How to Create Your Own Messenger: Answers to Popular Questions
If you are in doubt about whether to step into messenger development territory, just take a look at the latest numbers. In 2021, 1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger worldwide, and WhatsApp has 2 billion users on their phones.
The good news is that most of them have several applications installed at once, so all the listed companies do not compete with each other, but complement each other. For example, WeChat is popular mainly in Asian countries, and Slack is used by 12 million people for communication within companies. Analysts expect the number of active users to continue to grow and the messaging market to bloom and smell.
In this article, we'll go into detail on how to develop and monetize your messaging app. For those who read to the end, a surprise awaits - a free calculation of the cost of the application.
Key functions
Let's get straight to the point - there is a list of functions that cannot be ignored when developing a messenger. At Purrweb, we believe that an application should be user-friendly first and foremost, taking into account the pain and demands of customers. Therefore, we always advise you to start with a team brainstorming session - this will help you define a niche, target audience, and also choose what will distinguish you from your competitors. After that, you can think about how to create your own messenger, and choose what functions your application needs. Based on our experience, we have compiled 2 lists - must-have and nice-to-have features - for a really cool messenger app.
Nice-to-have
features
Calls
Modern chat apps are much more than just text and emoji exchange. If you want to make not just a messenger, but a real universe for communication, you should consider building a video chat solution. Maybe this is not so necessary at the first stage of messenger development, but as soon as resources appear, it would be good to think about expanding the functionality and introducing a feature with calls.
Chatbots
This feature will attract business customers to your chat app. Don't be intimidated by the word "Bots". A chatbot is just an automated software that communicates online with customers, sends automated messages, and helps with answers to frequently asked questions. They can also call a person if the
robot's question is too tough for the robot.
Must-have functions
Authorization
For a user, registration should not take more than two minutes. To speed up the process, we
recommend adding social media integrations, registration by phone number or email address. After that, users will be able to select a profile photo and name. In some applications, for example, in Telegram, there is an additional function that hides the phone number from others, and you can also create several profiles in the messenger at once. For example, work and personal, or Russian and foreign, if you live in two countries.
Access to contacts
This function greatly simplifies the authorization process, since the user can register, synchronize his contacts and immediately send a message to someone, and not go through the seven circles of hell, especially saving each number he needs in the messenger.
Message exchange
This function is the heart muscle of your application. In order for users to successfully chat, you will need the following elements: private and group chats, sending and canceling messages, delivery status, chat history, and text editing function.
If you want to create a messenger app, then consider adding voice and video messages. We know that the number of elements can be daunting. How do you arrange them all so that the page doesn't look cluttered? An experienced UX designer will come to your aid and design a truly user-friendly interface.
File sharing
The ability to share media is another reason why people will regularly access your service. Allow them to send each other photos, videos, gifs, and documents, and then many will use chats as cloud storage (yes, we all looked at some time for a photo of a card or passport in correspondence).
Push notifications
How to create your own messenger without the notification function? It's impossible! In an era when we are so afraid of missing out on something important, it is imperative for users to immediately know that they have received a new message. Surely, each of us went crazy at least once, waiting for feedback from a potential employer - it is not for us to convince you of how important push notifications in chats are.
Data protection
Confidentiality is important to any communication - work or personal. User data is usually stored on servers that are owned by applications, and messages are encrypted and transmitted between devices using different communication protocols. Write to us and we will tell you more about data security technologies.
How to create your own messenger that will bring profit?
The question of monetization strategies is inevitable for anyone looking to develop a messaging application. You ask: "Do messengers make money at all ?!" The short answer is yes.
Here are some monetization strategies for a similar business idea:
- In-app advertising
- Call forwarding technology. For example, someone from abroad calls you - the call does not go through the operator, but is transferred to Viber, which receives money for this;
- Branded stickers created in collaboration with brands;
- Donations from users.
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