Nowadays, no matter what, you'll have at least one social media app on your smartphone. These connecting apps fill the void in many people's lives and make them feel connected to their family & friends. Hence, it has become an almost impossible task to live without it. The market for such apps is continuously growing. This is an ideal time to invest in
social media app development from a business perspective.
As per the Statista report, 3.6 billion people are using social media apps, which constitutes approx. 45% of the population. This number is expected to rise to almost 58% in 2025. This indicates that social media trends are going to go up in the future. Therefore let's begin with developing a social networking app, ending with the cost of developing it.
How to Build a Social Media App?
1) Define Strategy & Purpose
Building an app idea is not adequate. You will be required to study the market to discover the competitive field & evaluate the needs. Creating a social media app is a challenging task as you need to understand your potential users' likes & dislikes. Once you are clear, it's time to put ideas together to develop a social networking app.
Think of the options to retain the users, the techniques to grow and interact with the community. And if you plan to gain money using the social media app, you must plan your monetization options meticulously.
2) Design the Workflow
After outlining core features & functionalities, it's time to design the workflow of your app. The designing process consists of several steps:
> Goal Defining
> Specification
> Wireframe
> Prototype
>Visual Design
>Interface Animation
>Testing
Sketching
This is a way to meet the basic outlines of future apps. It evaluates the project's future logic, the no. of screens, and the interaction between them. It also lets you determine design issues even before you begin app designing.
Wireframing
Wireframing helps the development team to visualize the app working and idea to link pages. In a nutshell, it provides you the app's structured view & what a user can expect from the app.
Prototyping
Another step is prototyping, and it includes building an app's working model. This will provide developers a better idea about the product. The mockup will make it simpler to modify before the coding process begins if needed. Meaning, you are in a stronger position for the social media development process.
App Design
In the last stage of designing a workflow, change wireframes in the social app design. Research the current solutions, watch the latest trends and give a detailed UI/UX design to get the best possible answers.
3) Development & Quality Assurance
The development & social media processes go together in the software development lifecycle. After deciding the social media app platform and doing the app's mockup, it is time to develop the back-end by setting up databases, APIs, servers, and working out perfect storage solutions.
Moreover, meet all the technical needs, platform standards, and user guidelines. Try manual & automatic testing of program's each part to make sure there is no glitch in the code & all is ok with the project's UX.
4) Publish & Expand your Community
After developing and publishing your app, it's time to connect with potential users to build your community. Apply the best strategies in your initial social media marketing requirements. Discover how to influence people to install the app or what incentive you can render to your users. This way, you reach a broader audience.
5) App Analysis
The app analysis is a crucial step to evaluate your social media app's success. There is a broad range of analytics tools that can help you with it.
> Cost/Install (CPI) - to track installs of users coming from marketing
> Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) - the amount invested in attracting users
> User Activation - active users than downloads
> User Retention - users who used the app again
> Churn rate - users who have ceased using the app
> Traction - patterns to show the user's growth each month
> Burn rate - money absorbed for the server costs, staff, & affiliate marketing
You can see the response of your active users or the time they invest in the app. Continuous track of engagement will provide you a clear picture of pragmatic changes for the future. This will even ensure to deliver the best user experience to your users.
How to Choose the Best Social Media App Developer?
To choose the best social media app developers, you need to find them. You can either go for an in-house team, freelancer app developer or outsource the best app development agency.
You can also refer to various blogs to know the top mobile app developer before hiring one. Several websites will help you select the best social media app, developers. You can also consider Hyperlink Infosystem; having developed more than 3200 apps for over 2300 clients, worldwide Hyperlink is one of the world's top app development companies with a strength of 250+ skilled employees using the latest technology.
Below are the points you can consider before choosing your app developer:
- Determine the cost to hire app developers & the amount they need to finish the project.
- You must verify the expertise & developer's portfolio to ensure their skillsets.
- Make sure you are clear with your needs about the product concept & the TA.
- Finally, know the app development process, legal contracts for the app development, & project management.
Cost to Develop the App
The cost to develop the app depends on several factors such as location, complexity, platform, hours spent, and more. However, if you want to know the approximate cost, it can range between $15,000 - $50,000. This app development cost is more affordable in India compared to other countries.
The Endnote
Building a social media app is a challenging task as it comes with significant responsibilities that you need to serve your audiences. They expect much more from an app. Therefore, it is crucial to select the right mobile
app development company to develop a flawless social media app for your business.