How to Create an App like WhatsApp | Ultimate Guide

Have you ever thought about what makes a messaging app so popular? Let us help you: 

• Quick and Reliable 
• Easy to understand and use 
• Service That Is Worth the Money 
• Connection is safe and sound 
• How to Handle a Slow Internet Connection 

All right? Well, all these things are covered by WhatsApp. It has become the best messaging app ever and has changed a lot about how we talk to friends and family and share files with them. With 2 billion active users, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world right now. 

The app has reached the pinnacle of success, and businesses are trying to follow in its footsteps and make progress. This article is about How to create an app from scratch like WhatsApp and reach the top of the market. Here, you will find the things you need to know to make the process of making an app more accessible. 

WhatsApp App: Roles and History 

WhatsApp is a messaging app that was started by Brian Acton and Jan Koum in 2009. It lets people talk to each other in real-time. It is a cheaper alternative to mobile carrier networks’ short message service. People say that WhatsApp has done for SMS what Skype did for calling internationally. Today, the app can be downloaded on PCs, MacBook, smartphones, and tablets. So, it makes sense that you want to make a messaging app like WhatsApp. 

You can send photos, audio files, and geodata, which is especially useful for people who like to travel. You can also send contact information and voice messages. 

WhatsApp has a lot of features, a flexible way to change settings, a simple, easy-to-use interface, and high performance. Because of this, WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. Many business owners want to know how to create an app like WhatsApp. 

Many people who want to start their business consider WhatsApp a good model. So, they need to know how much it will cost to create an app like WhatsApp so they can plan their budget and estimate how much they might spend. 

Steps on How to Create an app Like WhatsApp 

Like messaging apps, there are also chatbot applications or portals that eCommerce sites can add to their website, software, and apps. If someone wants to make an app like WhatsApp, they should first look up the steps to create an app like WhatsApp. So, here are some important steps that will help you make the app easily. 

Market Analysis

Making an app is hard, but you need to do market research to ensure it will be successful. Market analysis can help you get in touch with the right people. During the research, you need to find out what the latest trend is that people are interested in, what the current market statistics are for apps that are like your idea, what your competitors are doing, and other things. 

Monetization Model

The way apps like TikTok and social sharing apps make money is pretty much the same. After doing market research, the next step is to choose the monetization model that will bring in good money once it’s put into place. Messaging apps are not only the best way to talk to people but also the best way to promote and advertise a brand. The best example is WhatsApp Business, which helps businesses sell their products the easiest way possible. 

Picking out features

For the best chatting app development, you need to focus on the features and functions you want to give your users. The best idea is to divide the features into two groups: primary features and advanced features. For the best future of your app, you should first add all the most key features and then move on to the more advanced ones. It will take you step by step through all the features. One can also look at the features of a social media app to add more features or benefits. 

I am going to talk about a few of WhatsApp’s most popular features. You should include the following features on How to create an social media app like WhatsApp. 

• Texts: With this feature, you can send and receive text messages. You do not have to pay anything to send a message on WhatsApp. 
• Group Chat: It lets you make a WhatsApp group so all your friends and family can talk to each other in one place. In a group chat, people can share photos, videos, and messages with up to 256 others simultaneously. 
• Voice and Video Call: Users can do voice and video calls. 
• AutoCorrect: This feature fixes misspelt words and suggests the right ones. 
• Editing Photos: Now, the app lets you edit the photos because it has several ways. 
• Sharing: This feature lets people share the document, the URL, a contact, an image, a video, a GIF, and a live location with their friends. 
• Share Story: Like on Instagram and Facebook, you can share stories. 
• Unlock With Fingerprint: You can unlock the app using this feature. 
• Security: An app has many security features, such as hiding the last time you used it, limiting who can see it, choosing who can see your profile picture, deleting messages, About info, and Status. 
• Pin a Conversation or Hide It: You can pin and hide conversations. 
• Save Data and Storage Space: This lets you save and store data.

Layout and design

For better customer engagement, the design and layout are especially important. So, you must carefully choose a design that will attract customers. You need to choose both the design and the tools that will help you make designs stand out. Experienced UI/UX designers can help you design the messaging app of your dreams, like WhatsApp. 

Also Read: How to Create a Dating App from Scratch ?

Hire a team of developers

If you want your app to grow and change over time, its architecture should be well thought out from the start. A good business owner always sees this. As your application grows, you will need to be able to handle a lot of data at once. To add new features later without any problems, you need to think about everything, from how long the server will last to how the code is written. As new options are added, an app that has bad code can stop working right. 

Now, let us talk about the diverse ways to hire to figure out which one is best for you: 

• Freelancers: This choice is great because it lets you cut down on development costs and finish simple tech tasks. But you have no guarantee of quality and no faith in the experience of such specialists. Also, freelancers often ask for a down payment, after which they might not do the job. 

• In-house teams: Putting together a team of people who work for the company is an excellent option for big companies that need to build and maintain big projects. Your team and you can talk to each other well, and as a result, you are also easy to reach. Still, you are in charge of everything related to management. Also, when hiring developers, you must ensure they have the right skills. Also, this choice is the most expensive because you must buy expensive equipment, pay office rent and salaries, and pay many other costs. 

• Outsourcing teams: With outsourcing, you can cut your costs by a lot while keeping the high quality of your work. Among other benefits, there is no need to spend time on interviews to check the developer’s skills since the whole team has already been put together with verified high qualifications. So, you do not have to pay for hardware or office space. Instead, you only must pay for the services. Many businesses have already been able to improve their workflow and reach their goals by having flexible ways to work together, meeting deadlines, and having precise requirements.  

We think you should hire someone who has previously worked on projects like this. Good experts can think of all the ways an app could go wrong and cause money to be lost in the future. Do not put your money and reputation at risk; instead, hire a very professional team. 

How much does it cost to make an app like WhatsApp?

How much  does it costs to create an app like WhatsApp depends on several things, but most of the cost goes toward adding features. Here are some of the things that affect how much it costs to make an app: 

1. Features and functions  
2. Mobile App Development Platform  
3. Number of experts involved  
4. Location of mobile app developers  
5. App Complexity  
6. Hiring Model 

The total cost is the sum of how much each of the costs of the above things. If you want a simple app for a single platform, it could cost you between US $35,000 and US $100,000. It can be more if you want to add more complex features. 

How to Make Money from an App 

Here are some of the most important ways to make money with a chat app. Just go through each method to find out how to make money from apps. 

• In-app payments 

Users can start interacting with the Chat App’s content once they have downloaded it. So, in this case, the app’s features are especially important. It is possible to make money from the features of a Chat App if they are interesting enough to get people to use it. One of the most popular messaging apps, WeChat, added video games to its chat platform, which got people interested in playing the games. The games on WeChat are so fun and easy to play that people play them all the time. 

But users can only play the games for free for a certain amount of time. After that, they have to pay a fee to play the game. Here, the in-app purchases were a big part of how much money the owner made. It is suggested that chat apps add premium themes, filters, wallpapers, and visually appealing videos to make more money. Users will pay for premium content if they like it. So, Chat Apps are an excellent way to keep some income regularly. 

• Advertisement 

Even though smartphones are common, advertisers have started promoting their ads through mobile apps. Chat apps are the best way to advertise on mobile devices because people use them all the time. You can also use different affiliate and pay-per-click programs on different chat apps. So, aspiring entrepreneurs can make good money by putting different ads on the apps. 

• Renewal Charges 

Some Chat Apps charge users a small fee after a certain amount of time, like a year. In the past, users of the most popular chat app, WhatsApp, had to pay $0.99 yearly to keep using it. So, entrepreneurs can make money from their Chat Apps by charging a renewal fee. 

• Cost per download 

When a messaging app is available in the app store, users start downloading it. The users do not have to pay to get the messaging apps. The app store gives the app owner a certain amount of money for each download. So, even though the app is free to download, it is possible for the people who made it and owned it to make some money from each download. 

• Accounts that are official or verified 

This idea is popular in the market now, and every Chat App has added this feature. With the help of an official account, celebrities and well-known brands can share pictures, text messages, and much more with their fans. Here, celebrities or brands pay the app owner a certain amount to keep the official account. 

So, if you want to make your own Chat App, do not be afraid to put money into it because the return is more than good. Use all these methods to make more and more money through the chatting app. Just do not forget to get people to use your chatting platform because the main idea behind making money is that “the more people who use and interact with the chat application, the higher the chance of high revenues.” 

Conclusion 

A popular and good mobile app can significantly affect how productive a business is. The creative steps listed here will help you create a Android app like WhatsApp. But to do that, you will need to plan things out. 

If you want to create a messaging app like WhatsApp, you should hire android app developers from a well-known company with a good track record. This will help you make a unique app that helps you reach your business goals.