As mobile app development and smartphone use are flourishing, it is no surprise that consumers prefer to use their phone for more and more daily lifestyle activities. And many of them – from the comfort of their own home. This tendency is especially true when it comes to the health & fitness industry, as many people with a busy schedule try to workout at home whenever they can´t hit the gym. For this reason, a lot of companies in the industry are considering investing in fitness app development.
And today, we will see some things that businesses should take into account when considering fitness app development. How much does it cost to create an app? What kind of app has the highest user consumption? Is it worth developing a native mobile app? What benefits does it have for businesses?
So, without further ado, let´s dive right into answering all these questions!
1. App Development Approach & Strategy
Before we see the costs that you could expect for fitness app development, it is important to understand that it will depend on a variety of factors. Of course, creating some apps will be more expensive than others due to their complexity and set of functionalities.
Here are some things to consider when developing the right strategy for your fitness app:
- Type of application – in the next section, we will see the different fitness, workout, health and wellbeing apps that you decide to create. Depending on the type that you choose, your development approach might change direction, and your costs might be higher or lower.
- Features – what kind of features and characteristics would you like your app to have? Some particular features might require additional hands-on development, which will end up increasing the overall costs for the app. However, this also means that you could attract more customers and earn more money.
- Development approach – when it comes to fitness app development, another important factor will be your approach when it comes to usability and compatibility. Do you want to develop your mobile app exclusively for Android, iOS, or both? Do you want it to be compatible with all devices? The answer to all these questions will have a direct impact on overall costs.
- Design – another factor that will influence the cost of your app will be its design. A development team might spend up to 70 hours working on an outstanding design that meets all UI & UX requirements. If you are paying approximately 100$ per hour, which is on the lower end, only the design can cost you more than 7000$!
- Technical documentation – furthermore, the design and functionality of the app isn´t the only thing that you can expect to pay for. Native mobile apps usually require technical documentation, for which you might need to hire a technical writer to complete. Which might result in extra 2000$ costs, considering the writer is charging 50$ per hour for 40 hours of work.
- Testing & support – of course, technical support and testing is another essential element that you must take into account when evaluating your options for fitness app development. In the United States, prices could easily add up to 1200$ or more, without considering the monthly support in case something happens.
And last but not least, the prices will also vary depending on the country in which you are investing for your fitness app development. In some countries, the prices listed above could be much lower, so don´t take the approximate costs that we mention here as the ultimate answer. The country of reference we are using today is the United States.
In conclusion, if you are considering native app development, prices can vary greatly depending on the factors that we mentioned above. For this reason, it is rather difficult to give a definitive answer. In general, you can expect a minimum app development project to be between $5,000 and $10,000, but they can go up to $500,000 for the most complex apps!
2. Types of Fitness Apps
As we already mentioned, there are different types of fitness apps that you can choose to invest in. Some of which – more popular than others. It is important to select the right type of app for your business so it can resonate with target audience. If your app does not bring value to its users, they will simply stop using it, and your fitness app development efforts will be in vain.
Some of the most popular types of fitness apps include:
- Personal workout apps – personal workout apps are getting particularly popular nowadays, especially considering this year´s impact of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. As more and more people are starting to work from home, the use of these apps is on the rise. Depending on the complexity of the app, they could offer features such as interactive, easy to follow video lessons, text descriptions, progress tracking, and even estimation of calories burned.
- Fitness tracking apps – another popular type of mobile apps are the so-called fitness trackers. They are usually compatible with wearable devices, such as smartphones, fitness bracelets or smartwatches, and help the user track his training sessions. For example, if you go for a run, you can tracks metrics such as the total duration of your run, the kilometers you did, and even your dehydration levels, among others.
- Workout schedulers – this type of apps is aimed at gym members, allowing them to plan their sessions and register their personal advancements. So, when you are considering the approach of your fitness app development, this is definitely something that could be an option.
- Activity tracking – of course, not all apps have the purpose of helping you control your workout process. Activity tracking apps can be extremely valuable for monitoring the overall quality of your lifestyle. This includes a pedometer for registering physical activity (for example, whether you are achieving your daily target of 10,000 steps), sleep quality control and analysis, calorie counting, and so on.
- Nutrition & Healthy eating – if your business is more focused on healthy eating and nutrition instead of sports, this is another option that you should definitely consider. You can also combine both nutrition and activity within the same app to add more value for the user, providing all the information he needs in the same place.
These apps typically include diet advice, articles & videos with healthy recipes, and a product section. More sophisticated apps include the possibility to enter data on food products so you can measure your daily caloric intake.
In conclusion, the type of app that you want to develop for your business is another factor that you should consider when designing your fitness app development strategy. And the costs for creating each one might differ.
3. Fitness App Development: Features
Another thing to consider before investing in fitness app development is the features that you would like to add to your app. They can range from more simple ones, such as user profile, to more complex ones, including advanced trackers for calorie intake control. Of course, the features that you will need will also depend on the type of app that you have decided to create. However, let´s see some of the most popular ones:
- Member login – of course, when users want to track their activity, calorie intake, or exercise progress, they want their data to be stored for future references. This way, they can monitor the evolution of their personal metrics over time. For this reason, the Member login / User profile feature is one of the most important ones on the list.
- Push Notifications – Push notifications are a great way to increase user engagement and encourage your audience to interact with your content. This feature becomes especially important for fitness apps. You can use it to send regular reminders to your audience. For example, that it´s time that they measure their pulse, or that they haven´t recorded a physical activity in a while.
- Gamification – lack of motivation and struggle to maintain consistency are some of the biggest reasons why people stop using fitness apps. Incorporating a gamification feature or element to your app is a great way to keep people on it for longer. For example, you could convert people´s progress and achievements into levels and challenges that they can mark as completed. And you can award reaching a new level or completing a challenge with bonuses or free digital products.
- Social network integration – people love to share their achievements on social media! Having a social feature is another awesome way to get people talking about you. For example, an app that I use for tracking my running activity allows me to share my runs on social media with a single button. So, the company´s name appears all over my feed!
- Diet & Exercise features – of course, every fitness & health app will has its own particular features depending on the services it offers. This could be a feature for tracking calorie intake, or a map so you can see where and how much did you run across the neighbourhood. Or simply a feature in which you can enter the weight and category of your food to check its calories, macro and micro nutrients per 100 grams.
- eCommerce integration – if you want to sell products through your app, an eCommerce integration is a must so you can do that properly. This is why Beezer offers powerful and seamless integrations with Woocommerce and Shopify for its progressive web app users.
4. Why invest in Fitness App Development – and what is the smart way
Whether atoning for weeks of holiday-fuelled overindulgence, going after a new fitness goal, or just trying to live a healthier lifestyle, many people are seeking tips, tricks and guidance around health, fitness, and wellness. For health and fitness businesses, this means that demand for these types of services is really high.
Additionally, people love to have a variety of ways to consume their products or services. Having just one option is just not enough in the era of extreme competition and easy access to information through the Internet. For example, if you already have a great website that provides value for your audience, people could use it even more if they had the option to use all its features on mobile as well.
In other words, the demand is there, and businesses that want to expand their offering can definitely tap into the opportunities of having their own app. However, as we saw previously, investing in custom fitness app development can be extremely costly. And not many companies are willing to invest such amounts of money without a guaranteed return on investment. Or it just does not fit into their budget.
Fortunately for health & fitness businesses, having an awesome app is possible without investing thousands of dollars into custom app development. Beezer is a progressive web app builder that allows companies to create their own app with an intuitive Drag & Drop interface in the matter of minutes, and at a fraction of the regular cost. In fact, you can start building your first fitness app from just £11.99 per month!
Progressive web apps have been consistently growing in popularity over the last few years due to their hybrid nature. In other words, a progressive web app is essentially a website which behaves and looks the same way as a native mobile app, but offers all the powerful features and functionalities of desktop. Some of their advantages over native mobile apps include:
- No need for distribution through an app store. Just share them with a link!
- No need to download another heavy app on your phone to take up space.
- They can also work in offline mode so you can always access them when you need them.
- They are indexed by search engines, which means that you can optimize them for SEO like a regular website.
Click here to check the multiple benefits of progressive web apps.
5. What value can a fitness app bring to my business?
Here are 3 ways your business can reap the benefits of creating an app for your customers.
1. Provide More Value to Your Customers
Business is all about reciprocation. Many of today’s generation, especially Millennials and Gen-Z, expect to have all the information they require at their fingertips, with relevant and targeted notifications delivered to them as and when required.
An app helps you add value for your customers and remove background noise. When it comes to health and fitness, almost nothing can feel more personal to people. Which means that a fitness app can be the perfect way to personalise your relationship with your customers.
You can inform users of new products and offers, allow class or training bookings, and provide exercise plans on demand. By enabling your users to create a member profile on your fitness app, you can start to really learn about them, solicit feedback from them, and give them relevant content for their health and fitness journeys that will make them feel valued. And of course, see the value of your business in return.
2. Build a Stronger Brand
One of the most important things an app offers to consumers is awareness of and communication with your brand. Through that regular interaction with your target market, you’re fostering trust.
The more your audience trusts you, the more likely they’ll be to listen to later sales pitches and even commit to your brand. With an app, you’ll demonstrate to your users why they should trust you by showing (rather than telling) what your brand stands for.
When it comes to your health or fitness business, think about what your brand tone is. Are you a trusted fitness coach? An inspirational source of motivation for life changes? A relatable community of likeminded people, all working towards their fitness goals together?
The way that you build your fitness app, and then the ways that you use it to communicate with your customers and potential customers, will depend on this brand character of yours. And, as we’ve said, there are a lot of fitness apps out there – health and fitness is a big, broad market! However, there is a reason why – there are millions of people wanting to take care of their health.
Find your niche, whether its mindfulness and yoga, body positive relationships with food, or intensive HIIT training for sports. The more you are able to target your fitness app to a specific customer set, and use your app to give those customers access to your products and services which are relevant to them, the stronger your brand will be.
However, investing in fitness app development, whether custom or through a progressive web app, is definitely a great way to build a strong and well-established brand that people recognize.
3. Connect Better with Customers
Customer service isn’t just about face to face communication between smiling sales associates and customers anymore.
The growth in smart devices means customers are seeking information 24/7. Through a solid mobile presence, you’ll always know you’re presenting to the customer the same face – an interface geared specifically to provide them with the best experience of your brand, your products, and your services.
Unlike static websites, an app is a two-way street. You can ask your customers their opinions on your exercises, their feedback on your mindfulness meditations, or their rating of your nutrition guide. When you adapt your services based on the input of your customers, and update your app to reflect these changes in real time, they’ll not only be impressed – they’ll also feel heard, and increase their loyalty to your business.
So, if you think that fitness app development could be the right path for your growing business, get started for free today with Beezer.
