A Comprehensive Guide To Dating App Development

What Is A Dating App?

A dating app is a platform that connects people according to their interests – friendship, romance, etc. using their smartphones. The dating app software allows its users to go through the photos and videos of other users and chat or video call with them.

According to Statista, the revenue generated by the online dating industry is expected to reach USD 3241 million in 2021. Existing dating services may be divided into four groups based on how they connect people:

• Geolocation: A geolocation network that connects you with others that are in the same area as you. Tinder, for example, has a customisable proximity feature that lets you specify whether you want to view individuals who are within 5/10/20/50 kilometres of you. The Bumble app follows a similar principle.
• Questionnaire Based: Users using matching algorithm applications are asked to fill out a survey about their beliefs and expectations. The answers are then used by a computer algorithm to match persons. The web and app of eHarmony function in this manner.
• Traditional: Traditional dating app platforms that resemble a scrollable internet catalogue. Take, for example, the website OkCupid and its app, which is a complete reproduction of the browser version.
• Niche-Based: These apps cater to a certain demographic. You’ve probably heard of Pure, an anonymous hookup app. ‘Pure is for when you’re seeking an adventure, not romance,’ they explain on their website. It’s quick, straight, and unobtrusive.’ That’s an excellent description of the market niche they’ve carved out for themselves.

Although most current applications are a combination of all of these sorts, we recommend that you utilise this classification when determining your app’s target audience and key features.

Benefits Of Dating App Development For Your Business

Before getting started with the dating app development process, it is necessary to know your competitors. You must research the existing apps, challenges, etc. Once you’ve done your competition research, you’ll notice that these applications are quite popular, as seen by the number of downloads and testimonials. But how can you make your own dating app that is as popular as this one?

We’ll claim that half of the job is already done because dating apps offer undeniable advantages that set them apart from other applications. The remainder of the task is contingent on the distinctiveness of your application, as well as the marketing side.

Here are some of the benefits of dating app development for your business:

Quick And Efficient

It would be foolish to deny that apps are significantly quicker than traditional web pages. Aside from that, dating apps allow users to obtain rapid access to their accounts when they’re on the go, for example. Users may easily hunt for a soulmate using a dating app, regardless of where they are at the time.

Good For Introverts

Some people spend their whole lives at work. They want to form new relationships, love and be loved, but they just do not have the time to go to other locations to meet someone. This is where a dating app may help.

It enables such people to always find time to meet someone fascinating. Introverts – those who have poor communication abilities – are in the same boat. An app can assist them in overcoming this personal flaw and locating a suitable interlocutor.

Finding Soulmates Nearby

The majority of dating apps have a geolocation feature that allows users to discover people in their area. It indicates that the user will not only meet someone but that a new acquaintance may also live within 1 kilometre of him or her. It’s a very remarkable achievement.

No Unwanted Connections

Not everyone wants to receive thousands of messages from strangers, which is why current dating apps contain a modest function. Almost many dating apps allow users to start conversing only after they have given one other likes. It indicates that if you like a man’s or woman’s pictures, they must like you back. So you have a similar sense and you must proceed.

Variety

It is possible to meet someone you would not have expected to meet in person thanks to internet dating. People from all walks of life and from all over the world sign up for the dating app, and they all have access to a large pool of prospective soulmates. As a result, the user may locate the person for whom they have been waiting.

Key Functionalities For Dating App Development

After you’ve determined your dating app’s genre, it’s time to consider crucial features. The question has always been, “What should I include?” and we have the solution. Here are some of the essential features that you should consider in your dating app development process:

Social Media Integration

When it comes to dating and personal information, one of the most important considerations is safety, which is why background checks are so important. Users trust you with their images, whereabouts, and sexual inclinations, and they expect you to keep them safe.

You must discover what works best for your users and how you want to authenticate users on your dating app – using a phone number, a social network account, an ID, or a personal reference code – the possibilities are endless.

Geolocation Features

This functionality allows users to choose how far their match should go. This feature can also help your dating app’s customer retention rate (CRR) grow, as consumers will find new profiles to look at and swipe on when the area is expanded. 

Matching Algorithms

Before you start your dating app development process, you need to figure out how to match and how often to match. Some applications, for example, employ survey-based algorithms, which are based on surveys that individuals fill out about their lifestyle, interests, employment, romantic preferences, and desired outcomes.

Push Notifications

Push alerts can help a dating app’s engagement grow. It might be a new match notice, a new message notification, or just a polite reminder to check the app. It will be beneficial to propose Apple Push Notifications Service for iOS and Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) for Android apps as a provider.

Premium Options

Premium options will help you earn more money from your dating app. Users pay to unlock some special features which benefit you. You should also include this functionality in your app to generate maximum revenue.

AI Chatbots

Chatbots are all over the place, and their main goal is to assist humans. Chatbots are the genuine icebreakers in the process of dating app development. They can assist in the selection of the initial line of a discussion with a match. A chatbot can also warn you if a discussion has gone unanswered or if a new message has come.

Video Calls

Why limit the kind of conversations that may be had? Once the two people have gotten to know each other, they can set up a video conference session to talk in person. Aside from that, it’s a fantastic tool for long-distance mates who can’t meet in person.

Profile Verification

It’s always reassuring to know that the person you’re conversing with is genuine. Many well-known dating apps offer verification features that require you to transmit different images to moderators who will instruct you on what should be on the photo in order to validate your identity.

Basic Steps Of Dating App Development

The development fundamentals of a mobile application determine the strong foundation of the app in the market. Here are the basic steps of the dating app development process:

• Studying the functionality: Before getting started with the development process, you must know what functionalities your product will serve. You must keep the market and competitors in mind. 
• Discovering benefits: You must discover the strengths dating app development will bring to your business.
• Monetization Strategy: You should choose smart monetization strategies to earn money from your dating app. 
• Plan the structure and design: In this step, you should be able to plan your app’s design, prototype structure, target audience, marketing strategies, etc. 
• Tech Stack: You must choose if your want to include a basic or advanced technology stack in the app. This will affect the cost.
• MVP  features: The minimal viable product includes the basic features needed for the functionality of the app.

Revenue Model For Your Dating App Development

There are a lot of monetization strategies for your dating app. Recently, in an earnings report Tinder revealed that the company made a total revenue of $1.2 billion from matches and swipes in 2019. Dating apps have many ways of making money in the marketplace, a few of them are mentioned below:

• Profile Upgrade: There are three types of profiles on Tinder – Plus, Gold and Platinum. For example, Tinder Gold allows expansion in the area of search (geographically), monitor the number of likes received, and many other things. Hence, profile upgrading will prove to be beneficial for earning money.
• Interface Upgrade: In Tinder, if you swipe someone right to the left side or someone wrong to the right side and you want to undo it, Tinder asks you to upgrade your profile. The same strategy can be used for your dating app development. 
• Advertisements: Dating apps prove to be the best kind of marketplace for advertisements. It allows the collection of user data to analyse their behaviour. This also helps the advertisers to target the right audience with their ads.

What Is The Cost Of Dating App Development?

At AppDukaan, we aim to make the dating app development process and future steps transparent to our clients. The factors affecting the cost of dating app development are as follows:

• UI/UX Design
• Frontend development
• Backend development
• Project Management
• QA Test
• Features and functionalities added
• Technology stack
• Platforms integrated

Keeping all the factors in mind, the approximate range of development of a dating app is $80,000 to $100,000.

Final Thoughts

The dating app industry is fast-growing as a business. The pandemic taught us to date online, and current services are clamouring for additional capabilities like video chats and calls, shared online activities (such as viewing a movie in an app), and so on. If you’ve been thinking about dating app development, now is the time.