Digital Marketing, Software development, eCommerce solutions, and WordPress development.

Lemosys Infotech

Lemosys Infotech Pvt. Ltd. is an ISO-9001-2015 certified app development company with its offices located in India and the United States. The highly-skilled team at Lemosys Infotech is proficient in providing user-centric iOS & Android mobile application development services to its clients.

Since its inception in the year 2007, the company has developed 200+ mobile applications. Lemosys Infotech was also awarded by India 5000 with “India 5000 Best MSME & Quality Leader” award in 2020. Other than mobile application development services, Lemosys Infotech offers web development and design, graphic design, digital marketing, and software testing.

In 2019, a website, TopDevelopers, awarded “Top eCommerce Development Firms” to Lemosys Infotech.

Services: Android & iOS app development services, Hybrid app development services, UI/UX design, eCommerce app development, Laravel app development, Mobile app testing, etc.

Konstant Infosolutions

Konstant Infosolutions is a reputed web and mobile app development company operating from the past 17 years in the IT industry. The company was founded in 2003 with a vision to become the most reliable IT solutions partner for businesses around the world. The development team at Konstant Infosolutions believes in delivering flawless app development solutions that drive business growth. With 180+ IT professionals and more than 2500 worldwide clients, they’ve been recognized by top mobile app development companies like SelectedFirms, AppFutura, Clutch, IT Firms, SiliconIndia, and more.

The company aims to offer solutions that are client-centric and enterprise-ready. Within mobile app development services, Konstant Infosolutions adds value through development of mobile apps such as Android, iOS, hybrid, and wearable.

Services: Cross-Platform app development, web app development, IoT development, UI/UX designing, CMS development, cloud computing, and more.

NectarBits

NectarBits is an on-demand app development company with its offices across India, USA, and Canada. With over 100+ skilled and experienced professionals, the company has been providing client-centric mobile app development services since the last 11 years. Having NectarBits as your development partner, you don’t need to worry about UI/UX design, development, deployment, and quality assurance of your mobile app projects. The primary clients served by the company include BreezyMeal, Hubilo, Harmo Pool, Experience VR, etc.

The web and mobile app development company holds expertise in areas such as electronics store, beautiful products, grocery, fashion, gym accessories, home cleaning, doctor booking, pet services, and more. Among the top industries served by NectarBits, retail and ecommerce, travel and tourism, dating industry, logistics and transportation holds primary importance.

Services: Web & mobile app development, UI/UX design, ecommerce app development, digital marketing services, quality assurance services, IoT app development, etc.

IndiaNic

IndiaNic is an award-winning web and mobile app development company located in Ahmedabad. Other current office locations include Los Angeles, Melbourne, and Dubai. The company plans to open more offices in Gurugram and Indore.

It has successfully completed more than 7000 projects and served 3000+ clients across the globe since 1997. They work with a motive to empower their clients by leveraging latest technologies with utmost satisfaction and transparency.

Their team of 450+ professionals are adroit in latest tools and technologies to build next-gen applications. As a member of NASSCOM, they’ve worked with clients like Adidas, Cisco, Pepsi, Vodafone, McDonald’s, TATA, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and many more.

Services: Web and mobile app development, DevOps, UI/UX design, IoT, AI & Machine learning, and more.

Consagous Technologies

Consagous Technologies is a best-in-class IT service provider with its offices sprawled across the U.S., India, and Australia. From idealization to design & development to testing, the company is committed to providing the best possible support to its clients during each phase of the app development process.

Consagous Technologies was founded in 2008 with a vision to support businesses of all magnitudes and provide all the IT services & solutions under one roof. The company has also been ranked as one of the best app development companies in the U.S. by GoodFirms.

The company adds value and has unique selling propositions such as timely deliveries, perfect final product, great interactive designs, focussed customer approach, and more.

Services: Mobile development, web development, enterprise solutions, cloud solutions, UI/UX design, digital marketing, QA & Testing, IT consulting.

Hyperlocal Cloud

Hyperlocal Cloud is a dynamic Mobile App Development Company, pioneering innovation in the industry. With a keen understanding of the evolving tech landscape, they craft cutting-edge applications tailored to individual needs. Their expert team combines creativity with technical prowess to deliver seamless, user-friendly experiences. Specializing in hyperlocal solutions, they leverage geospatial technology, facilitating precise and location-specific functionalities. Hyperlocal Cloud’s portfolio showcases a diverse range of apps, from intuitive navigation aids to customized delivery platforms. Their commitment to quality and client satisfaction is evident in every project they undertake. Collaborate with Hyperlocal Cloud for top-tier mobile solutions that redefine industry standards.

Services: Clone app development, Mobile Apps design, ecommerce app development, UI/UX design, IoT app development, Web application development, Mobile app development, Software development, Enterprise product development, Quality assurance & testing, web development, web designing, Hybrid and Native App Development

Apptunix

Apptunix is an award-winning mobile app development company founded by a group of young and energetic entrepreneurs. Bolstered by a team of 200+ mobile app development experts, the company has successfully completed over 1500 projects to date. With their branch offices in countries like the UK, UAE, and the U.S., they’ve served more than 1000 clients from different parts of the world.

Since 2013, the company has been recognized by some famous research and review firms like Clutch, AppFutura, GoodFirms, ITFirms, and many more. Within the mobile app development service ecosystem, Apptunix offers iOS and Android app development. Furthermore, the company adds value through Ionic and React Native.

Services: Web & mobile app development, digital marketing, CMS development, web & graphics design.

RipenApps

RipenApps is an India-based mobile app development company started with a goal to help startups and visionaries build quality products. With a vision to deliver a blend of latest technology and best user experience, they’ve fueled the success of more than 235 startups worldwide.

Their team of 100+ professionals has delivered 500+ projects in the last 7 years. More than 36 apps developed by the RipenApps have crossed over 1 million downloads on the app store. Within mobile app development, the company offers services such as Android, iOS, and iPad app development. In addition to device-specific app development, RipenApps provides Ionic, React Native, and Flutter app development.

Services: Web & mobile app development, Internet of Things, UI/UX design, Quality Assurance, and more.

Mobile App Development Companies in the US

SumatoSoft

SumatoSoft is an experienced custom mobile app development company that designs striking business-oriented IoT, SAAS, CRM, HRM solutions for startups and enterprises. Since 2012, the company has been delivering compelling products to clients across the world. Comprising a team of multidisciplinary experts, the company focuses on building top-notch custom solutions that assist entrepreneurs in making data-driven decisions.

Services: IoT Development, Ruby on Rails development, SaaS systems, ERP development, CRM development, IT consulting, MVP Development, QA Services, iOS app development, Android app development, Web app development, and more.

Nimble AppGenie

Founded in 2017, Nimble AppGenie is a renowned software development company specialized in healthcare and FinTech app development. Headquartered in London, the company employs a team of 50+ software engineers who have developed Android and iOS applications for various fortune 500 companies.

Nimble AppGenie has been operating from the past four years and has extensively delivered solutions to both enterprises and startups with blue-ocean strategy. The company has recently developed a Bank Portal for an African bank and a medical education app for the Japanese market. The company holds expertise in primarily two areas – mobile application development and software architecture. In addition to healthcare and fintech, Nimble AppGenie adds value in other sectors such as eWallet, blockchain, on-demand services, recruitment app development, and education app development.

Services: Android App Development, IOS App Development, Web Development, Artificial Intelligence.

Simform

Simform is a renowned mobile app development company for building robust apps for different platforms. This tech company was founded in 2010 to empower startups to fortune 500 companies through innovative development services and has its offices in Austin, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Canada.

Using an agile development approach, the company successfully delivers mobile app solutions to its clients. Simform serves various business domains on-demand by offering expert IT solutions and development teams. These teams work as an extended part of their client’s team to help them in deciding the best technology and architecture to follow.

Simform has also partnered with cloud service provider AWS and communication API service provider Vonage. It follows enterprise-wide processes during the development, testing, and deployment phases, for security and IP protection.

Services: Android app development, iOS app development, Custom mobile app development, Web app development, eCommerce app development, Custom software development.

AppClues Infotech

Founded in 2014, AppClues Infotech is a renowned mobile app development company known for delivering unparalleled mobile app solutions to clients globally. They bring expertise and insights required to develop intuitive mobile apps. Great minds and diverse perspectives help them to serve a broad range of industries and clients with custom mobile app solutions. From the initial stage to the deploying stage, they use state-of-the-art technologies so that your mobile application is always ready to meet the changing trend of the market. Currently, the company has 120+ team members and has developed around 450+ apps for both the Android and iOS platforms.

Services: Android App Development, iOS App Development, Cross-Platform Mobile App Development, Enterprise App Development, mCommerce App Development, Wallet App Development.

TechAhead

Being a global leader in the IT industry, TechAhead is trusted by businesses of all sizes including startups and Fortune 500 companies. The company has over a decade-long proven track record in engineering robust apps for various industry verticals like fitness, entertainment, finance, healthcare, and more. Their team of 150+ mobile experts has delivered more than 2000+ apps for web and mobile platforms.

From Audi to Disney to ESPN, the company has worked with numerous reputed brands in the past 11 years. The innovative apps and products developed by TechAhead have been featured in Forbes, Yahoo, CNBC, YourStory, HuffPost, etc. They hold expertise in areas such as serverless architecture, app modernization, product innovation, strategy and consulting, user experience, and enterprise solutions.

Services: Web and mobile app development, QA & software testing, IoT, Microsoft Azure consulting services, and many more.

Appinventiv

Empowered with 650+ “creative nerds” and an encouraging track record of delivering 1000+ mobile apps, Appinventiv is an ISO certified mobile app development company. It helps fortune 500 companies and startups to bridge the gap between ideas and reality since 2015.

The mobile apps developed by Appinventiv generated over $700 million in revenue for their clients and topped free & paid app charts in multiple countries. In the past few years, the company has served clients from multiple industries like education, healthcare, real estate, entertainment, and many more.

To add value, Appinventiv has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner network, SAP Open Ecosystem partner, cloudera, and Google Developers Agency Program.

Services: Web & mobile app development services, DevOps, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, augmented & virtual reality, and many more.

Hidden Brains

Hidden Brains is an enterprise software & IT consulting company operating from the past 17 years. They excel in steering clients through challenges of digital transformation.Their team of 400+ IT professionals follow a collaborative approach to deliver scalable and high-performance technology solutions.

The company is a Microsoft certified partner and has more than 2400 clients across 103 countries around the world. They’ve also won several accolades like Aegis Graham Bell Award (2013), Zee Media Gujarat’s Young Achievers Award (2017), and ICTIS Global Industry & Academic Excellence Award (2017).

Hidden Brains have worked with organizations like Raymond, CAT, GTBank, CapitalOne, OMV, Digicel, Implant Direct, EduTravel World, Scosche, and more.

Services: Web & mobile app development, AI/ML, IoT, Blockchain, Cloud & DevOps, and more.

OpenXcell

Founded in 2008, OpenXcell is a leading mobile app development company headquartered in Ahmedabad with presence in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The company has served 500+ clients worldwide since its inception.

They boast a dedicated team of developers who’ve completed more than 700 app development projects. Whether it’s a startup or a large enterprise, they strive to build long term relationships. Over the past 12 years, OpenXcell worked with notable brands like UTV, Unilever, BYJU’s, Conagra, and more.

OpenXcell offers different models of engagement such as hiring a dedicated on-site developer, hiring remote developers, and hiring a dedicated development team. To educate the client and enable them to make an informed decision, the company generates different marketing assets like ebooks, organizes webinars, whitepapers, infographics, and blog posts.

Services: Mobile app development, UI/UX design, Web app development, DevOps services, AI & Machine learning, and more.

Utility

Utility is a New York-based mobile app development company that has developed reliable and scalable mobile apps for a large number of clients. With a team of 50+ experts, Utility strategizes, develops and deploys market-ready mobile apps that help entrepreneurs help their business ideas into reality. To make the app more fluid and future-ready, Utility uses agile development methodologies in its project. Since its inception in 2013, Utility has served several big clients.

Services: Mobile App Development, iOS Development, Android Development, API Development, eCommerce Development, UX/UI Design, Virtual Reality experiences. Graphic Design and Web Software Development.

Cubix

Cubix is a renowned mobile app development company that has been featured in several media channels such as Mashable, Buzzfeed and Chicago Tribune for its outstanding work. Backed by its 12+ years of experience, Cubix expertises in developing feature-packed mobile apps. Along with app development, it also holds expertise in game development and blockchain technology.

Headquartered in Florida, USA, Cubix has a team of more than 200 professionals working towards a common goal to deliver enterprise-grade services to clients. The team also lays emphasis on IP protection and this begins its every project with a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) signing.

Services: Mobile app development, blockchain development, game development, augmented reality, business intelligence, artificial intelligence.

WillowTree Inc.

WillowTree is a US-based mobile app development company that expertises in developing large scale enterprise level mobile applications. Founded in the year 2008, WillowTree made it big with the help of small and autonomous dedicated teams. Till date, it has delivered over 700 native mobile applications, websites and other digital products. Being one of the leading mobile development companies of the US, WillowTree has its offices in 7 different locations all over the country. It believes in helping companies move on the digital leadership path.

Services: Mobile app development, web development, digital product design, digital product strategy, voice technology.

Suggested Read: Top Custom Software Development Companies

Mobile App Development Companies in Other Countries

ICTS Custom Software

ICTS Custom Software is a Vietnam-based software and mobile app development company that focuses on cutting-edge technologies. Its team of expert developers specializes in custom CRM software for businesses aspiring to optimize their productivity or develop their ecommerce division. Apart from full-fledged product development, the company specializes in developing MVPs for startups to visualize their idea and optimize the productivity of the business.

Being a tech startup themselves, ICTS Custom Software understands the struggles and challenges that entrepreneurs face every day. Thus, the team at ICTS always tries to consult and propose the most suitable solutions in terms of scalability, viability, and cost-effectiveness.

Eager to learn new insights and best practices in each industry, ICTS does not limit its customer base to any sector. As long as the company’s technology core allows, it gives its 100% to resolve client problems.

Services: Mobile app development, Software development, Dedicated staff outsourcing, ReactNative, ReactJS, NodeJS, Django, Python, iOS, Android, Web-based platform, Blockchain, Ethereum, eCommerce, CRM, Startup, SMEs, Serverless.

Cabot Technology Solutions

Cabot Technology Solutions is one of the leading mobile app development companies in Canada which provides affordable solutions by developing custom software for your needs. Founded in 2006, Cabot has a long history of helping clients in the USA and Canada, growing from a one-person startup to established organizations.

As earlier mentioned, Cabot Technology Solutions builds fully customizable softwares that can suit the needs of the business. Their team of developers work closely with clients to ensure that the project gets completed on time and within budget while delivering outstanding customer service along the way.

Cabot’s team of business analysts, project managers, software engineers, designers, and QA Engineers have further completed over 500 projects for a wide range of clients worldwide. Several industries catered by them include- healthcare, finance, HR technology, and hospitality. They are known to develop secure, intuitive, and functional enterprise mobile apps.

Services: iOS Application Development, Android Application Development, Xamarin Application Development, Phonegap Application Development, React Native Application Development, Flutter Application Development.

Zesium

Zesium is a prominent software development company. With over 16 years of industry experience, Zesium is responsible for implementing more than 120 projects successfully for international clients within various industries.

The team of Zesium focuses on delivering custom software and application solutions through enterprise mobile B2B, B2C apps, as well as IoT implementation. They are dedicated to contributing to the mobile industry by developing innovative and creative mobile applications.

Clients are benefited by using their robust mobile solutions, developed by their app and web developers. These developers specialize in mobile, .NET, Java, and more. Inspired to cater to the needs and expectations of a business, Zesium offers tailor-made services.

Services: Android app development, iOS app development, B2B and B2C custom software solutions, quality assurance (QA), web development, IoT, artificial intelligence and innovation consulting.

Savvycom

With the bigger goal of pinning Vietnam as a prestigious brand name on the IT world map, Savvycom have always been upholding the values of quality, professionalism, services improvement, striving to become a long-term strategic IT partner as well as contribute to the strong growth of Vietnam IT community. In addition, Savvycom also aims to build an international network that both expands the horizon of business opportunities and creates a resourceful learning circle among leaders across various fields of business.

In the spirit of win-win benefits and collaboration, Savvycom wishes to partner with corporates in a wide range of industries such as Health Care, Education, Finance, Commerce, Manufacturing, etc. in order to exploit and promote the process of technologization, and to join hands to construct large scale IT systems.

Services: Web Application Development, Mobile Application Development, Enterprise Management Solutions, Cloud & DevOps.

Cypress

Cypress is a renowned Armenian IT company, which provides mobile application development services to startups and mid-sized businesses globally. The team of Cypress is focused on developing native iOS and Android applications that flawlessly solve the business needs of customers. Cypress has been operating internationally, delivering apps to businesses globally. Within its 5 years of operation, the company has earned 4.9 stars on Clutch.

Services: Android app development, iOS app development, Backend development, UI/UX design, and Consulting.

Conclusion

The success of a mobile app depends on your decision to hire the right mobile app development company. So before making the final call, you must have a clear idea of your business requirements and marketing goals. If you’re willing to share your app idea with a trustworthy app development company, it is advisable to get in touch with FATbit Technologies.