How to Develop Fitness apps?

Introduction

Almost everyone has become health conscious and vowed to stay in shape. This mindful way of living is new as there was a time when not many people were concerned about their health. However, since a healthy lifestyle is prevalent nowadays, many people have resorted to using fitness apps to save themselves from going to the gym or buying the necessary equipment. 

With an increase in the demand for fitness apps, the fitness apps development industry has also begun to grow by leaps and bounds. Numerous entrepreneurs have started rolling out fitness apps, counting on people to stick by their apps, thus earning them profits. 

However, developing and launching fitness apps is not child's play. As numerous fitness apps are on the market, people have become choosy about which app they should invest their time and money in. Also, according to reports, the global fitness app market will reach approximately $14 billion by 2026. If these facts could not make you realize the need for carefully devising your fitness apps, then the next one would. 

In 2021, the fitness apps industry saw more than 400 million downloads. Thus, reading this Fitness apps Development tutorial will be better to ensure that your fitness app becomes the next big thing.

Fitness apps: How to develop fitness apps? (A Step-by-step guide)

You have an idea regarding a potentially best fitness app, but an idea alone can not do everything. You require a step-by-step procedure to make your dream app a reality. Therefore, we have outlined the whole process of developing fitness apps below.

Fitness apps Development tutorial #1: Select a monetization model

There exist several ways to monetize fitness apps. You can choose one of the following approaches to ensure that your fitness apps are profitable.

Fitness apps Development #1: Paid Fitness Apps

Under this monetization model, the users must pay before using your fitness apps. The money you extract from them depends on the app type, mobile platform, and content quality you give to them. 

Fitness apps Development #2: In-app purchases

You can follow this approach if you intend to launch a free app. This method requires you to lure users into purchasing items from your fitness apps. This act of buying things seen on the fitness apps earns you profits. 

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Fitness apps Development #3: Freemium fitness apps

Premium fitness apps are a good way of attracting people's attention by offering them essential services for free. The catch is that users need to pay to upgrade their services. Therefore, those willing to enjoy advanced services must opt for a subscription. It profits you as users spend money accessing advanced and exclusive features. 

Fitness apps Development #4: Advertisements

This monetization approach suggests letting other fitness-related businesses run their campaign on your fitness apps. And those businesses, in return, pay you according to a cost-per-click or a cost-per-mile commission. 

Fitness apps Development #5: Sponsored content

The fifth approach entails you partnering with fitness experts and gyms and letting them enrich your fitness apps with their precious knowledge. As they use your platform to showcase their skills, you can charge them fees for displaying their content. 

Fitness apps Development tutorial #2: Consider basic fitness app features

It is evident that no two fitness apps are alike; they exist as they are distinct. However, they have basic features that qualify them as fitness apps. 

If you want to ensure that your app falls into the category of fitness apps, it will be better to include the following features. On a side note, you are always free to introduce new and various features and functions to your fitness apps. 

Fitness apps Development #1: User profiles

Your nutrition app needs users' data to help them lose weight, achieve personal goals, start eating healthy food, etc. Therefore, your fitness apps should contain a page where users type in their physical characteristics, such as their current weight, height, and age.

Fitness apps Development #2: Notifications

This feature lets you remind your users to exercise or do things they have planned. Besides acting like reminders, they also help you motivate them to get going or maybe make an upgrade. 

Fitness apps Development #3: Tracking physical activities 

You can enable your fitness apps to connect to Apple's HealthKit and Google Fit via APIs to gather your users' data. Collecting their data ensures that you track their progress and customize the feature for them. 

Fitness apps Development #4: Social sharing

Social sharing is a means by which users can share their results with one another, interact with their peers, etc. Thus, it is one of the indispensable features of Fitness apps. 

Fitness apps Development #5: Geolocation

This feature lets users know how long they have run, walked, cycled, etc., giving them a boost to work harder. 

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Fitness apps Development tutorial #3: Hire a development team

Once you determine your monetization model and features to include, you will require a helping hand in the form of a development team. A development team will help you implement your vision into reality and give you a breath-taking fitness app within a reasonable period. 

As good as it sounds, you must know that your development team will demand money from you. The cost of fitness app development depends on numerous factors and varies according to countries and time zones. 

A developer from the USA and Australia will likely charge on average $110/hour. If you go towards Western Europe, your development team will demand $80/hour, while a development team from Eastern Europe will ask for $50/hour. 

Fitness apps Development tutorial #4: Fitness Apps' Inception Phase

The product discovery phase precedes every project's development process. It is the stage when you and your hired development team answer a few questions such as: 

1. The scope of work required for your fitness apps. 

2. They create a roadmap for your fitness apps. 

3. They carefully devise resources and set the minimum viable product budget. 

Usually, this phase consumes a few weeks. It includes functional specification development, the development of user interface and user experience designs, and developing a visual prototype of your fitness apps to help you know the clear vision of the end product.

Fitness apps Development tutorial #5: Technical Documentation

The fifth step to developing fitness apps is Technical Documentation, which necessitates the presence of a technical writer. A technical writer prepares a product's specifications after diligently studying your clients' requirements and expectations. 

It includes platforms, use cases, and the rest of the relevant information regarding your fitness apps that is useful to your app developer to begin the work. Therefore, you must also have a technical writer to help you accomplish this stage of development. 

Fitness apps Development tutorial #6: Fitness Apps' Designs 

Creating unique designs for your fitness app requires time and its cost depends on the app requirements. It means designing the app according to the included features.

Fitness apps Development tutorial #7: Workout Application Development

If you intend to launch a fitness app for Android and iOS users, you will require the following developers: 

1. iOS mobile app developers 

2. Android mobile app developers 

3. Backend developers 

Fitness apps Development tutorial #8: Fitness Apps' Quality Assurance 

Your final step at the end of your product's development should be checking for bugs and testing if it's working. This task takes up a considerable amount of your time, so you should ensure proper execution. 

Your Quality Assurance engineers will also test the overall user experience of your developed fitness apps and inspect whether your fitness apps' features work as expected. 

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Fitness apps: How much does it take to develop fitness apps?

There is no clear-cut answer to this question, as the development cost of a project/ product depends on the features your fitness apps boast and the complexity they have. However, we can provide you with a rough estimate of each phase's expenses. 

The Technical documentation Phase :Estimation in hours: 80+ hours Average rate: $25/hour 

The Design Phase :Estimation in hours: 160 hours Average rate: $25/hour 

The Development Phase :Estimation in hours: 960+ hours Average rate: $35+/hour 

The project Management Phase: Estimation in hours: 240+ hours Average rate: $25/hour

 The Quality Assurance Phase: Estimation in hours: 288+ hours Average rate: $25/hour 

Conclusion

It is normal if this procedure of developing fitness apps has gone over your head because only a development team knows it well. Besides learning about every development phase, a professional development team knows the importance these phases hold. And you need not worry about trying to understand every bit of it, as you can come to AppsRhino. AppsRhino has a proficient team of developers who will ensure that you receive the product you envisioned, or even better than your desired result. All you need to do is tell us about your vision, goals, features, and aim, and we will deliver a fitness app that meets your expectations and takes the market by storm. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and contact us today!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the key features to consider in fitness app development?

When developing a fitness app, some key features to consider include workout tracking, calorie counting, goal setting, progress monitoring, social integration, push notifications, and personalized recommendations.

What programming languages are commonly used for fitness app development?

Commonly used programming languages for fitness app development are Swift (for iOS) and Java/Kotlin (for Android). Additionally, frameworks like React Native and Flutter offer cross-platform development options.

Do I need to integrate third-party APIs into my fitness app?

Integrating third-party APIs, such as fitness wearables, health data tracking, or nutrition databases, can significantly enhance the functionality and user experience of the fitness app. It allows users to sync their data and access a wider range of features.

How can I ensure the security of user data in a fitness app?

To ensure the security of user data, implement data encryption techniques, user authentication, secure HTTPS connections, regular security audits, and permissions-based access controls. Comply with data protection regulations like GDPR or HIPAA, depending on the target audience.

What are the best practices for UX/UI design in fitness app development?

In fitness app development, focus on intuitive and user-friendly design, use clear and visually appealing interfaces, provide seamless navigation, utilize gamification elements, and offer personalization options to enhance user engagement and satisfaction.