How to Create a Dating App

In one of his songs, Elvis Presley’s asking: “Are you lonesome tonight?” Many things have changed since then, but people keep looking for connections and relationships as they always did. It’s human nature to love and to be loved. However, 75% of Americans say that it has become more difficult to find someone to date in the last ten years.

According to the same resource, almost half of men and women find it hard to approach people. It’s no wonder that dating apps quickly gained their popularity and continue to march the planet, transforming the ways we build our romantic life.

With that in mind, it’s a good moment to leverage the situation and create a dating app that will generate value for both businesses and users. So let’s see what to consider before approaching dating app development.

• Why Are Dating Apps So Popular?
• Types of Dating Apps
• How to Create a Dating App: 6 Easy Steps
• 11 Key Features for Your Dating App MVP
• Monetization Methods
• How Much Does It Cost to Create a Dating App?
• Final Thoughts before Getting Started

Reasons to Develop a Dating App

In the beginning, there were only mail-order bride services. Further, in the 1990s, dating websites appeared. Now, since we spend a humongous amount of time on our phones, dating apps are as wanted as ever. They allow users to find each other, chat, and if both like to engage further — go on a first date.

Applications like Tinder, Bumble, or Plenty of Fish enable people to browse photos, message each other, and make video calls. Moreover, gamification elements included in dating apps make our search for love fun and stress-free. Needless to say, it’s one of the reasons why these apps are so successful.

But what exactly makes the online dating market so attractive for users? Below, we’re providing a list of benefits that entice people from all over the world to majorly install and use dating applications. Here they are:

• Diversity of user base
• Less effort in making connections
• Good for busy people
• 24/7 availability
• No unwanted interactions
• Possibility to search by location

Yet, if you feel uncertain about developing a dating app and need more reasons to clear up doubts, let’s take a look at the numbers. The revenue of the global dating app market is projected to grow steadily in the following years.

By 2025, this sector is expected to reach $5.71 billion as more users from North America and Europe activate their accounts.

Hopefully, now you’re more inspired to leverage building a mobile solution of that kind. Thus, we can move to the next part and discover what types of dating apps are present on the market.

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Types of Dating Apps

Depending on the principle of matching people, there are primarily four groups of apps that currently exist. Usually, modern dating mobile solutions are a combination of several types.

1. Geolocation

As derived from the name, this type of matching is used to connect people based on their location or proximity to each other. For example, Tinder offers you the ability to choose how close your possible match should be to you. Another option available in the app now is to go global and see people from around the world.

2. Questionnaire-based

Some dating apps’ architecture includes a questionnaire-based matching algorithm. It means that they first ask users to answer a set of questions about their interests and expectations. Then, in accordance with their responses, the app connects people with similar personal values and goals. eHarmony illustrates this type of dating application really well.

3. Traditional

A traditional dating app represents an addition to a web platform that looks like an online catalog of people. OkCupid is a good example in this category. Their application complements the website and replicates its main features.

4. Niche-based

This group of dating apps aims to match people with certain common interests. Pet owners, jogging lovers, veggies, or even people with the same dislikes — there are plenty of options to choose from and find your niche. If you’re looking for an example, check out Veggly.

How to Create a Dating App: 6 Easy Steps

Once you’ve decided what kind of dating app you want to build, you might wonder what steps to take next.

Step 1: Know Your Target Audience

First of all, you need to understand your target audience. App users may vary, depending on the type of dating solution and its business goals. Users can be of different ages and have their unique objectives and specific preferences. Know your audience and ensure you’re heading in the right direction to meet their requirements.

Step 2: Analyze Market Competition

Every business initiative related to the launch of a new product requires market research. The world has already seen a plethora of dating apps. Some of them are extremely successful in general; some found a particular niche to thrive, and others deliver value by implementing exclusive features. Take time to analyze your competitors and explore the ways to take advantage.

At the moment, the US dating app market share looks like this:

Source: Business of Apps

Step 3: Choose the Right Development Team

When you’re ready to transform your dating app idea into reality, you need to choose a reliable software partner. With so many IT service providers out there, it might be challenging to decide on which one suits you best.

Prior to all, consider the qualification and experience that the software vendor has in dating app development. Check the company’s portfolio, read reviews, and ask for references.

Learn more about How to Choose a Mobile App Development Company

Make sure your team provides relevant technical background and expertise sufficient to address your requirements and deliver a reliable architecture for your dating app.

After you’ve partnered with an IT company, you can explain your app idea to the development team and move to the discovery phase. Your software vendor will help you do the rest and build the solution based on your preferences, needs, time, and budget.

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Step 4: Select a Set of Features

As we’ve just mentioned, your development team will help you make your app efficient and intuitive. At this stage, choosing features and functionality to include is one the most crucial steps since it affects the user experience, overall attractiveness of the solution, and value it delivers to users.

Later on, we’ll talk about essential features that you can consider for implementation. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to embrace them all. Try to come up with something unique and keep in mind your app’s type and goals, target audience, and budget.

Step 5: Define Your Dating App Tech Stack

While building your solution, it’s vital to ensure that the chosen tech stack supports the utmost performance. You can certainly rely on your team to land you a hand here. However, make sure their expertise is sufficient.

With that in mind, when you outsource mobile app development to build a digital dating solution, look for a team with the following technical skills:

Step 6: Focus on an Intuitive UI/UX

Last but not least, pay attention to the way your app will look and feel. The UI/UX design is the focal point to make users stay with your solution. Think about smooth navigation, aim for coherent fonts and colors, and ensure seamless transitions between the app’s elements.

A team of experienced UI/UX designers and a range of various instruments like wireframes and mockups will come to help. Remember that to deliver a consistent experience — the visuals should be intuitive and simple.

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11 Key Features for Your Dating App MVP

Trivial as it sounds, but to make your dating app successful, you need to incorporate in it a set of features that users will find valuable and engaging.

On the one hand, chances are the more features you’ll include, the more expensive your dating app development will be. On the other, you can always start with an MVP. First, offer key basic features to provide users with the main functionality and add more later, if needed.

Here, we’re listing the most common features a dating app should have to stay competitive in the market.

1. Signing In

Asking users to fill out the long form in order to sign up doesn’t seem a very good idea. It’s cumbersome and takes quite a lot of time. On the contrary, social login ensures a smooth and effortless process of registration in a couple of clicks. Alongside the access via Facebook or Google accounts, there’s another seamless way of signing in to your app — through a verified phone number.

Additionally, before asking new users to create a profile, provide them with short but effective onboarding. Introducing key features will make the first interaction with your app transparent and intuitive. This will help you engage and retain users.

2. User Profile

A complete user profile is something more than just a bio description taken from an existing social media account. To make the matching process accurate, smooth, and quick, it’s essential that a user could give more details about his or her dating preferences, hobbies, lifestyle, and values. Thus, include the option for users to insert this information when creating a user profile.

Moreover, it’s hard to imagine digital dating without profile pictures. Enabling users to upload photos from their devices or choose pictures from Instagram is an important functionality of a dating app.

Similarly, connecting your app with, for example, Spotify offers an opportunity to share music tastes and increases the chances of meeting a like-minded person.

Learn about the Development of a Dating App with Video Profiles

3. Matching Algorithm

No match, no date. Only after matching can users decide to chat and see if they’re willing to communicate offline.

There is a wide variety of matching algorithms that dating apps can apply, for example, they can be based on the location of users or their mutual interests. It is a key factor differentiating your app, thus it must be properly planned and incorporated into the app architecture.

Of course, your development team will guide you on how to create a flawless matching algorithm. However, you should understand the differences between the options to choose the right ones for your solution.

Mathematical Algorithms

In general, matchmaking techniques depend on the type of app you chose to create. For example, mathematical algorithms connect people according to mutual interests, values, and preferences.

Behavior-Based Matching

Another option can be behavior-based matching. In this case, Big Data and AI technologies help find and analyze patterns in user behavior and activities outside the app — social networks, music apps, etc.

Location-Based Rules

Usually, dating apps incorporate location-based rules to make a match between users. It’s a common practice to combine this algorithm with the others since most people search for matches within their area.

4. Geolocation

Many dating apps use geolocation as the main principle to show and connect people with each other. Naturally, we tend to choose and meet others if they’re located in close proximity to us. Provide your future users with an option to select a city, region, or distance range where they want to find a match.

5. Swiping

In digital dating, one of the most common ways to express your interest in someone or show indifference is swiping. This gamification feature is implemented in the most successful dating apps and enhances user experience and engagement. Depending on whether users like or dislike a profile of a potential match, they swipe to the right or to the left accordingly.

6. In-App Messaging

This is a core feature of a dating app. After all, how else can people communicate to know each other better when they’re matched?

In-app chat enables users to send text messages or stickers and share videos and other content they like. With more options to diversify conversations, your mobile app will have more opportunities to keep users engaged and help them express their intentions.

7. Voice and Video Calling

It’s natural to feel nervous or uncomfortable before going on a date. It’s even more intense when you’ve never met a person in real life. Yet, voice and video calling features can help eliminate this awkward sense and prepare users for what to expect further.

On top of that, if people live in different countries, they can leverage this option to know each other better and get close to real-life experience.

8. Push Notifications

If you want to drive your dating app engagement and user retention, then don’t forget to implement push notifications. It’s a great way to notify users when they have a match or new messages. After all, you can just remind them to check the app or stay up-to-date with the latest news.

9. Settings

This feature allows users to change various settings and adjust their personal preferences. Generally, the options include upgrading subscription plans, controlling data usage, and managing notifications and payments. Also, there should be a possibility to alter discovery settings related to age, gender, distance, etc.

10. Admin Panel

As the name suggests, an admin panel is a hub to administrate your application. So it’s basically impossible to skip this feature because it allows you to control what’s going on with and within your app — from user analytics and payments to technical issues and content management.

11. Data Security

It would be reckless to leave out security. Users should feel safe sharing their personal data and be sure the app’s well protected against malicious attacks. Doublecheck that your mobile solution complies with all security standards and protocols, especially if it has in-app purchases and processes financial data.

Dating App Monetization Strategy

Another significant moment to consider when you’re about to create a dating app is how it will generate revenue. Even if there can be slight differences between iOS and Android monetization strategies, dating apps for both platforms use the same revenue sources.

Below, we’ve picked the most common approaches that app owners usually go for to make money. All of them allow companies to attract, engage, and retain users, which eventually drives revenue.

In-app Purchases

In-app purchases, if they are enticing enough, make it easy to show interest in someone and steer the conversation in the right direction. For example, it can be a virtual gift.

Premium Subscriptions

The next way to monetize your app is to include premium subscription plans that enable users to boost their accounts, get unlimited likes, and unlock additional features.

Ads

There’s a good old method you shouldn’t leave out — advertising. However, try not to burden your audience with too many ads as it can be intrusive and lead to increased uninstall rates.

Partnerships

Finally, you can enable third-party companies to promote their products and services through your app and charge them according to the cost-per-click or cost-per-mile model. Relevant offers such as flower delivery, restaurant and hotel booking, or taxi order help users plan their first date right in the app.

How Much Does It Cost to Make a Dating App?

As a complex and comprehensive process, mobile dating app development includes many aspects that impact the final cost of the solution. Since every custom-built application is unique, there’s no one-fits-all answer to estimate the budget.

Learn more about the Cost of Mobile Application Development

In general, the cost depends on the app requirements, the scope of work, and, of course, the rates of software vendors. However, there are several key factors to take into account when calculating the total dating app development cost — design complexity, functionality, set of features, and the number of active users you expect after the app’s launch.

Based on our profound experience, building a dating app requires a team of at least 6 specialists: 2 Developers, a Business Analyst, a Project Manager, a QA Specialist, and a UX/UI Designer. On average, the project implementation can be estimated as follows:

On top of that, we recommend considering 10% of the frontend and backend development cost for contingency in case any unforeseen project circumstances appear.

With that in mind, designing a dating app requires around 1960 hours. Depending on the outsourcing location and team qualification, the average hourly rate varies between $30-100. Thereby, an approximate cost of a dating app with a basic set of features can be $58,800 to $196,000.

Ready to Build Your Dating App?

Increasingly, people search for love using the latest technologies and turn to digital dating through their mobile devices. Despite the competition in the dating app market being tough, there are still plenty of opportunities to seize.

With various mobile solutions for any taste out there, it’s important to find unique features that will serve you as a competitive differentiator.

The goal is to develop such an app that will deliver value to users, meet their requirements, and show them new benefits. It will help your dating solution become a breakthrough.

If you already have an app idea in mind, all you need to do is validate it and choose a trusted software vendor. Our team’s extensive expertise supported many companies with the development of efficient and engaging dating apps.

Velvetech will be happy to provide you with first-rate mobile development services and guide you on how to design, code, and launch a dating app. Contact us today to build a robust dating solution that will melt the hearts.

About the author

Matthew Carrington

Years of experience in mobile app development and tech blogging allow Matthew to inspire readers with his practical ideas and meaningful insights regarding mobile solutions.