Navigation apps are becoming highly popular these days. Location-based service usage continues to increase today, and the number of such users in the future was predicted long ago. So, if you too are planning to build a GPS navigation app, then you are on the right track.
Accordingly to the BIS Research Agency report, the market for navigation apps is constantly evolving, with an expected revenue of $ 34.56 billion by 2021. Therefore, having a navigation app can greatly benefit your business. Waze and Google Maps are two of the most well-known apps for both Android and iOS in the region. They provide turn-by-turn directions, lots of real-time data, and other features that make them more attractive.
What is the Waze?
Waze is a high-end GPS navigation app that has some entertaining and useful features. It is the second top rated mobile app among users beaten only by Google Maps. This allows users to receive real-time traffic updates, use live maps and other road information.
Waze was the second most popular map app in the United States in April 2018. In 2020, a research report revealed its 130 million monthly active user results. Waze’s annual revenue is estimated at $ 37.7 million.
How Does the Waze Function?
Global users use Waze to enhance each other’s routes by sharing real-time data about road repairs and traffic conditions. The waze provides information about other important people like police nets, accidents, weather conditions, blocked roads etc. and keeps you informed about it from time to time. This app quickly assesses this data to ensure that others can locate the last routes. There are a large number of taxi booking apps such as the Waze Lyft app, for which the official navigation app is used for booking.
Waze differs from traditional GPS navigation apps because it is community-driven, collecting traffic data and supplementary map data from its users. Whenever the app is running, it collects data. It must have accurate data from each road to offer the least route. At the time of your driving, the app will compare every possible route information and provide the final route to your liking. You need an active Internet connection for loading routes because Waze does not work offline. To keep the map updated and secure real-time traffic data, you need an Internet connection.
In-app location-based advertising is Waze’s own advertising product. It is a location-directed advertising platform for businesses that needs to attract the attention of nearby drivers. While driving, you can see advertisements for nearby eateries, shops and other areas.
The most important fact is that if you use Waze, it not only informs the location of the area you are in but also gives the most above-mentioned results of your destination. This map app has created a system where any local business can send local advertisements and targeted messages to people who are driving nearby and searching for a location.
Important Features of a GPS Navigation App like Waze
Before developing a Waze-like GPS navigation app, let’s take a look at the key features to implement:
- Authority
It is an important part of an app like waze. After the registration process, users get their personal accounts, through this account users can voluntarily review and enter notes as well as communicate with others. You can either log in using your email and password or connect to a social account like Facebook.
- Payment Services
A GPS navigation app can incorporate in-app purchases as a monetization method. If your app becomes popular among drivers and those who provide complementary services, then there is a possibility of a partnership.
- Real-Time Updates
A navigation app is good enough to have high-quality satellite images, but Ways do something else. Real-time updates from other users create a highly useful user experience. In addition, you can upload pictures and add notes to provide completely accurate data.
- Carpool Service
The Waze-like carpool app enables drivers to receive free gas. If a user is going in the same direction, you can see it on your screen. Drivers and riders share gas expenses for the trip. The ride fee is decided in advance at a rate recommended by a waze-like app. The app automatically charges the credit card of users’ bank accounts.
- In-App Message
If you want to design your waze-like navigation app, think about displaying user messages more attractively. Do you want to distribute them as push notifications or send them to chat? This can be done for navigation apps when the user enters a particular area or location.
- Voice Navigation
Drivers should not be distracted by a map. Turn-by-turn navigation is an essential feature and the mobile GPS navigation app is nothing without it. Voice navigation helps drivers listen to directions such as where or which route to use, traffic alerts, and they have a better route in terms of information. If voice navigation distracts you, you can turn it off.
- Social Network Integration
You need to integrate your app with social platforms for authentication and to offer social features. Moreover, social network integration improves the user experience and reduces security risks around authentication as most of the potential problems and vulnerabilities have already persisted. Also, you will not force users to create another account, but use their current accounts for seamless login.
- Recurrence
Your GPS navigation app requires drivers who stumble into a road accident or drive in the wrong direction to run faster which prevents them from following basic directions. Drivers do not need to wait long for your app to reorder the route; They get direct instructions.
- Geolocation & Navigation
The map forms the basics of a navigation app. This user uses a GPS system to determine location, locate objects, and show the route. To minimize mistakes, you can incorporate cell ID functionality into your app, as it relies on information coming from mobile operators. If your team combines cell ID and GPS, the app’s geolocation services will be accurate.
- Google calendar synchronization
Users of Waze-like apps can sync the app with Google Calendar for more viable visits. When the waze gets access to the calendar, it creates a list of upcoming appointments along with their regions. This is how your navigation app can navigate travelers to their previously entered areas.
Steps To Create a GPS Navigation App such as Waze Successful
If you want to create a navigation app like Waze, then you are going to follow the standard mobile development process. Here are its main stages:
- Conduct a research
Do a thorough study of the project to identify its potential risks and weaknesses to increase its success. The team should create a checklist to ensure the quality of every stage of the planning, creation, testing and delivery of the app.
- Select Your Tech Partner
You have to select an app development firm to develop your application. In this phase, you study, assess, and choose an organization to build a team with you to build your navigation app. Signing the NDA is an important part of this app development process.
- Meet the needs of your target audience
These days, users want smart navigation. They want the app to not only talk about traffic jams but also about speed cameras for example. Modern intelligent apps should instruct drivers to access parking areas near their destinations that have adequate locations and display gas prices.
- Add Gamification Features
Gamification features give users the right directions to return to your app and serve to encourage them to use the app correctly. Take the numeral system as an example. Users get points for various activities in the app, such as sharing road data or for kilometers driven from the app. These points can be compared with other drivers’ points.
- Keep your app’s UI / UX design
Your app buttons should be visible and large enough so that drivers can find them and click them without any problems. Focus on native app functionality – the UI should include the necessary components when navigating.
- Add Voice Directions
Voice instructions make navigation more secure as users are not distracted by looking at the mobile screen. Be sure to play the voice directions at the right time. When you complete this, users can follow them with no distraction – for example, looking at a mobile screen. The same goes for sending a lot of notifications at the time of navigation – users should not receive too many of them. App developers can use the Google Maps Direction API that allows users to select voice from the list and implement it.
- Attach video during app publishing
For the convenience of the way Waze adds a video to the app when uploading a map app for review, if someone is doing it for the first time, the process of using the app is shown in the video. Without this video, Google or Apple can reject your app, saying that they don’t know why they should allow your app to play audio and play in the background.
Expense of Creating Apps Similar to the Waze
The cost of a GPS navigation app such as waze depends on many factors, such as the rates of the development agency, the number of facilities and the complexity of the project, etc. These types of cars are based on. If you want to keep the development process budget-friendly, start with a few small and easy things. For example, you can create MVP first. This will help you make a rough estimate.
Conclusion
Thus, a GPS navigation app helps people find a simple path to their destination, check the status of roads and report accidents. In addition, many companies seek the opportunity to engage with navigation app users through advertisements. However, if you want to build a navigation app like Waze, follow the recommendations in this blog and make your app famous among users.