Health and Fitness App Development: A Blessing In Healthcare Industry
Fitness apps have seen a surge in downloads in recent years because people realize the importance of maintaining their health to avoid diseases.
Smartphones are the center of our world today. The days of manually paying bills and running errands are long gone. The humble mobile phone has now been transformed into an extremely powerful tool that can perform almost any task.
Smartphone adoption is dominated by mobile apps
Globally, the number of smartphone users is predicted to increase from 2.1 billion to 2.87 billion by 2020. The explosive growth in smartphone users has created a new market, the app marketplace.
Apps for smartphones are available in a wide variety of genres, such as entertainment, gaming, fitness, and more. In recent years, fitness apps have experienced a rise in popularity as people realize the importance of staying healthy to avoid disease. Fitbit, the most popular fitness app in the US, had 23.6 Million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) in July 2017. Other notable apps in this niche are S Health by Samsung, MyFitnessPa,l, and Google Fit.
Many developers create fitness apps that have unique and distinct features to help users better track their health. Here are some tips to help you build a fitness application.
Why fitness apps?
Apps were initially seen as entertainment by the majority of people. The most popular apps on the market were games and quirky ones. Fitness apps were not popular in the past because of this.
Apps for fitness and lifestyle have made a big leap in recent years. Smartphones weren't popular enough to take them seriously. But as apps became more accurate and efficient, they gained in popularity. Statisticians predict that the fitness wearables market will reach USD 9.7 billion by 2019. Wearable devices will increase from 117.51 million units in 2016 to 263.19 million by 2020. This is a staggering 124% increase within just five years.
It is an excellent reason to develop a fitness application. Fitness wearables and fitness apps will grow together. It is for this reason that you should consider creating a fitness application. There are different types of fitness apps, and it is important to know what kind of app you want to build.
Fitness Apps Types
Fitness apps are becoming more popular and the features they offer are also increasing. Fitness apps are available in different categories that have a set of features that are focused on specific fitness activities.
Fitness apps are available in three main categories: workout and exercise apps; activity-tracking apps; and nutrition apps. Some apps combine two types of fitness apps to offer a greater range of functionality to users. Most apps only cater to one type of fitness app so as not to confuse users with all the features.
Workout and Fitness Apps
The most popular category is likely to be the workout and exercise apps. This type of app focuses on showing users how to do exercises. These apps help users create their workout plans.
Personal trainer apps are available on the market, which allows users to receive a customized workout plan from experts. Some apps have a logbook that allows users to log their daily workouts. This helps them keep track of their progress. Some fitness apps are compatible with fitness accessories that track heart rate and calories burned.
Activity Tracking Apps
The popularity of these apps is growing rapidly because they can be used by people who do not exercise much, or even at all. However, they still want to keep track of their calories burned by doing regular activities. These apps count steps and calories. Geolocation allows them to track the distance walked. This is a great tool for those who are trying to maintain calorie control by moving just enough.
These apps can also be used by people who exercise to estimate the total number of calories burned during their workouts. Activity-tracking apps are now able to be used in conjunction with fitness wearables, increasing accuracy and providing precise data about users' daily activities.
Nutrition Apps
The main reason these apps are so popular is that they allow people to track their calories. Apps that promote healthy eating, remind users to drink water every day, track calories, and provide information on the calories in different food products are all part of nutrition apps.
Nutrition apps are primarily designed to help users achieve their goals by setting a goal and reminding them of the daily calories they burn. They also calculate the calories consumed based on the information provided by the user.
Fitness Apps: Features
After we've learned how to create a fitness application and examined the different ideas for fitness and health apps, let's look at some of the features that fitness apps offer to help people achieve their health goals.
Accounts for Personal Comparison
The majority of fitness apps allow users to create an account when using the app. This allows them to log their daily activities efficiently into the app and compare their progress.
This creates a competitive mentality that motivates users to strive to reach their health goals every day. According to a recent study, fitness apps are used for three main reasons:
- Goal-Tracking (30%)
- Awareness of issues (28%)
- Motivation (27%)
Convenient Account Logins
Most fitness apps with a login feature allow users to quickly log in using their social media accounts, saving time and effort by not having to create a new app account.
It is convenient to log in to most fitness apps on Android using Google accounts. Some apps allow users to log in using their Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts. This is a great convenience.
Set Goals
When creating a fitness application, developers must include a feature that allows users to create goals they want to reach in a certain time frame. The person can then track their activity and calories and remain motivated by viewing the progress they make on the app.
Workout apps may include a feature that lets the user set goals to increase their lifting power or endurance. Apps should provide notifications about the user's goal to motivate him daily and help him achieve these goals efficiently and on time.
Personalized Health Information
Fitness apps will always ask you for health information like your weight, height, BMI, gender, etc. after creating an account or logging in with your Google account. One of the most popular health and fitness app ideas is to ask for your height, weight, BMI, gender, etc.
The main purpose of this is to make the app create a more personalized workout plan for the user. This is important because different people have different levels of stamina and daily calorie intake.
Notifications
It is common for people to lose motivation when it comes to training every day. This could be due to bad weather, or even laziness. Notifications are necessary in this situation. A person who is trying to reach his health goals can benefit from regular notifications.
Fitness apps should send push notifications to remind users to exercise regularly or drink enough water. Developers must provide the option to adjust notifications so that they do not become annoying or redundant.
Fitness Apps: How to Make Money
After we've covered the many reasons why you should create a fitness application, the next question is how to make money from it. There are several ways to monetize an app. Three of the most effective methods are:
Freemium Version
It is recommended that the best way to earn money with a fitness app would be to offer a premium version. This method aims to offer some basic features to highlight the uniqueness of your app, and then provide a premium version that offers more exclusive benefits.
In-app Ads
Advertising is another way to monetize a fitness app. This method can be risky, as people are easily annoyed by ads that are too pushy. Ads should therefore be placed carefully to avoid losing customers to apps with fewer or no advertisements. Advertising is a problem because it can distract users and cut off workout routines between sessions. This irritates the customers.
Branded Personal Trainer
You can also monetize your app by charging for personal training. Users can pay online for personal training to get a workout and meal plan created by expert trainers. It is also an excellent way to earn money with your app as it will increase brand value, and personal training can increase customer loyalty.
How to Bring a Good Technology Partner on Board
Your requirements are best met by a great technology partner who has extensive experience in the health, fitness, and wellness system. True healthcare mobile app developers will blend your business goals with the user's needs and create a mobile app that stands out from others.
Our fitness app displays certain distinct characteristics:
- Rich visuals ensure that users are fully engaged and do not get distracted.
- As part of the core development, all elements and functionalities will be added. We can also add additional functionality that is exclusive to your application.
- It is also possible to include features such as the creation of custom meal plans and exercises based on the body anatomy/vitals or users.
- Gamification components (competition and keeping track of goals), as well as socialization (sharing of milestones with friends), are important UX components.
We are here to help you build your fitness app, whether it's an MVP or a full-fledged application.
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Fitness is a very hot industry right now. It is expected to continue growing in the future. If you're thinking about creating a fitness application, it is important to act quickly to gain popularity and earn rich rewards.
Engage a trusted tech solution provider such as Artoon Solutions, and you will win more than half of the battle.
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