There was a time when people used to meet in parks, cafes, theatres, or shopping malls. But in today’s technologically advanced world, everybody is connected to each other through their smartphones and social media applications. The Internet has helped us a lot to connect with people while we are not having the time and are also living far away from our loved ones. In this advanced world, technology has paved the way to even find our partners for short or even long-term relationships.
Whether you are looking for a better half or just want to grab a cup of coffee with local, dating apps are paving ways to interact with people and build relationships with them. Everybody likes to interact with a person who has similar tastes, views, opinions or any other thing that makes them attractive. With an online dating application, you can find your favourite person in your locality or city within a few clicks.
Finding the perfect partner as per your choice was never so easy. A few years ago, you could interact with other people through social networking only, but dating apps have refined this way as these apps are mostly dedicated to casual hookups as well as long-term relationships.
A dating app is having a huge potential in the market as people love to find new people with whom they can interact. Henceforth, in this article, we are going to discuss how to develop an astonishing dating application and what should be its essential features.
How to build a dating application?
We have mentioned the important steps that you must follow for developing a dating application.
Identify the principle of the app functionality
Dating mobile applications are overall social media apps. It means you need to give utmost attention to support human interaction and meeting users’ particular needs. There are no identical dating applications in the market. Each app such as Tinder, OkCupid, etc. is having their own set of features, though it is possible that many features may overlap with each other.
Getting started with the dating app:
The first interaction of the user with your app is highly important. The best idea is to demonstrate the working of the app through screenshots to the user. You can use a slider of images to show “How it Works”. This will be really helpful for the users and they will love your app at first sight. Don’t forget to add a “Skip tutorial” button.
Matching Algorithms To Deploy
After entering all the details, the user will begin using your app and it is the showtime. The users will start finding a match for them. There are many different matching algorithms to match up people who like each other. Here are some of them:
· Location-Based Matching: It is a great way to get acquainted with the people in your locality and the chances for the match also increases. You are more likely to live happily with a person in the same city than someone who is living on another continent. Dating apps use GPS components in their matching algorithms. The app will suggest a list of users living nearby your location and brief information about them. You can decide with whom you wish to start communication.
· Mathematical basis: In this method, there is a mathematical algorithm which matches people on the basis of their preferences or taste. Most apps provide a questionnaire to fill in which they ask several questions regarding your taste. These algorithms are based on compatibility percentage of answers given for each question. OkCupid, for e.g., determines the compatibility rate in a complex way. It not only takes answers in the account but also how you will like someone else to answer and why this question is important for you.
· Behavioral Matching: It is question-based compatibility to give users a clue who can suit them best. The only problem in this algorithm is that users may give false information about them. It can even happen unintentionally or users can consciously conceal certain things. This matching is more complicated than the above – mentioned algorithm as they work on data gathered from outside resources such as social platforms, groups they visit, musical playlists, etc.
· Advanced Matching Methods: Trending dating applications have become a lot smarter. They are not relying on any single algorithm and instead of using multiple algorithms and technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, etc.
Benefits of Dating Apps
As dating apps are getting so popular, we have found out 5 main benefits they provide.
Efficiency and Speed
Unlike a website, there is more freedom on the app and it is also every time available. The users can instantly use the app even on the go. They can look for their partner while working, eating, or doing anything. It makes you find a partner easier in your hectic schedule.
Best for busy people and introverts
For some people work is their life. They didn’t get time for themselves. They want to interact with new people but have no time to spend on a coffee date. For these people, dating apps are like a boon. They can find a perfect match for themselves even while working. Same goes for introverts – people who can’t socialize with other people, especially in person.
Find a partner in your neighbourhood
Most of the dating applications come with the GPS feature which lets the users find people in their geographical location. It means that the user will not only meet somebody, but a new friend can also even live on the distance 1 km from him or her. It is a really impressive thing.
No unwanted connections
Nobody can’t frustrate you with hundreds of messages until and unless you don’t want them. As a rule, a user can send a message to others if there is a match between them. It means if you like a person, then the same person needs to also like you for a conversation.
Variety
With online dating, you can find people with whom you can’t even meet in reality. People of different professions such as doctors, lawyers, etc. So it is possible for the user to find who they have been waiting for.
Structure and Design of the app
After knowing the benefits, let’s begin with the development of the app.
Choose a catching name
The name shouldn’t just be attractive but also catchy. The users should be able to remember the name of your app for a long time. It should be short, and associative so that the users just listen once, and remember forever.
Find the right audience
What age users do you want to create the dating app? Obviously, you must be creating a general dating application which can meet the requirements of both the young and old generation. But then, what is distinctive about your app. If you are going in general, then you will gain nothing. Hence, it is better to create an app for a specific region or for a specific audience.
Interactive UI and UX design
The user interface of your dating application should be highly captivating so that the users will feel positive when they start using it. Better to go with a simple and intuitive design. Users also want a transparent UX which is neither confusing nor complex.
Make a marketing plan
If you don’t already have a brand reputation then it is almost impossible to gain users without a marketing plan. You need to do brand promotion and increase your customer base after creating a proper marketing plan. It will also help in increasing customers’ loyalty and engage users.
Technological Stack of the application
Before creating a dating app, you should be aware of the technological stack involved in it. At Amplework, we can use whatever tools you wish to create an app. The general tools required for developing a dating app:
| Tools | Mobile/Back-end |
| Programming Languages | Swift, Kotlin, Java |
| Frameworks | Node.js, Express.js, React, Flutter, Next.js |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis |
| Cloud Storage | Amazon S3 |
| Web Servers | Nginx |
| Payment Gateways | Paypal, Stripe, Braintree |
| Other utilities | Google Maps, Google Analytics, Elasticsearch, Twilio, Optimizely |
MVP Development of your application
Although you wish to create a unique app which will have all distinctive features there are some mandatory features that you must include. These features are also called MVP features.
1. Social Sign-in: Users don’t have time to fill a long form of registration instead they wish to sign-in through a single tap. With the social media login, you let the users sign up and login without any hassle. Include popular social media options such as Facebook, Google, or even LinkedIn.
2. Profile Page: The users should be able to maintain their profile. They can list down their favourite activities, a short brief about themselves, hobbies, etc. Users can read profiles of each other to understand better what an individual likes or dislikes.
3. Geolocation: As mentioned above, this is an essential feature. The users should be able to find people in their location or neighbourhood with the help of GPS. It is unlikely that users from different parts of the country will ever meet, so this feature must be included in your app.
4. Matching: Use AI-based algorithms to show the best matches for the users on the basis of hobbies, preferences, taste, age, etc.
5. Chatting: How the users would be able to communicate with each other? It would be possible with the help of chatting. Provide a great chatting feature and the users should be able to exchange photos, GIFs, stickers, and emojis as well.
6. Push Notifications: With the Push Notifications feature, the users would be able to receive notifications about matches, while they are not using the app. Also, they will be notified for a new message etc.
7. Swiping: Swiping to change the matches is necessary for smooth user experience. When you browse photos of women/men, swipe to the right means you like a person, swipe to the left means you skip this photo. Everything is simple.
8. Admin Panel: As the owner of the app, you will have your personal admin panel, for managing memberships, users, accounts, etc.
Read more: How to do a Competitive Analysis of your Mobile Application?
Revenue Model of Dating Apps
As you are putting so much on the stake, you should know in advance how you would be able to make money through an online dating application. Some of the popular revenue models of dating apps are:
a. Boost the account functionality: The users need to pay a fixed fee and they will get priority in the search list.
b. Smart Swipe: There are ML algorithms which can change the way users can check your photos. They will increase the chances of a match.
c. Unlimited right swipes: In most dating apps, there is a limit of swipes, so the users need to pay for more swipes.
d. Ad-free: This is a very common way of revenue. Provide an ad-free experience to the users at a cost.
e. Advertising: The way of monetization for 90% of apps. Integrate different advertising into your app, but don’t overfill the app with an ad, otherwise, your users will stop using the app and find another counterpart.
Read more: Best Matrimonial Apps to use for finding Best Partner
Why choose us?
We, at Amplework, are having expertise in developing such an on-demand dating application as Tinder, OkCupid, etc. Our mobile application developers are having expertise in both Android and iOS mobile application development. Let us know your requirements.
