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The demand for social media apps is so great that even though these large scale apps such as Facebook and Snapchat are doing great business, there are still others on the market as well.
And moreover, clones of such well-established chat apps exist as well. All of this shows there is a tremendous demand for these social media chat apps. And so if you are looking forward to creating a chat app of your own, don’t hold back.
It seems quite obvious that you will succeed. One reason to support this can be the fact that users welcome new, innovative offers with open arms. You might need to use social media app development solutions for this, but all the hard work will pay off.
So, here, let us take an example from one of the most famous social media chat apps, Snapchat.
We will take a look at its history and story, and understand exactly what Snapchat is. And then we will look at the features that should be incorporated in such an app, plus what social media app development solutions were used in it or what the tech requirements of creating such an app are.
Lastly, we will estimate how much it can cost to build an app like Snapchat. So let's begin.
What Is Snapchat?
Snapchat is one of the most popular social media chat apps. At present, mostly teenagers comprise the users of Snapchat, but it is not limited to only them.
The audience of Snapchat spreads across various demographics as well.
Snapchat lets its users capture photos, make videos, share them on their account, or keep them private in their ‘my eyes only’ section.
They put captions over it or upload them as "stories,” which can be viewed for the next 24 hours from the upload. Plus, users can chat through it as well, either through multimedia messages or visual communication. Both of these technically advanced mediums of communication have been made available on the app.
The special feature of Snapchat is that the pictures and videos that people share with one another self-destruct a few seconds after the recipient has viewed the sent media.
Another notable feature is that it provides quite distinct and numerous filters to its users for capturing videos and photos.
Snapchat is mainly famous due to such features. Another reason could be that teenagers prefer to communicate visually rather than textually.
History and Story of Snapchat
They simply developed a photo messaging application that their peers rejected. Several years after its launch, it gained so much popularity that big names like Facebook and Google tried to purchase the app for 3 to 4 billion dollars.
And after another 3 years, the application was worth 20 Billion dollars.
And this was possible only due to the unique features that they inculcated. The idea of pictures and videos self-destructing after a few seconds was quite new to the world, and it was readily accepted.
Plus, when Snapchat came along, three big names in the world of the internet were in power, namely Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. So trying to make a mark at that time was quite a risky thing to do. But their unique ideas and features enabled them to stand tall and compete against the other three.
The result is in front of everybody; they succeeded; they made a mark among the big names. And now almost every other person uses Snapchat.
Next, we will find out about the construction of Snapchat that made people try to purchase it, only to be let down by it.
Language and Features of Snapchat
Here, we will first give some brief information about the language that Snap or Snapchat users use, and then we will enumerate the various features that Snapchat has that you should incorporate into the app you are building.
Snapchat Language
People who use Snapchat regularly must be well acquainted with these terms. But if there is a new user, he might not know.
So let us see some of the common terms used by Snapchat users. These are mentioned below:
- The most common of all is “snap”, it means a photo or a video they clicked or recorded. Sometimes, the word is also used in place of the Snapchat app.
- Next is the “story”. A story as stated earlier is available to viewers for a period of 24 hours unless the uploader removes it himself.
- “Snapback” as quite clear from the word is a response of a user to a snap.
- “Score” is the total number of pictures and videos that you sent or received from your fellow in any chat. This score is shown right next to the name of your friend in the contact list.
- “Snapchatters” is the term used to refer to people who use Snapchat.
- “Here” is an option that lets the Snapchatter get a live video when they are online.
Similarly, your app can also have such kinds of terms and options that seem relevant to you.
and the one you think might appeal to your audience as well. Now it's time to see some important features of Snapchat that make it unique and please its users.
Features Of Snapchat
Features are the most important part of any type of application. People or developers use services like Big Data Cloud Solutions to curate the best possible applications.
Thus, pay special attention at the time of inculcating features into your application. Listed below are the features that can be immensely useful to you for creating and developing an app like Snapchat:
Capturing and Sharing Snaps
This is the main aspect or feature of your app. The ability to take amazing pictures and then share them.
In order to create an app like Snapchat, you will need to focus on the number of options that it renders to the users regarding photos and video recording. Plus, not only Snapchat but also Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram let their users use a number of filters while capturing pictures or recording videos.
Along with this, they can also add textual captions and draw on pictures. These options have become quite common and come under the basic features now, but you can add more options here as well.
Self-Destruction Feature
Do not forget that this is one of the main features of Snapchat, self-destruction of pictures and videos once they are viewed or after a few seconds.
As you are trying to build an app like Snapchat, just like the previous one, this feature is a must to add and has now become quite common and basic as well. But it does not matter how common it becomes; it will be a feature much in demand for some time to come. So make sure your social media web portal development includes this feature.
Lenses
This is yet another specialty of Snapchat. This feature of Snapchat lets its users use numerous goofy types of filters on their pictures.
This is distinctive, and even Instagram has adapted now. So this also falls under the category of common and basic features now. Make sure the Lenses that you develop in your application are different from what is offered now by the prevailing social media photo messaging applications.
You might need to take advantage of the latest artificial intelligence development technology to give the best quality to your audience.
Read More: 7 Impressive Social Networking Techniques for B2B Brands That Aren't Linked-in
Geofilters
You might wonder what is distinctive about this feature that it is separately mentioned.
We will tell you what is different. These types of filters are available only in certain regions. And they are made according to that particular region as well.
such as a filter made specifically for India. These types of filters can appeal to audiences in different locations. Plus, it can be helpful if you want to target or acquire an audience in a particular region to increase the number of users you have.
You might need to make use of the Cloud Computing Services for this purpose to acquire the required information and data.
Adding Friends
There is no need to say that this is an important feature. Because people will definitely need their friends on the platform or application they are using.
Otherwise, who will view the stories and pictures that they post? It is true that it can be public and available for everyone to view, but there are certain people who wish to make their posts available to only certain people and not everyone. Besides sharing photos, people will communicate as well, but with whom will they communicate? Their friends. This is the reason why it is a common and basic feature.
The next important thing to note about this feature is that Snapchat enables people to add their friends to their accounts with the help of Snapcodes.
These Snapcodes are QR code which people can scan through their phone to add one another into their accounts as friends. Your developers may use big data solutions to include such features.
Chat
People use Snapchat not only for sharing photos and videos on their profile with their friends but also for chatting with them.
Why do they use Snapchat and not regular messaging facilities? They use Snapchat for the purpose of chatting mainly because of the exciting stickers that it provides. Recently, Snapchat added 200 more stickers to their app. Similarly, you also need to make the chat feature of your application interesting and engaging for the users.
You can make use of artificial intelligence development to make the chat feature of your application an interesting medium for expressing oneself.
Video and Audio
Almost every chat app gives its users the option to make an audio or video call to whomever they wish.
This feature is available on Snapchat as well. Plus, while people are on a call, they can send images simultaneously as well. Snapchatters also have the option to send audio and video clips to their friends over a chat.
All these features were added to Snapchat not too long ago. Therefore, they are still new and trendy. Though the audio and video call facility has become somewhat common, Your developers might need to use social media web portal development to add such features.
Stories
Another significant feature is "Stories." Stories are uploaded by users for their followers to view.
One story is available for 24 hours for the followers to see. Plus, users can also see who has viewed their story. The viewers can skip stories as well by swiping left, and they can see any story over and over again as well.
These days, people are more interested in watching stories than anything else. It enables them to view or share appropriate content in just a few seconds for many people to see. With improvements to its story feature, Snapchat now records around 7 billion views per day of many different stories.
Hence, this is one of the major and interesting features to be included.
Discover
With the help of discover features people get to check stories and posts of major publishers.
In Discover, people get to see the stories posted by big companies or news channels. The stories are made available by filtration according to the user, done by the editorial team. This feature is helpful for making money off of apps like Snapchat.
Read More: Social Media: Are Ads Required to Get Seen On Social Media?
The Nearby Function
This is another feature with the help of which people can add other people into their accounts who are currently near their location and have turned on the Add nearby option.
The device will scan and let you know who is near you using Snapchat.
Cost Of Developing A Social Network App Like Snapchat
You have now decided to create a Snapchat-like app. You now need to think about the price.
Price is the most important factor in curation. Here is a guideline to help you estimate the cost of development. Only after you have carefully You can determine the precise cost after carefully planning the development process and investing time in producing the app.
Numerous factors affect how much an app costs. The following is a list of the elements that can influence the price and the estimation thereof.
Team
Spend your money on the team first. The team's location will determine this. The hourly rate of a team you recruit in the US could range from $60 to $200.
Alternatively, a crew from Eastern Europe could be able to complete the identical task for you for $25–$50. Make smart decisions and adhere to your spending limit.
One project manager, one designer, and a maximum of two developers would make up the smallest team.
You might need to hire more staff based on how complex your application is.
App Platform
The most crucial choice you will make when starting your project is the platform.
Although it would be ideal, it is not initially possible to make your software available on all platforms. If your app is successful, you can first launch it on one platform before expanding to others. Today's most popular platforms are Android and iOS.
If you decide to use iOS, you might also want to think about cloud computing. You can decide which one best fits your requirements and price range.
Design
The design of your app is a crucial component. Depending on how sophisticated your app is, costs will increase as complicated applications take longer to develop.
Everything depends on the level of quality you desire and the budget you have available.
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Conclusion
Billions of people throughout the world utilize social media to interact and communicate.
Social networking is a means to stay in touch with loved ones, share information, learn new things, meet people, and have fun. Social media can be used to network with experts in your sector and broaden your knowledge. At the corporate level, social media may be utilized to interact with clients, gather feedback, and enhance your brand.
