How much does it cost to build your own social media application?

The concept of social networking has revolutionized the world. As technology is constantly updated every day, it becomes more difficult to stay competitive in the competition. Application development has grown unprecedentedly. More and more entrepreneurs are emerging to launch their social networks or mobile apps on the market. Among these talents, those who can penetrate deeply can even become billionaires overnight.

The question now is how to make your social networking app a hot topic? How much money do you need to invest in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and more? However, before you get closer to the best mobile app development company to get a custom quote, you need to identify some compelling factors. For example, key features, customization, application build platforms, and more. Here's what you need to do:

Identify the target audience - Who do you want to meet? Identify end users and try to understand their needs. Discover the frustration of the average audience and build a massive appeal. For example, when teenagers are tired of their parents hanging out and their accounts on Facebook decline, Snapchat appears to provide the necessary anonymity and reduces the public's humiliation of the disappearance of the message. Extensive market research and some direct investigations will be successful. However, keep in mind that it can sometimes be overwhelming. But don't worry. You will pass.

Consider the right platform - Do you want to create a web app, a mobile app or both? The next question is whether it works for iOS or Android users? Your decision depends on your target market preferences. However, web applications take longer to develop than mobile apps. Also, if you are considering two application versions. Cross-platform development, it still needs more time, and of course a larger budget. Compared to iOS, Android apps on native platforms contain 40% more code and 30% shorter development time. The best time to hire the best application developers and other parts of North America is about $150 an hour, while those from India and Eastern Europe charge about $30-50 an hour.

User experience is very important - Your app can only be appealing when it's easy to use and enjoyable. Design and usability should be self-evident. As countless apps attack the app store, people will stop using your app if the user experience is poor. Ask your developer to handle the structure - wireframing -prototype - and finally add design and usability principles. Get structured data starting with a well-supported MySQL or PostgresSQL database. Facebook, Twitter, etc. also use it.

Your app's features - The app's basic features such as easy registration, users can add, edit and delete personal data, manage personal information and preferences, one-click invitations, contact import, search bar and algorithms around topic tags and random words, new users Choice of connections, private messages, news feeds, multi-language support, publishing media content, self-expression tools, geo-tagging, etc. are required.

Time to market and cost - Development costs will vary depending on the complexity of the application, the platform and the features. However, there are two main factors that need to be determined: the time required and the cost per hour. Here are some cost estimates listed by The Next Web:

1. Twitter-like app: $50,000 to $250,000
2. Instagram clone: ​​$100,000 to $300,000
3. WhatsApp Messenger: $125,000 to $150,000
4. Pinterest: about $120,000
5. Snapchat: $75,000 - $150,000
6. Vine: $125,000 and $175,000

When it comes to time, it can take about 2-4 months to build an MVP for your social media app. Most development companies typically charge about $15,000 - $20,000. Having said that, this is another estimate of the time it takes to build a social networking app:

1. Android: about 500 hours
2. iOS: about 400 hours
3. Backend: about 500 hours
4. UX / UI: about 200 hours
5. Quality assurance: about 230 hours
6. PM: about 150 hours
7. Total time: about 1400 hours for one platform

For native applications, back-end development typically takes 10 weeks and front-end development takes 8 weeks. However, not all applications require a backend and use it only to reduce development time and related complexity.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, you may want to create demand in the market and build something completely out of the box to meet this need. This may be the next thing Mark Zuckerberg will do. However, decisions can only be made after a positive market survey of your ideas, requirements, and budget.

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