How to Develop the Best Fitness App in 2021

Fitness is all the rage in the past few years. People are adapting to a healthier lifestyle by eating healthily or exercising more. Because of this, fitness apps on both Google Playstore and Apple App Store have seen tremendous success. 

Since fitness apps are targeted towards a particular customer, you should be aware of all the steps to ensure that your app becomes successful and profitable. 

To develop a fitness app, you should define your target customers, design a profitable monetization model, and hire the best fitness app development company. Here is a quick guide that covers all your needs to develop the best fitness app in 2021. 

Strategy Phase

Define Your Target Customers

Just like in every business, you should know who your target customers are. You aim to design the app with them in mind to have a solid customer base you can build up from. 

There are generally a few types of people who would download a fitness app. A few examples are: 

• Athletes who want to track their workout routines
• Young adults who want to stay fit by eating healthy
• Overweight to obese people who want to get thinner
• Busy working adults who wish to schedule their workout 
• Ordinary people who want to build muscle mass
• People with illness who require a special diet or workout routine
• Adults or elderly who want to change their lifestyle

The people mentioned above are just a few examples of who can be your target customer. Each of them requires different features in a fitness app. After your app gets developed and launched, you can expand it to appeal to more customers. 

Set Your Goals

Users like fitness apps that have a lot of functions. However, creating too many at once can lead to a subpar app that doesn’t excel anywhere. You should set a specific goal on how your fitness app can help people who want to become healthier, 

Here are a few of the main features that people would want in a fitness app:

• Body measurements
• Weight history
• Number of steps travelled
• Number of calories that are taken and burned
• Workout routines
• Diet tracking

Based on your app’s goal, choose a few functions that should be on your app. For example, if you aim for a weight loss app, then weight history, workout routines, and diet tracking should be a few of its primary functions. 

 Another example is an app focused on exercising. This can appeal to people who want to have leaner muscles or increase their muscle mass. Your app should have workout routines, diet tracking, and body measurement functions. Depending on the type of app you are developing, integrate the core functions necessary. 

Monetization Models

Picking the proper monetization model can be a huge advantage of your app compared to other fitness apps available on the market. The following are the main types of monetization models you can choose for your app. 

1.Free App

A lot of users love a free app. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The problem with this is that you cannot earn any money with an available app. Unless your fitness app is a hobby or a side project, going for other monetization models would be your best option. 

2. Paid App

As the name suggests, paid apps are applications that you need to pay for before using. This is an excellent method to ensure that you will have an income every time someone downloads your app. However, unless they get recommended by their friends, favourite blogger, or other people they trust, people are not likely to buy your app. 

Alternatively, you can also have in-app purchases. You can offer your app for free, but a user needs to pay to unlock premium features. 

3. Subscription

An app with a subscription fee has generated mixed reviews. While some people don’t mind paying monthly for an app, some people would rather pay once and get access to the app forever. However, compared to a paid app, you might generate more income through subscriptions, as you are continuously earning. 

Subscription-based apps are popular among fitness apps because most people who want to get healthy won’t mind additional fees as long as the app helps them. This is perhaps the best option for a fitness app, but it still depends on your app’s features. 

Development Stage

Hiring Developers

The success of your app depends on who develops your app. You should decide on whether you should hire a team or just one developer. While hiring a group can be more expensive, they can work for a shorter period. Meanwhile, a single developer might need more amount of time for the same app. 

Should also consider the complexity of your app should also consider the complexity of your app. If you are thinking about creating an app with multiple features, hiring a development team is better. Since there are many fitness apps on the market, you should develop an app with competitive features that your users cannot find elsewhere. 

UX/UI Design

The user experience and user interface design have a significant impact on your customer retention. People who like your app’s features might still leave if it has a poor design or it’s challenging to use. 

Hiring a designer for your app is the right choice. But if you already planned on hiring a development team, you can inquire if UX/UI design is already included in the package. Most development companies will provide everything you need to develop a good fitness app. 

Launching

Advertising

Without proper advertising, people will not know about your app. The most common technique is to run ads on social media or contact influencers to promote your app. You can also contact various fitness blogs to give a review of your app. 

App Improvements

When your app is launched, you should listen and address current customer complaints. They might find bugs that the developers missed or would like to have certain apps to help them stay fit. 

If there are no current customer complaints, you can improve the app to appeal to more customers. You can also check if your customers are routinely using the app. You can implement features like notifications, social sharing, or other incentives to encourage your users to use your app more often. 

Summary

A fitness app is perhaps one of the most in-demand types of applications nowadays. If you have done proper research, designed your app towards your ideal customer’s needs, and hired a good development team, you can compete in the market.