If you’re looking to bring your fitness venture to the next stage, the best question is “How to Create a Fitness App?” Continue reading to find all the answers you need.
Yoga mats. Kettlebells. Kettlebells. Dumbbells. Gym Towels. Activewear. Trainers…
You can remember placing an order (or even a wishlist)! You must have purchased one of these products in the last year.
Back in the day, fitness was viewed as something for athletes or those who were ‘obese or underweight’. In the past few years, (2 years after COVID’s outbreak – a reality check!) The pandemic redefined many things for us. ‘Fitness’ was one of them. You’ll agree with my statement – I bet it! People have begun to see fitness as an important part of their lives after seeing the ‘blessed’ souls who were Covid positive survive for a week with organ damage.
Looking at it from a business perspective, there is a lot of potential for domestic fitness businesses. It is wise to create a fitness app, but only if it’s done correctly. Here’s an in-depth guide to help you make sure your fitness app will be a good fit for today’s (and tomorrow’s) market.
The current fitness app market scenario in a Nutshell
The old saying, “Look before you jump”, is a great way to start. Statista says that the number of US fitness and wellness app users has increased from 62.7M to 84% by 2021.
Let’s take a closer look at the size of the global fitness app market. The fitness app market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21.6% between 2021 and 2028.
It was all about the numbers, but hey! It’s not a good idea to judge a market by its numbers alone. Take surgical masks as an example. The masks were on our list of essentials every week for over a year. But, once vaccinations had been completed, mask use also slowed. Numbers can show how popular a product or service is, but they are only useful when combined with logical reasoning and analysis. For us, this means fitness apps. Here we go!
COVID-19 caused lockdowns to be issued quite frequently. Soon after, “remote” functioning became the norm for workplaces and universities. Many organizations have made it permanent, while others plan to. Virtual fitness was initially marketed as a way to keep fit while traditional gyms, yoga classes, and fitness studios were closed. However, it quickly became a more effective and convenient alternative. This is evident by the increase in downloads. The virus variants are popping like popcorn and the solution to this is to use your equipment to work out and stay fit.
Types of Fitness Apps
Fitness is a broad term that encompasses many different things. There are also many different types of fitness applications available on the market. Some of these fitness apps have a very niche audience (thus having a concentrated target market! The most popular fitness apps fall into the following categories:
[1] Activity Tracker
Activity trackers, as the name implies, measure the physical activity of the user throughout the day, including every movement and even every footstep. They then generate daily reports and compare the tracked activities with previous days. A typical activity tracking app tracks:
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Number of steps taken
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The number of stairs climbed
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Sleeping Hours
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Distance covered
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Walking / Running Speed
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Calories burned
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Duration (in minutes) of physical activity
[2] Diet And Nutrition Goal Tracker
Apps that track your nutrition and diet goals store basic information like your weight, height, and frequency of physical activity. They also note any medical conditions you may have and provide a suggested daily calorie intake. These apps can be compared to a diary, where users record their meals and fluid intake. They also receive suggestions for dietary improvement.
[3] Best Workout and Exercise Apps
The workout and exercise guidance app is a virtual personal trainer that tells the user what exercises to do to reach their fitness goals.
Basic Features That Your Fitness App MVP Must Have!
“You must have read our article on why you should build a mobile application. Now, let’s check out some of the features that will help you achieve the benefits we mentioned and increase user engagement.”
Here are the top features that you must prioritize and include in your fitness app plan.
Advanced Features To Magnet The Fitness Freaks (& Amateurs) Right In!
Fitness freaks have had better apps before. To woo existing fitness app users, you need to go above and beyond what they expect. No, I am not just going to blabber about universal truths – I will also guide you through potent avenues that, if explored properly, can help you reach your target!
[1] Gamification – Community & Leaderboards
You may not be familiar with the term gamification, but even a small innovation can make a big difference to your fitness app! Expert predictions indicate that the gamification industry will grow by 27.4%, reaching a staggering $30.7 billion in 2025.
We all need a fitness app. We’ve all ‘been there’ – or at least felt it – at some point. We’ve thought about taking fitness seriously, Googled “How to lose/gain XX kilograms in XX Days” and then…lost motivation. Gamification can help us regain motivation and get going. You can motivate users by creating avatars based on popular comic/video game characters or by saying things like ‘John has beaten you today by 5 push-ups – can’t you beat that?
[2] Integration with Music Apps
It’s common to listen to music while working out. But managing both is a hassle. What if users could listen to their favorite music without having to switch between apps? This is one of the small factors (that are often overlooked) that can make your fitness app stand out. Make sure that there is a way to integrate popular music apps, such as Spotify. iTunes, Spotify, and other popular music apps can be integrated with your fitness app.
[3] Live streaming (VoD)
Your fitness app will likely target a broad range of users. This means that your platform must host a variety of content. There shouldn’t be much confusion about the inclusion of visual content in your fitness application, given the popularity of reels, videos, and other forms of digital media. If the above statement has you wondering “What visual content is best for my app?” then this is your answer: implement short video tutorials to help your users learn the tricks and techniques. You can also conduct interactive masterclasses with popular coaches or celebrity trainers, or organize group meetings where your users share their experiences.
[4] Inbuilt Chat
Chat is also important for those fit-chats, err chit-chats. You don’t want users to leave your app, so you can keep them there with a chat module that is dedicated to fitness. You can steal brownie points and their hearts with fun elements like stickers.
[5] QR Code Scanner
It doesn’t matter if it is the medicine ball you mention for a home workout, or the quinoa pack for the salad bowl that your app promotes – letting your users search for products and find them themselves is a turn-off. Allow them to scan the barcodes mentioned and add them to their cart in an instant (click! ).
What Are The Challenges Of Developing Fitness Apps?..& How To Rock Them!
There is no doubt that fitness apps are a modern hotcake, but you can burn your fingers while trying to make one! As they say, it’s not worth it if something is easy. But, creating a fitness app with an experienced app developer who has already created successful fitness apps will be worthwhile in the end.
The UX that’s a Turn-Off!
The most important thing to do when creating a fitness application is to choose the right design. The layout should be easy to use for users, allowing them to input data easily and view the comparison of their activity over time. A clumsy layout that leaves users confused can let your competitors steal your deal.
Features that are too complex or average!
Answer these questions first:
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Is your product line well supported by market demand?
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Are you planning your USP?
To develop a successful fitness app, you must ensure that both questions are answered with YES. Plan your features so that they are not just the same as what your competitors offer, but also that it is not too advanced for your users to learn. Balance user convenience with uniqueness. Your competitors may not be doing it as well as you, or they might just not do it as cleverly.
The Ecosystem of the Hosting Devices is not a Friendly Environment
Imagine serving a cappuccino well-brewed on a dinner platter. That’s how useless it is to create a fitness app that does not work on the devices and ecosystems of your target users. It’s a mistake that many apps make to not link the star content and features native to devices. Motion sensors are a good example. Be sure to keep a close eye on content linking.
Data Security Measures Against User Information
Your app must be able to meet the security needs of fitness trackers, which require a lot of personal information from users. Make sure that your app uses a proven security protocol to encrypt the information shared. Keep an eye out for any security flaws, as this can affect the popularity of your app no matter what the other features are.
What is Worse than Performance Glitches? Platform-Specific Performance Glitches
It is very frustrating to have problems running your app on different platforms (like Android or iOS) or to experience issues when switching from desktop to mobile to tablet. Take note of the technical specs that your users are familiar with, and make sure your app runs smoothly on them all (or at least most).
How to Create Your Fitness App
It’s the development phase that is essential to a successful fitness app. This is a foolproof guide on how to make a fitness application.
Create A Fitness App Step: Market Research
If you want to make a new application or software popular, it must have the same features as the most popular apps and your USP. This will translate into greater convenience for the users.
Your user group might prefer to use your app on a Tablet during the day, and then switch over to a TV in the evening or to check some stats via their wrist.
You’ll be asked questions such as:
What is my USP?
What mobile platforms (and others) do I need my application to support?
How do I imagine people using my application?
Create A Fitness App Step 2: Document Your Requirements In Details
Next, you need to get your app idea on paper. Document all the features and functionalities that you would like to include in your fitness app. It’s not a good idea to start a ketogenic diet and then decide on your weight loss goals. The development phase will be smooth once you have decided how you want your app to look and function.
Create A Fitness App Step 3: Find The Right Development Team
The next step is to find the right people to help you shape your fitness app. Answer the questions below for each of the app development companies that you have shortlisted after your thorough research.
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Does the company have experience in developing fitness apps?
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Can they enrich your plan by using their industry knowledge?
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What are their clients saying about them?
You will know who to choose once you’ve answered these three questions!
Step 4: Test and Provide Feedback for Your Fitness App
You should also test your fitness app. The better the user experience, the more rigorous testing you do. Keep the feedback and testing loop going so that the minimum bugs are corrected before the app is released.
Launch your fitness app!
The final step (and the most anticipated!) is here! Launching the fitness app is the final (and most awaited!) Success is achieved by a concrete marketing strategy, backed up by a functional product that has been tested.
How much does it cost to make a fitness app?
It’s not a surprise that just as avocados have no fixed price, neither do fitness apps. The cost of creating fitness apps depends largely on these factors:
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Complexity of business logic
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Number and type of features
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The timeline for an app launch
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The platform of your app
Here is a rough estimate of the costs associated with developing a fitness app.
A simple fitness app that only has basic features costs around $20,000.
The price of a multi-featured, advanced fitness app can reach $100,000.
Why Is It A Good Idea To Create Fitness Apps With Artoon Solutions?
You are likely looking at the following when it comes to developing fitness apps – whether you’re creating a gym app, a diet application, or another fitness-related app.
The cheapest solution
OR
The best solution for the job
No solution ‘extraordinary comes at an ‘ordinary’ cost.
Artoon Solutions will turn your unique fitness app idea into a market-ready, fully functional solution. This is enhanced by the insights gained from our previous projects. We have developed health and fitness applications for clients in the US, UK, and Australia. You can see what you’ll get when you choose Artoon Solutions to develop your fitness app:
Conclusion:
You probably thought of nothing else (and even more)! You were thinking “How do create fitness apps”. It’s now time to create it and watch your fitness app grow. Got one more question.