How do you grow a messaging app?
Are you looking for a way to develop a messaging app? Follow this article. Because in this article we are going to talk more about a messenger application and other information related to it.
 | 9 minute(s) read | Published on: Jun 19, 2023 Updated on: Jun 19, 2023 |
With the rapid growth of social networks in 2018, you may be wondering what the status of messaging apps is in 2020? Successful, it should be noted that messengers are concerned about success and popularity. On the other hand, users are able to communicate with their friends and relatives using the messenger, and promote people's business. In fact, the key method is to communicate with customers. This fact, on the other hand, will re-popularize and accelerate the growth of messengers in 2020. In the meantime, WhatsApp has managed to win the first place among the most popular apps, following which entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to create a messaging app like WhatsApp.What it offers, a modern chat application needs to have considerable capabilities to adapt to any kind of chat solution. On the other hand, an ideal chat application is able to provide solutions for enterprise-level communication, customer-facing business communication management, e-commerce chat, and personal chat.Now we should be ready to develop an amazing chat application like WhatsApp. 1. Features required in a messaging app such as WhatsApp: In this article, we are going to talk about the features of a WhatsApp-like application from the beginning of a messaging app.
Registration page and contact ad
It is possible to implement authentication in chat applications through various methods: among others, I can mention a phone number, email address or social media address. According to the majority of messaging apps, users log in via phone number; WhatsApp provides security information by sending an SMS verification code. As a result, after registration, users are able to create their own profiles where it is possible to add personal information and profile picture.The next step was to be able to import contacts from the address book, because if you do not have someone to chat with, you do not want any other entertainment in the chat app. In addition, it is necessary to make sure that the stage is fast and convenient. In other words, if there are more users than friends in a chat app, they will be more likely to use it.
Profile customization
By customizing profiles, users will be able to express their personality. They can choose an avatar photo from their camera roll or take a snapshot by changing their name and nickname, background colors, patterns and fonts. In addition, in many apps, people will be able to see the user's status, in fact, they can know when they last used the messaging app, in addition to knowing when people are online and when they are typing.
Notices
The instant messaging features can be operated using the Internet, although if users are offline, they will be able to receive missed messages as soon as they are back online. On the other hand, messages can be of status delivered/failed/viewed/edited). It should be noted that among the specific features of most chat apps, it is possible for users to create the status of their messages from the moment they are sent until the recipient reads them.Considering the features of all the chat apps of this instant messaging, for this purpose, in order to distinguish a app, it was necessary to consider private and public chats. Through a group chat option, users will be able to create a group and chat with several people, by inviting people to the group; they can also create a subgroup to send photos by selecting group members in a group.On the other hand, your up-to-date messaging app will need to send messages to users. Saved conversation history is possible. In fact, for messengers, it is necessary to store chat history and files sent by users in the cloud in order to be accessible on any device. Therefore, this is a great feature for people who use a messaging account via device. In other words, those who lost their phones as well as those who accidentally deleted the chat app will be able to use this. Through quick search, it allows users to search and track conversations that have been done a long time ago. Alternatively, users will be able to search for their friends, media files, GIF files, etc.Among other features that can be implemented, we can mention voice messaging. By using this feature, text messages will be able to be transmitted through audio media. In fact, users will be able to leave messages at any time without having to type everything.
Video and voice calls
With the use of video and audio calls, the chat app will become more interactive, which will not create any restrictions for users to interact and communicate with each other. The following are the main audio and video options that an app can offer:
Voice call
Through voice calling, users will be able to call their contacts free. In addition, this is possible if you are in another country. In addition, through voice calls, users will not be able to see each other despite the possibility of talking.
Video call
Through video calling, users will be able to communicate visually with each other. Additionally, a video call over an Internet connection uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which includes the personal video that makes the call possible. This feature facilitates communication with friends and family, when they are far from each other.In addition, through group calls of chat apps, users will be able to have group conversations with voice and video.
Transfer media files
It should be noted that in addition to emoji’s and text, people tend to share other types of media such as photos, stickers, and GIFs. Because sometimes, using a photo can say everything quickly, especially in a live chat app. In addition, stickers are also among the best monetization options for a messaging app.
Push notifications
When developing an MVP, notifications will need to be implemented in an app. They act as a direct line of communication between the messenger and its users. On the other hand, these useful messages keep users active in the app. It can also notify them when they receive new messages or when someone goes online.By checking the types of push notification, you can strengthen your online business. 2. Including additional features that enable the app to compete with reputable brands.A messaging app will need to send and receive messages - despite the pointlessness of doing so; sometimes a mobile app can be made successful by using an exclusive feature. In fact, this is what happened with Snapchat, which enables users to share images or videos that can be viewed for a few seconds.Here is a quick checklist of additional messaging app features to consider when building an instant messaging app like WhatsApp:Customizable profiles (background colors, patterns, fonts)On the other hand, secure secret chats through messages that are destroyed after being read for a certain period on both of your devices.Ability to schedule messages in advance (for example for birthdays and holidays)Ability to share locationProviding Stickers Enable your users to create their own stickers.Temporary content such as statuses and storiesAbility to play games (providing entertainment)Enabling e-commerce features (eg, chatbots)Possibility of exclusive content in collaboration with influencers (such as KIK)Chat botEnd-to-End encryption is a communication systemCloud sync 3. Technology stack for an application like WhatsAppSo how can you create a chat app like WhatsApp? Start by understanding the technology stack you need.
Authentication
Knowing the users is essential for any mobile application. Therefore, any messaging application will need to have authentication to be able to protect users from fraud and spam. Because of this, it can be implemented through a third party API. In addition to implementing phone number authentication in your chat app, you will be able to use the Nexmo API, which provides an easy way to add a layer of protection by using phone numbers to authenticate new and existing customers. If your chat app supports authentication with email addresses or social media accounts, you will be able to use tools like Facebook SDK and Twitter Kit.
Chat
The chat app actually means continuous messages. Better yet, use WebSocket to instantly process hundreds of thousands of messages immediately. Through WebSockets, you will be able to establish a solid connection between the mobile application and the server. WebSockets provide the ability to send data directly. In addition, it provides fast and continuous communication between the server and the phone application.If you want to make the chat between your users more fun, you will need to add emoji. Better yet, learn how to create an emoji keyboard.
Storage of user information
A chat app handling many user data including text messages, files and images, in order to store all this user data, it should provide the possibility to set the backup logic. This part of development includes databases such as PostgreSQL, file storage services such as Amazon S3, and web servers such as Nginx.
Notifications
On the other hand, notifications are necessary to keep your users and keep them active in the app. In addition, in order to develop an Android chat application, it is better to use Firebase Cloud Messaging and for an iOS messaging application, you will be able to use Firebase or Apple Push Notifications, which are native to the iOS platform.
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