How Much Does It Cost To Build A Messenger App Like Whatssapp

mobile app development company

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 .

Java Or Kotlin : Who Is The Originator Of Android Application ?

java vs kotlin

Whenever we think of developing an android application , we always think of developing it on java language . However its 2018 , wherein there are varieties of alternatives available to build the app apart from java .

Certain programming languages has been able to catch many eyes off lately this years and one of them is Google I/O , which is now known to be the first official language of Android , named as Kotlin . Even the android studio supports Kotlin . Kotlin can be used easily in android studio and the main benefit being it reduces the overall app development time to great extent .

Now the main confusion which arises while talking about app development is which one to choose : Java or Kotlin ? Which one is better ? Lets read further to further find out .

What Is Kotlin ?

Kotlin is open source programming language use to build awesome mobile applications . It is preloaded with object oriented and functional programming features for JVM and Android .

Kotlin was originally discovered in 2010 by JetBrains , the firm which is known for its well know Java IDEs .

Kotlin VS Java

The best part for the developer when it comes to learning a Kotlin is any experienced Java developer can get the whole idea of Kotlin and that to within few hours . Kotlin is originally oriented from Java only , and that is the reason developers can use both Java and Kotlin simultaneously to get the best output .
Java frameworks and libraries can be easily created in Kotlin . Choosing Kotlin over Java will surely give you number of benefits in your app development process such as safe casting , extension function and much more .

Is Moving From Java To Kotlin Is Good & Safer Decision ?

Java is worlds most widely used programming languages , however it might not be the case when we are talking about Android development aways.
Java is a prehistoric language , although recent launch of Java 8 with lambda function has impressed many developers , but the fact is when we are actually building apps on android studio  android will only support subset Java8 features , and thereby you may not be able to take the full stack advantage of Java 8 .
Apart from it NullPointException and try catchy blocks are another of the greatest issue faced buy a programmer during development . As we all know java is ancient language , its syntax is also very old when we are comparing it with modern programming language .
So answering the above question , Kotlin code is is better than Java code , and can perfectly work on android . But Kotlin is not preferred for freshers as it will be very hard to learn in case you are not aware with the concept of core Java . So for newbies you can start with Java and can later move on to Kotlin .

So Will Winklix Prefer You To Use Kotlin ?

Java is a old school programming language which we have been using since last 10 years . Although there are high end developers who can give you an awesome output , but the limitation of programming language is always been there over the years . And that is the reason Kotlin has come with more viable approached such as :
  • Avoids NullPointExceptions errors
  • Easy to get due to open source
  • Reduces coding time for better execution
  • It can be used with Java .
  • Easy to learn in case you are familiar with syntax of Java .

Kotlin For Android Development : Yes Or Not ?

Umm… if we were in 2015 , then we would have not adopted the same as Kotlin was not mature enough art that time .
But the good news is its 2018 , and yes Kotlin is mature enough to handle all kind of request . It also pre comes with Android Studio support which means IDE knows how to get the most out of this technology . Anyone can learn this language with ease , which giving fewer long term crashes the Kotlin is hoped to be deployed with various new features in coming years .
It is a modern programming language and may overcome on Java within few years . Java and Kotlin both has the ability of supporting all Java libraries and frameworks . The support and community for Kotlin is also increasing day by day .
So Kotlin has a brighter future and Java will surely remain the pillar of android app development which every fresher should learn at initial stages .

Mobile App Prototyping Techniques

app prototype

Mobile app prototyping is one of the fundamental assignment to be finished at the specific first stage to give the diagram of the app to architect and in addition engineer . At Winklix , we take after dexterous approach to mobile app development , and subsequently we take after early approach for prototyping . This article is composed exclusively to highlight the advantages of prototyping at beginning times of item app advancement , so the end client of the app gets the best involvement of the item so far .

Two Stages Of Mobile App Prototyping

The procedure of prototyping beginning after finish of the underlying outline process and wireframing . Configuration is to exhibit face to face what the app will look like showing all the vital highlights that should be organize which by utilizing their planning abilities . At this stage the mobile app UI and UX likewise begins to shape , following mobile app wireframes . Building an interactive prototype resembles flight Onboarding for our fashioner wherein one will become more acquainted with the look and feel of the app looks .

The last advance before we take of for formative procedure to begin on , prototype are must to check collaboration we are building are right and is upto the stamp for the issue we are endeavoring to unravel with app improvement .

In a long procedure of app influencing , we to take after the way toward drawing on an unpleasant portray , wireframing , prototype , advancement and afterward at last outline . Along these lines it is important to invest as much energy as vital for making such association and it is likewise truth that it may change numerous occasions yet don’t lament to do that as everybody gains from errors and mix-ups enhance makes a marvelous app .

Points of interest Of Early Mobile App Prototyping

The appropriate response is straightforward , when we get the prototype , early we will have the capacity to get the client input for the same. The advantages to us in number of route for our irritative approach to app plan and improvement . Our group adores to hear remarks and convey the best as indicated by the ongoing business sector patterns .

Everybody has their own essence of outline , and its essential to know the idea of each individual together with including the flavors with our own particular gourmet specialists . In any case prototype , we can begin client testing instantly – along these lines giving outline of how the item fits in the market .

Client criticism assumes an essential part in any of the procedure and spares heaps of time and cash as by this we will dependably have the capacity to convey what client is precisely searching for . This additionally causes us finding of slip-ups at beginning periods and subsequently correcting it before the advancement procedure begins .

Prototype likewise lessens the correspondence hole amongst outlining and advancement group .

Removing The Most From Mobile App Prototyping

In display time snappy , single cooperations is the way to achievement of any sort of app . It is important to begin with prototyping promptly after finish of UX examine. At Winklix , we prescribe our clients to hinder your chance with creator and engineers both in same space to get the best review of the conceivable outcomes to get the things in good shape . By this procedure we are constantly happy to spare our huge amounts of times which would have been squandered on the off chance that we had not taken after this procedure .

The best result of wireframe can be gotten by following a lo-fi approach of making a wireframe and keeping away from a hello there fi approach . Winklix makes wireframes in dark scale keeping in mind the end goal to simply center around format and client travel , as essential structure , feel and excursion is the primary which should be centered around.

Why Prototype Matters To Winklix

Each group of our devoted engineer dependably centers around making an app that client will love and which gets included on app stores. Furthermore, for that we endeavor to center around client fulfillment . Amid the wireframing procedure of item , we get clear bit of each movement to be performed . From the beginning times of the procedure , its vital to test every component so as to get the best result . The prior you do the same , the more easy to use app it will be .