California is a paradise for the fitness & wellness industry. The possibility for an active lifestyle, the warm climate and a strongly health-conscious culture create demand for fitness-related products and services, leading to the growth of startups in the industry. Tech solutions are always here to support these initiatives.
As a business analyst, I’ve analyzed dozens of product ideas and I can say that whatever fitness application you are going to build, it’s important to strike a balance between technology and human touch, because the best products are always backed by personalities.
So, whether you’re looking to digitize your offline fitness business or create a new product, this guide will highlight features and trends you need to consider.
Observe The Trends
The platforms and applications we use are always a response to fitness and wellness trends. Before moving on to planning your product, it’s always a good idea to figure out what is happening in the market in more detail. That way, you will be able to better understand the needs of your future users and catch the wave of the most promising features. Here are just a few of the most significant trends shaping the industry:
- Personalization of fitness routine
- Integrated mental health features
- Wearable integrations
- Virtual reality workouts
When it comes to platforms, mobile applications continue to hold the highest popularity. This is due to the convenience they offer, allowing users to access training sessions from anywhere – be it at home, in the gym, or in open areas – with a simple tap on their smartphones.
AI Features That Can Help Your App Outshine the Competitors
The fitness industry takes full advantage of artificial intelligence. AI features can offer you additional competitive advantages and boost user experience. Here are some of the most popular ones:
- AI data analytics generates insights into workout effectiveness, sleep patterns, nutrition, and overall health, enabling users to make informed decisions regarding their fitness journey.
- Corrective feedback features can analyze how users perform specific exercises and provide them with actionable feedback to improve their performance.
- AI chatbots guide users through workouts, providing real-time feedback and motivational cues.
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. AI features may vary depending on the app and its intended purpose, as different fitness apps cater to various aspects of health and wellness.
How to Launch Your Fitness App Step-by-Step
Let’s break down the process of developing a fitness app into the main stages. Even though it can look a little different depending on a product type and its functionality, the core milestones include the following:
STEP 1: Defining a target audience. Find out who your ideal users are and understand what they want and expect. Explore the specific market segment where your fitness app can make a difference by filling the gaps or addressing the needs that are currently unmet.
STEP 2: Create a feature list. Define your software product functionality and integrations with third-party solutions and prioritize the features based on their critical significance and the value they provide to users.
STEP 3: Think about monetization strategy. Decide how you’re going to generate revenue (subscription, ads, etc.). The selected monetization approach can impact the decision-making process regarding the software’s architecture and other tech stack during the development phase.
STEP 4. Engage experienced developers
Having a basic product vision, you can hire engineers to bring your idea to life. You don’t always need to build an in-house engineering team, and you can opt for an outsourcing model instead. In this way, you will get your product done without thinking about which specialists you need and how to organize their work.
STEP 5: Create UI/UX design
If you have a designer who can create the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) for your project, you can proceed to this stage before the one mentioned earlier. In this case, the designer will collaborate with the developers using design materials as a guide.
- STEP 6: Build and test your app
At this stage, the development team focuses on the development of functionality and user interface, setting up servers, databases, etc. This also includes testing your app to make sure everything works as expected.
- STEP 7: Deploy, maintain and update
Your app is ready to be placed in the app store(s) of your choice. It’s also important to ensure the smooth operation of the product after its launch and provide ongoing technical support. Make sure to gather and analyze user feedback, as it holds immense value for enhancing the app further.
Wrapping Up
All the above is based on 14+ years of MobiDev’s software engineering & consulting experience. We built our first fitness app for a client more than ten years ago.
If you have an idea for a fitness product and are looking for experienced software consultants and engineers to bring it to life, you can contact us to discuss your project. Your fitness domain experience, combined with our deep technological expertise, can result in a truly meaningful product that will stand out from the crowd and take its place in the market. Recently we expanded our presence to Sacramento, CA and can now be closer to our clients in California.
Author: Danylo Nazarenko, Business Analyst at MobiDev
