Since the time the growth in the smartphone industries has been seen , we have seen a massive revolution in mobile app development industry . The tremendous increase in number of social messaging apps like WhatsApp , Viber , WeChat etc has been seen as the outcome of the continuous growth of number of users worldwide .
According to Statista , there will be around more than 2.48 billion users of social messaging app by 2021 . Now as we are talking about social messaging app , we all must have use the most famous app WhatsApp . In this technology driven world WhatsApp and Telegram have been one of the most powerful tools for communication over the internet free of cost .
Now you must be reading this article because you are searching for how much does it cost to develop an messenger app like WhatsApp , and how long it will take for its development , and for it you might have settle your mind to develop it . This article helps you know step by step guide for the same .
Some Points To Be Taken Into Consideration Before Starting A Project
- You should always take into consideration the MVP of the product in order to get the most viable feedback from user in respect of the modules feasibility factor .
- You must choose the development team with utmost care . You should always hire an mobile app development company who has a strong team of developers , designers , testers and more for your successful app building
- Planning of budget in advance is always beneficial while choosing a capable mobile app development agency who can cater all your needs . It is also important to track the progress of your app in regular intervals with your app development team .
Features Of Messenger App & Time To Develop That Feature : Explained
Log-in and Signup Into The Account
In any chat based app like WhatsApp , in order to go to dashboard of the app , user need to sign in into the app . For sign in almost all social messaging app use authentication by mobile number . As soon as you enter the mobile number , you will receive the OTP on your number which you can enter in the app for signing in successfully in the app .
After successful verification , you will have to add on all your contact list from your phone book that would increase the chances of using the app . The authentication process is very secured as it is directly linked with your phone and not like Facebook in which anyone knowing your password can enter into your account .
At the same time you will also get the benefit of profile , theme and background image customisation.
These all features will take near about 40 hours including the backend app , irrespective of the platform your choose from .
Messaging Feature
When we are talking about messaging feature , it means one on one chat , group chat and message broadcasting . One on one chat is one in which person upon clicking on one person specific name can start chatting with him by way of exchanging messages .
Group chat is one in which certain number of persons can chart together , whereas broadcasting features allow user to broadcast a single message to multiple user at once .
In addition to above features messaging must also include customisation of stickers , sending their own emojis stickers and more which has become the important part of interaction today and will surely attract more number of users if offered .
Just to make a note that WhatsApp does not store messages on their server . It is only active in temporary until it has been delivered . However in case you want to store your messages on server , the choice is yours and you have to make security arrangements for the same .
On an average it takes 200 hours including 100 hours for front end and 100 hours for backend .
Push Notification
We all are aware of how much is the importance of push notification in
mobile app . And its even become more important if you are creating an app like WhatsApp . User must be informed for new messages , addition of user in new group and so on by way of push notification .The pop ups and push notification carry out their task of sending and receiving messages if their screen is locked .
The total time it takes to integrate push notification is 16 hours which includes client and server side .
Transferring MultiMedia Files & Location Sharing
Together with enabling the messaging feature , you must allow your user to share multimedia files such as videos , audios , pictures , GIF together with short voice messages . It is also beneficial to give user access to share the contact to .
Geo location feature is another important things which you must offer to your user thus allowing them to share the exact location with friends .
The multimedia option will take around 56 hours and location sharing feature will take around 12 hours .
Attractive App Design
This is the most important things that you must focus on. On the basis of design your user will either user your app or delete it . You have to play here with beautiful and creative design with easy to use UX . Designer should have the capability to play with colours , font styles , background images and content for getting an awesome look and feel of the app .
Usually app designing will take around 60-70 hours , but it may take more depending on the complexity of the design .
App Personalised Setting
Setting is somewhat which help user to control app as they want . The very first thing when it comes to setting is profile setting wherein user can set they display picture , update their status , nickname and more .
Other account setting may include privacy setting , notification setting , message tone setting and more . It usually takes 40 to 50 hours depending on the customisation needed to complete .
The Overall Cost
However it is difficult to predict the overall cost of the app , but keeping in mind the basic features as listed above it may range between $ 30k – $ 40 k approx. However it may increase and decrease on the basis of functionality add on .
