It is unarguably true that the location-based applications are the hottest trend of the mobile app industry. Adding the geolocation feature to a mobile app helps businesses to reach and connect to a wider audience. Even a report by MarketsandMarkets has also revealed that the location-based services market is expected to reach $40 billion in the next four years.
With this growing popularity, the demand for location-based applications is also increasing. And if you, too, are planning to build such an app, then this article is exclusively for you. Here, we have mentioned everything you should know to create a location-based application:
What types of applications use location-based services?
To improve customer experience and to expand market reach, almost all types of mobile applications these days are using customer services. Here are some of them:
(You can also consider the below-mentioned as the type of geolocation applications)
On-demand food delivery applications (Zomato, UberEats,.)
Social networking applications (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp,.)
Photo location finder applications (Google Photos)
Fitness applications (MyFitnessPal)
Dating applications (OkCupid, eharmony,.)
Weather applications (Yahoo Weather)
Travel booking applications (TripAdvisor, Expedia)
Taxi/Cab booking applications (Ola, Uber)
eCommerce applications (Amazon, eBay, Flipkart,.)
Emergency alert applications
What functions does a location-based app serve?
The basic functionalities of a geolocation application are as follows:
Provide information- To offer users the information about nearest places, such as food joints, hotels, hospitals,.
Socializing- To find out the location of friends and family connected through a social media platform.
Communicating- To add a place on the map so that other users can see it, submit feedback about a particular place, or check reviews of other users about a particular place.
Marketing- To run marketing campaigns and promote businesses among the local or international audience.
Key Features of location-based application
The features of a geolocation app depends on the type of app you want to create. However, the most common features include:
Identifying a location
Sharing location
To measure the distance between the objects or places
To find the shortest route to a particular destination
Benefits of a location-based application
These benefits are mainly from the business point of view:
Precise and quick services
Personalized customer experience
Simplified searching and shopping recommendations
Navigation and virtual tour
Technologies used to build location-based applications
Offering navigation services is possible using the following technologies:
GPS- A GPS (Global Positioning System) gets a signal from the satellite and is available everywhere. Almost all the smartphones these days come up with a default GPS feature, which is the most preferred way of locating a device.
Wi-Fi Positioning- This type of technology is preferred usually in urban areas as it works with high density. Wi-Fi positioning fetches location-based data from the internet, which means you should always have access to a Wi-Fi spot.
Cell ID- The technology can be preferred in the cities with a huge amount of cell towers; however, the precision level is not up to the mark in Cell ID.
When it comes to discussing about the indoor geolocation technologies, geofencing, iBeacon, and Eddystone are a few names that contribute to the list.
How to build a location-based app?
You can either develop a geolocation app on your own or find a reliable custom mobile app developmentcompany for the same. Choose the first one only if you have sound knowledge of the technology stack, tools, programming languages, frameworks, platforms (Android or iOS), and other things required for app development.
In case, if you don’t, then choose a trustworthy and experienced mobile app development company that has considerable experience in developing such applications.
To ensure the same, check the portfolio of the company or speak to their previous clients, if possible.
Another way of creating a geolocation application is to hire dedicated developerseither from a freelancing website or through a mobile app development company. In both the second and third cases, you don’t need to dig deeper into the technicalities as the development company or developer will take care of everything.
Moreover, many experienced mobile app development companies such as Quytech also offer the service of integrating the location-based service in your already developed travel, eCommerce, social networking, food delivery, dating, or weather application. All you have to do is to reach out to the company with your specific set of app requirements.
Team required building a location-based app
Generally, the development team needed to develop a geolocation application includes:
Project managers
UI/UX designers
Android or iOS Developers
Testing engineers
Support and maintenance professionals
What is the cost of building a location-based app?
The estimated cost of developing a geolocation app depends on various factors:
Complexity of the app
Features of the app
Purpose of the app
Tools and technologies required to build the app
Size and location of the app development company or developer
Experience of the development team
Platform on which you need to release the app
Roughly, you might need to pay somewhere between $20,000 to USD $50,000 as the total cost of development. The price may increase or decrease depending on your specific requirements.
Location-based app development cycle
To develop a geolocation application, a developer has to go through the six stages:
Market research
Do thorough research and go through the competitors’ apps before beginning a particular type of location-based application.
Prototyping
Visualize the project and complete the logical structure of your app to have an idea how of your app will look like.
Designing
Prepare the UI/UX design of the app. Make sure it is intuitive, simple, and reflects your message to your audience.
Coding
Coding is one of the crucial development phases; therefore, pay attention while developing the app for Android or iOS platforms.
Testing
Testing is done to ensure that the code functions properly and the app serves its purpose.
Launch
After everything seems fine, your app is ready to launch.
Get a location-based mobile application developed right away!
Final Words
Location-based apps are the talk of the town; if you want to build such an application, then check out this article. Here, we have thrown light on the types, features, functionalities, and benefits of a location-based app. Moreover, we have also listed the technologies using which the app can be developed. Apart from this, you can also check the cost of building the app along with the complete development cycle of a geolocation app development.
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