November 10 2020
Chat apps have brought a revolution in the way we interact and communicate with our acquaintances. The apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger etc. are gaining rapid popularity. This is encouraging businesses to invest in developing such chatting apps.
Before diving in to learn how to craft a chat app, it’s crucial to know the reason behind the immense success of WhatsApp. This will help you to take the right step and craft a user-friendly mobility solution.
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User-friendliness is the key to the massive popularity of WhatsApp.
Security is an unavoidable matter when it comes to developing a chat app. In today’s digital age, people are always suspicious about their confidential data getting hacked. People often share private data or official documents through a chatting app. Any security loophole can cause huge repercussion and you cannot afford to risk it.
Not only WhatsApp but other chatting apps like Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Telegram, WeChat etc. put user privacy and security above everything else.
If you are considering engaging professional mobile app development services and craft a messaging app, make sure to dedicate a privacy page. Include all the data you cache from the users’ devices.
For enhanced security, you can periodically change the cryptographic keys in your app.
Unlike a social media app (say, Facebook) or even a website, the UI design of a chat app is quite simplistic. Of course, you should bring innovation in the user interface but there’s a basic and intuitive format for chat app UI development. Too much of extraordinariness can confuse your users and they can skip using your app considering it to be “difficult”.
However, the backend must be robust. A successful chat app has to handle millions of requests from all around the world. That’s why it has to have 100% uptime. For instance, WhatsApp uses XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) for exchanging data between the users. The protocol is flexible, secure and decentralized. It can transfer messages both on the group chats and one-on-one contexts.
Use a reliable server to store multimedia and pictures. Servers like Yaws are created for high-end systems and applications with dynamic content.
If you take a thorough look at WhatsApp, you can note that it demands your phone number and verifies it with an SMS code. Then it asks to import data from the phone’s contact list with one tap. You can also feature the same in your app.
However, WhatsApp has its limitation as well. Whether you would call it a limitation or a security step is up to you though. For instance, you cannot use the same WhatsApp account on multiple phones. The same problem persists for opening two accounts on a dual-sim device.
This is why some messenger such as Wire provides the users with an option to register with an email ID and doesn’t demand a phone number.
Chat apps have an added advantage. You may get irritated with constant push notifications from a food delivery or grocery app and an excessive amount of push notifications is one of the reasons that people uninstall an app. However, have you ever got irritated with new message notification from WhatsApp? No, right? WhatsApp push notification encourages you to interact with the app.
Leverage the power of push notification in your app to enhance user engagement.
Have you noted the difference between an Email application and WhatsApp? The first one is more formal and used for official purpose. WhatsApp is more informal but it can also be used for start-up business purpose. This is the advantage of a chat app like WhatsApp and this encourages more people to use it. On the other hand, Snapchat is also a chat app but it is absolutely informal and recreational.
Before developing an app, determine the audience you want to cater to. If you want to maintain a semi-formal approach, it’s better not to clog your application with too many fancy features. Focus on user-friendliness and your app will automatically receive appreciation and conversions.
Having a huge subscriber base is great but what about the monetization model? A chat app enables you to employ strategic monetization model. Since most of the chat apps are available for free of cost in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, it’s difficult to get the users to pay for downloading a new chat app.
In-app purchase is the ideal monetizing option for a chat app. You can feature ads in your app and earn from the ad owners. Further, the users can pay you to use the ad-free premium version. You can bring a paid sticker package. You can also sell customization features like filters, themes, wallpapers. You may allow the users to extend the features and functionalities of the basic version of the app by becoming a paid or premium customer. You may have provision for paid video games. Choices are many. Make a wise decision.
Conclusion
Before closing, let’s remind you that innovation is the path to success. If you are looking to develop a mobile app, it’s better not to make a clone app of WhatsApp. You need to brainstorm and introduce new features in your app. Otherwise, why should the users stop using WhatsApp and install your all-new app! Make a mark in the industry with your robust chat app and there will be no scarcity of downloads. You may seek assistance from a reliable mobile app development company to craft such a stunning mobile app.
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