In 1959, the first-ever dating service- Happy Families Planning Services- was launched by Phil Fialer and Jim Harvey at Standford. It was a class project where a questionnaire was used to match 49 men and 49 women with an IBM 650- an early digital computer. That is how the concept of technology-based dating services began.
Later, in the year 1995, Match.com and Yid.com, the first
modern dating websites were launched and since then, online dating services
have evolved tremendously. As of now, about 8000 dating apps/websites exist on
the web. And the latest online dating apps like Tinder and Bumble have broken
all the records and have proved to be ground-breaking discoveries in this
domain.
As reported by
Statista, a popular online portal for statistics, Tinder has an audience size
of 7.86 million and Bumble has around 5.03 million users.
These numbers are good indicators to recognize the potential
of this domain. Owing to this, startups, and entrepreneurs across the globe are
focusing on architecting such unique dating apps.
So, this blog is an attempt to provide a brief guide on dating app
development for those looking to create a new-age dating app. Here, we will
shed light on several parameters related to architecting dating apps. Let’s get
started.
Major Types of Dating App
- Geographic Proximity Dating Apps: It enables users to find a match based on their geographic proximity, by selecting a radius upto which they want to see the profiles. Ex. Bumbl
- Matching Algorithm-Based Dating Apps: The app algorithm compares different profiles of the users based on personal survey information and suggests matching profiles to them. Ex. eHarmon
- Niche Dating Mobile Apps: These are apps targeted to a specific niche or group of people. For instance, ‘The League’ only allows people with advanced education and careers for matchmaking. Likewise, ‘DateMyPet’ is another dating app exclusively meant for pet lovers
- Traditional Dating Mobile Apps: These are like so-called ‘old-school’ dating apps, simply replicating the features of the web versions of the apps. Ex. OkCupid.
Key Features of New-age Online Dating
Apps
Features are the most important attribute of a dating
application and play a vital role in the success or failure of the app. So,
here we have enlisted the top features that the dating app development services
consider while creating such advanced apps. These features are broadly
classified into two main categories: Features for the user panel and features
for the admin panel. Let’s have a look at both of these categories.
Features for User Panel
- Registration and Login
- User Profile Creation
- Geo-location Feature
- Search Bar and Filters for matching
- Match-making based on Gender, Location, Age, etc.
- Send, Accept or Decline Requests
- Match Feed
- Real-time Chatting and Audio/Video Calling
- Alerts and Push Notifications
- Reporting and Blocking Users
- Social Media Integration
- Online as well as Offline Accessibility
- Settings
- Safety and Security
- Multiple Languages Support
- Flexible Payment Options
- Rewards/Loyalty Bonus/Discount Offers for Referring New Users
Features for Admin Panel
- Secure Login to Admin Dashboard
- Verification of User Profiles
- Managing Notifications
- Managing Menu/Screens/Pages
- Managing Users/Requests/Rewards
- Multiple Payment Gateway Integration and Currency Support
- Managing Membership Packages
- Managing Affiliate and Partnership Program
- Running Promotions/Offers/Discounts
- Managing SMS and Email marketing
- Viewing Reports and Data Analytics
- Tracking Revenue
- Content Modification using CMS
Monetization Strategies for Online
Dating Mobile Apps
There is tough competition in this arena and the cost of
developing a unique dating mobile app, too, is quite high. So, it is essential
to apply some monetization strategies to generate revenue down the line. Let’s
explore them.
Affiliate Marketing / Selling
Advertisements:
Affiliate marketing i.e.in-app advertisements is one of the
best practices to make money when there is a good amount of traffic on your
website or app. It is a tried and tested technique in which you need to display
ads of diverse brands and companies for promoting their products on your app,
by using Google
AdSense or directly from the companies. You can earn money when the users
either view the ad, click on it, or buy some product through the ad.
Subscribing to Premium Plan:
This is one of the commonest monetization strategies being
extensively used by most dating apps. By subscribing to monthly or yearly
plans, the users can avail several premium features like removing ads, getting
contact details of the matches, unlimited liking, swipes, and chatting, etc.
options. For example, Tinder offers a premium plan i.e. a Plus Edition using
which, the users can view users from other cities too and even change their
location, they can undo their swipes done in the past, get unlimited likes,
etc. Another app like OkCupid provides features like removing ads, matching
with more number of users, receiving one boost every day, etc. in their Premium
Offers
In-app Purchases:
This is another technique in which the users can buy something
additional from the app, besides the free services. They can buy extra swipes,
likes, stickers, emojis, etc. for instance. An app named ‘Badoo’ is a good
example of in-app purchases. Users can get additional benefits like
highlighting their messages, sending crush alerts, browsing anonymously,
viewing who liked them, sending gifts, etc. in exchange for some money.
Rewarded Videos and Surveys:
Videos and surveys can be embedded in the app for the users
to watch videos or take part in surveys so that they earn some coins to help
them pay for their membership or even unlock in-app features.
Integrating eCommerce:
Users often wish to buy gifts for their partners, and so,
they could buy from the app if eCommerce software is synched in the app. The
only thing that needs to be assured is that eCommerce functionality should not affect
your app’s working and ultimately the core aim of the dating app.
Cost Required for Dating App
Development
The cost of mobile
app development depends on the features to be embedded in the app, the
technology stack, and the development strategy you choose. Besides, it also
depends on whether you choose to develop a full-fledged app or go with an MVP
model. An MVP model would cost $18,000 approximately. Also, we have calculated
the approximate cost of creating a full-fledged dating app like Tinder or
Bumble, as given below:
Native Android dating app: $25,000
Native iOS dating app: $25,000
Hybrid dating app: $45,000
So, here we come to the end of this blog, and hope it will
be beneficial to you in your Dating app development journey!
To know more about our core
technologies, refer to links below:
React
Native App Development Company
Angular App
Development Company
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