In times when the one-size-fits-all approach is not feasible for everyone, a dating app can be highly productive for both users and businesses. Gone are the days when people used to connect over calls or meet physically to fix a date. With most of the communication occurring digitally, there is no surprise that dating trends […]
Updated 10 November 2023
Global Delivery Head at Appventurez
In times when the one-size-fits-all approach is not feasible for everyone, a dating app can be highly productive for both users and businesses.
Gone are the days when people used to connect over calls or meet physically to fix a date. With most of the communication occurring digitally, there is no surprise that dating trends have shifted online.
In fact, the number of people leveraging these online dating platforms is growing at an unprecedented rate. Experts even believe that in the US itself, the number of such users will reach 53.3 million by 2025.
This provides businesses with a great opportunity to leverage the situation and build a dating app that generates value for their customers. However, when the competition in the market is so fierce, having an understanding of the prerequisites becomes extremely important.
Today, people can do a lot more than chatting or planning dates through these dating applications. Like, they can:
Depending on the ways people make a match with each other, modern dating solutions can be categorized into three major types:
As the name suggests, this type of dating app helps users connect with other people based on their location. These applications suggest available matches on the basis of your proximity to them. Tinder can be a perfect example of a geolocation dating app as it offers users an option to select how close their possible match should be. Besides this, users can also set their location preferences to global and check out people around the globe.
Many modern dating app solutions are based on a questionnaire-based algorithm. It means these platforms will first ask users a series of questions about their interests, preferences, and expectations. Based on their responses, the dating app recommends some profiles with similar interests and dating goals to them. Since these solutions help in suggesting most suitable matches, businesses often build a dating app based on this algorithm. eHarmony can be a popular example of such a dating app.
Niche-based dating applications focus on matching people with similar interests, such as animal lovers, gym enthusiasts, vegetarians, etc. There can be a plethora of niches to choose from where like-minded people can find a great match. Veggly is a great example of a niche-based dating app.
Well, it’s undoubtedly challenging to build a dating app that gains instant traction. Why? Because user preferences are ever-changing, and it is really tough to meet all the customer expectations at once. However, the right approach and a strategic plan can help you build a dating app that your target audience will prefer using for matchmaking.
Here is the step-by-step process to build a dating app that offers an immersive experience to your users:
Understanding your customers’ demands and expectations is the initial step to building an intuitive UI. For this, you can create and analyze different user personas that can help you choose a specific niche for your app and fulfill the needs of your target audience.
Based on user expectations and the niche of your app, you have to incorporate a specific set of features into your dating app. These unique functionalities will not only spark user engagement but also help you keep your audience hooked to the dating platform.
There are already thousands of dating apps outside and without any unique features, your app would be no different. That’s why including gamification elements can make a difference and attract your target audience to a large extent.
The basic idea behind this is to incentivize your users in a way that they feel rewarded and engage more with your app. For instance, you can add levels and offer reward points for accomplishing objectives within the app.
Dating apps usually have personal data of individuals like their photographs or chats with their matches. Therefore, for a smooth experience, businesses must ensure to secure such data and encrypt all in-app chats.
Besides data security, you also need to consider integrating a robust authentication and authorization process into your application. Including these can help in managing user sessions, protecting user identities, and ensuring device security as well. OAuth 2.0 authorization framework can be used for this purpose.
Last but not least, your app must be engaging enough to avert your users from trying other dating apps. For these, you can enable text, call, and video chat options for your users. Besides this, developing and incorporating an effective matching algorithm that helps them find a perfect match based on their preferences and interest can help, too.
The features you integrate into your dating app can have a significant impact on its performance. However, the type and number of functionalities you add can also profoundly impact your app development budget. That’s why it is crucial to consider the most relevant features for your dating app that make it attractive and high performing.
The first thing that a user encounters within an app is the registration and sign-in process. Now, since it’s the initial stage, it would be a bad idea to make it complex and cumbersome. Therefore, to ensure an effortless and smooth sign-up process, logging in through social networking platforms could be a better option. Besides this, you can also allow your users to use their email handles or phone numbers to access your dating platform.
In order to get a perfect match, it’s important to include more specific details in the bio section. For instance, users must be allowed to add their profile pictures, hobbies, preferences, and things related to their lifestyle. In fact, you can also integrate your dating app with video profiles for a more comprehensive understanding of the individuals.
Now, this is one of the most vital features that actually provide value to your app. The matching algorithms decide how a user finds and matches with someone else based on the similarities between them. These algorithms must be accurately planned and integrated into your dating app architecture to offer the right dates to your users.
Several studies have revealed that users naturally tend to pick the dates that are located nearby to their locations. That’s one of the prime reasons why many dating apps use geolocation as their first and foremost aspect to show and connect individuals with each other. Besides this, geolocation also helps users to find a match in a specific city, state, or even a country based on their preferences.
Your users might get a suitable match through your dating app. But now what? Well, it’s time to help them to know their match more comprehensively. Moreover, they can share pictures, videos, stickers, or GIFs to deepen their conversations. This helps businesses to keep their users engaged even when they find a suitable date.
Many people feel nervous before meeting someone on a date. This is specifically obvious for the ones who are reserved and usually don’t prefer meeting people they don’t know in person. To overcome this issue, integrating voice and video conferencing features into your app could be a great call. These features help individuals to understand their matches slightly better and prepare themselves for an actual date.
One of the best ways to drive user engagement and retention for your dating app is integrating push notifications into your dating app architecture. Push notifications can easily enhance the value of your app by notifying users when they get a suitable match or receive messages. This helps businesses to remind their users to check out the app and engage with it.
Swiping is a kind of gamification feature that helps users to show interest or indifference in the suggested profiles recommended by the app. Tinder is a great example where users can dislike a profile by swiping left and showing interest in them with a right swipe. With this feature, you can easily improve user activity and engagement on your dating app. In fact, this ‘Swipe Surge’ has increased user activity and match-making potential on Tinder by 15x and 250% respectively.
After deciding the type and features to be integrated, the next step is to know the right steps to build a dating app. For this, you need to focus on your target audience, pick a suitable development team, and consider all the important technical aspects of dating app development.
For any mobile app, the first and foremost step is to know your target audience and their expectations of the application. The demographics of your users can be different and so can their preferences and needs from the app. Therefore, you must analyze this data and build a dating app that fulfills their requirements and your business objectives.
Apart from this, you must also take a look at the dating market value and trends. Since there are already a number of dating platforms available, you need to conduct thorough research and figure out the areas where you can be a winner. Currently, the dating app market in the US is dominated by Tinder and Bumble.
After analyzing the market competition and consumer demands, the next step is to choose a niche for your dating app. This will help you segregate your app from the rest and find a possibility to outshine your competitors.
There can be different categories of niches based on which you can build a dating app. For instance, there is Purrsonals, a dating platform that brings cat lovers together. Another example could be Equestrian Cupid, a perfect place for people who prefer the countryside over busy city life. Here you could easily find a suitable match if you possess down-to-earth values.
Choosing a business model for monetization purposes is one of the crucial steps businesses must consider when they build a dating app. There are a plethora of mobile app monetization models available for managing revenue. However, it would be best to pick one that attracts and engages your users while driving revenue simultaneously.
Following are some of the most popular app monetization strategies you can consider when you build a dating app:
A premium version of any app provides the users with the complete set of features it has to offer. In the case of dating apps, a premium subscription can help boost users’ profiles so that they appear first in search results. Besides, a premium account holder can also get an unlimited number of likes or right swipes.
In order to please their match, many users prefer sharing gifts through the dating app portal itself. Therefore, businesses can empower their apps by integrating a feature of paid gifts, memorable photo books or flowers, chocolates, or greeting cards.
Advertising has always been an evergreen method to generate revenue. You can also collaborate with advertisers and charge them specific fees for showing their ads on your dating app. However, make sure you do not overload your application with too many ads as they might be intrusive to your target audience, resulting in app uninstallations.
In this stage of dating app development, you need to pick a set of specific features you want in your application. Based on them, you have to choose the right tools and technologies needed to implement those features.
First of all, you need to focus on the kind of dating app template that aligns with the application’s UI design. This is one of the most crucial steps in the development process as a substandard UI will significantly impact the user experience. Therefore, you must use the best UX app development tools and frameworks to craft an app of the utmost quality.
Also, ensure that you make the right use of advanced and robust technologies to scale your business once your app becomes a success.
Till this point, you might have a terrific app idea, a perfect business model to generate revenue and knowledge of the right tools to create your dating platform. Now, all you need is a professional app development partner that helps you connect all the dots.
Here you need to consider a few factors before handing over your project to a development team. They are:
The answers to these questions will help you pick a suitable app development team for your dating app. For instance, if you have a good budget, hiring resources and creating an in-house team of experts could be the right choice. However, if you are low on budget, this option can be really heavy on your pockets.
In that case, you can hire freelance developers to create your dating app. They are highly affordable but might lack experience. Consequently, this could reflect in the performance of your application.
There’s another option that is both affordable and can provide you with a robust dating app solution – an offshore app development company. There’s a good scope in outsourcing your app development project, especially when you are looking for an outstanding app on a limited budget. All you need is to check their portfolio of projects handled, the type of resources they have, and their development capabilities.
Since you have all the requirements needed for building a dating app, it’s time to move to the final stage – MVP development. Here, you need to make UI/UX your focal point and look at your app from the point of view of a user.
Consider app navigation, elements in the app, and the complexity of the interface. Remember, when you develop an MVP, you don’t always focus on the best, but the least features you must have that make it appealing to your users.
As mentioned earlier, an in-depth analysis of the market is crucial to carefully planning your entire MVP development strategy.
The next step is to understand the needs of your target audience in alignment with the goals of your project. Well-managed project management ensures that the development process is heading in the right direction.
The design phase includes the development of wireframes, prototypes, and a basic UI design that works best for the MVP. Here, various design elements are incorporated that make your app interactive.
This core step focuses on writing code and using a significant approach to develop the application.
This step deals with finding bugs in the app, if any, and looks for areas of improvement. It also ensures that the app is able to stand cyberattacks and situations of massive traffic.
After the testing is done, your MVP app is all set to be launched. Choose a mobile store for which you want to build a dating app. Also, after successfully releasing the app, make sure you regularly update it to improve its performance and fix the errors suggested by users.
One of the significant benefits here is that the cost of MVP app development is quite lower than building a dating app with complete features. Once you get the required feedback and satisfactory results from it, you can invest in developing a full-fledged dating application.
The competition in the dating app world is undoubtedly tough, but with the right approach, there are still multiple opportunities to grab. The real game lies in the convenience and benefits your dating app provides to users that make you a competitive differentiator.
For this, it is crucial to set your goals in a way that fulfills your users’ demands and expands your business growth as well. But attaining this could be challenging without an on demand development company and the expertise it holds in the domain of building on-demand solutions like dating services.
Appventurez can be the right software development partner to help you build a dating app packed with intuitive functionalities. The experienced project management team of the company is always ready to guide you throughout the process and come up with the best solution suitable for your business needs.
Ans. Although it depends on the features to be integrated and the type of development team hired for the project, it takes around 10-12 weeks to build a dating app on average.
Ans. Start with picking a niche and identifying your target audience. After that, choose the business model, features of the app, and a development team to create an MVP of the app.
Ans. To build a dating app like Tinder, you need a professional app development team having experience in creating a dating app like Tinder. Developing an app like it can range between $50,000 and $150,000.
Elevate your journey and empower your choices with our insightful guidance.
Global Delivery Head at Appventurez
Ashish governs the process of software delivery operations. He ensures the end product attains the highest remarks in qualitative analysis and is streamlined to the clientele’s objectives. He has over a decade of experience as an iOS developer and teams mentorship.
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