The fitness application market will grow to $14.6 billion by 2027 which indicates the popularity of fitness applications. In fact, usage of these applications grew by 35% from March to November last year following the lockdowns resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Customers continue to use mobile phones and the Internet for shopping and this creates good chances for the prosperity of these types of applications. The number of people using smartphones to complete their fitness purchases and searches increased by 75% since the start of lockdowns to June last year.

A fitness app costs between $15,000 to $30,000 for a simple single-platform Android and iOS app, and up to $50,000 for a cross-platform app. Further, it depends on the length of development. The app could take between two to six months to develop depending on the availability of teams.

Here is how to create a fitness application.

1. Decide on the Type of Mobile Fitness Application

There are at least five types of fitness applications from which to choose. The type will depend on the core activities you hope to provide. Fitness tracking apps allow users to keep a track of their calories. They are used in training and also help to track distance traveled, pace maintained, heart rates, and other things. They help users with information on the nutrients to use to reduce the calorie values.

Workout fitness apps are also popular in fitness app development. These apps help users to develop effective workout schedules and motivate individuals to accomplish the schedules. You can develop schedules that fit into your busy work and business or school schedules. Some also help you to stay entertained with songs and videos as you work out.

Social fitness apps are great for social media users. They allow users to share fitness data with family and friends. They can together play games to motivate each other to work out. These are nearly similar to competitive apps that encourage people to participate in competitive games and sports when working out.

Altruistic apps go a little further by allowing people to earn money as they compete on bike riding routes and in other sports. They also, therefore, incorporate social aspects.

2. Research and Look For Inspirations

Researching allows you to find out what features customers are looking for and how to exactly incorporate them into your app. Market research allows you to identify potential customers and what they are looking for in fitness apps. It also helps to identify and take up the actual market opportunities for the product by capitalizing on your internal and external strengths about the product innovation. You will also know and understand the possible risk in the market for those particular products and how to negate them. The research helps you to know your competitors better and how to win the competition. It also helps you to organize the most important building blocks of a business: capital, expenses, projected incomes, and possible debts.

There are many applications already developed that can offer good examples of what you want to develop. You can look at these apps to learn what features to include in yours. Because they are already in the market, their owners incorporate the functionality and features that work for their customers. These applications will therefore provide a clue on what customers in this industry are looking for.

Looking at these examples can help you reduce your testing expenses. You will better target the customers and avoid unnecessary features from the start. This helps to make the development cycle shorter. They will also help cut down your marketing budgets. Ensure to choose examples from the specific type of application you want to develop.

3. Decide on the Features to Include

Too many features will increase the cost of fitness app development. However, the more features, the better will be the functionality. When developing a fitness app, some of the features to include are as follows:

User profile and personal information feature help individuals to register within the app. It also helps customers to customize their workout schedules and activities within the app based on age, sex, height, weight, and other details they submit when filling in their profiles. They can also submit information about any medical conditions they may have. This helps them to further personalize their workout and fitness schedules.

You can incorporate signup and login functionality such as social media logins and integration to make filling out profiles quick and easy.

Most fitness apps have the functionality to help create user workout exercises, diet plans, and schedules. While some use manual functionality, it is better to automate the creation of these schedules and plans to make it easy for the customer. Make sure users can track their workout statistics.

Most apps will allow customers to set goals across the range of statistics they monitor. Remember workouts nowadays should be more about gaming than official schedules. It helps people stay highly motivated. You could even incorporate the possibility for users to make money as they complete the workout schedules and compete in physical and actual rides or games.

Another important feature when developing a fitness app is integration with wearable devices, among them smartwatches and fitness bands. Users who have these devices can easily use them with apps. Never forget the power of in-app purchases for clients who want to buy extra functionality. You can have the app incorporate premium models and premium schedules that customers can pay to use. Concerning that, incorporate easy ways to pay in your app including credit and debit cards.

Finally, never forget to include the push notification feature because it reminds users of their workout schedules and goals. 

4. Invest in Good Developers or Development Company

Many people choose to hire permanent developers to code the functionality they need. Others choose to outsource developers. Designers will help create an effective UX/UI, colors, backgrounds, etc. to provide a better user experience on the app.

Coding is a lengthy process that requires concentration. You need to carefully look at your coding tools, choose the code wisely, commit the code to different teams for verification, and relook and test the code several times once completed. Many developers understand the importance of auditing code.

The next phase will be launching the prototype once development reaches the critical stage. Developers can also assist in testers but you should invest in separate testing. An example is recruiting some of your customers to be testers before the launch of the product. Invest in a good support team after launching the product. 

5. Market Your Product

Marketing is a very critical step in fitness app development. It allows you to sell your ideas to the target customers. You can use traditional advertising models, launch a website, launch email marketing campaigns, social media pages, launch promotions, and giveaways, or do roadshows. Whichever works for your product type is best. The best is to combine all strategies. Marketing should have separate budgets and plans.

6. Product Development is a Cycle

You will be engaged in redeveloping the app over and over again to suit it better to your target customers.

You should invest in feedback channels and research channels that allow you to know your customer preferences and use these to develop better app functionality.