Fitness native mobile apps for iOS and Android

Development of sports mobile apps for finding friends and taking sports together under secure conditions.

About

Development of native mobile applications for iOS and Android. The applications were built from scratch based on the ideation of the business owner on finding new friends to take sports together in a secure environment. After the short recession, the sports domain received its burst so the app was developed to satisfy the need of the market and provide high-quality services. The combination of functional features taken from the sports and dating domain allowed the creation of a unique solution that brought a new experience to early adopters.

Challenge

High competition in the market and the availability of big players required the app to be unique, useful and user-friendly. That is why the solution combined several features taken from the dating app - the system for fast friends finding based on their sports preferences and skills level. Deliberate binding of the two functional domains within one app became the biggest challenge for the team. Security concerns formed the second functional ground to achieve its proper implementation within the app.

Solution

The app while being an MVP required a clear understanding of the market to cover the needs of the audience and find its niche. That is important not only for the product but also for a business's success.

Pecularities of implementation

Analysis of Sports and Dating domain for creating a single suiting app

We have carefully looked in the market for references and best practices regarding dating/sports apps and other UX and UI trends that could apply to this project as well as general trends for outstanding features and functions. As result, we found a bunch of information about why people engage so much with sports, and one of the main aspects is the feeling of belonging or of being part of something greater than just making yourself. People valued socialization which became the ground for several functional modules of the app. That last aspect was more related to the younger generation, which considers socialization much more important than older people. That created new market opportunities and revealed the possible future profit for the next 40-50 years. We noticed that some of the apps only allowed the user to share the news or like it, but most of them had no such functions at all. The social aspect of it was mostly on the social media channels of the app. That could be the gap missing for us to create a new and valuable tool for an audience craving socialization when taking sports which is why some features such as dating were introduced.

Development of the ux and ui with their implementation in code

In the course of the development of the UX, we have to understand sports’ psychological and social aspects — what about sports that make people so engaged with it to make the users visit the app again and again. We had to understand how the generalised design evolved and what the aspects of data-driven approach we could and should apply to the new app. After gathering the information and making the app map, it was time to focus on the experience itself by developing the wireframes. Our main objective was to test some options which should deliver the main value of the app. This wireframe was worked several times before come to this because we were always considering new features, new paths, new categories that could turn the user experience more pleasant as well as comply with the problem statement. Before jumping into the development of the planned features we needed to create the brand for the product because this is a completely brand-new app. This element was built together with the business owner and based on their personal preferences to deliver the company’s value in the best way. After that the development step took place, it required careful implementation of the planned functional scope with an eye on detail and security of the app. The team worked on the product in short sprints with regular demos with the business owner. Within the first months, the team had the project infrastructure set up including database settings. This allowed the team to collaborate on the platform with product stakeholders. As far as the app is full of animations and demanding functions, the team decided to start with native platforms for smooth running.

MVP release and market testing

After the apps were thoroughly tested, they were released in stores for early adopters to test them on. The first feedback was collected and analysed. One of the most significant features finding recognition among early adopters was the chat. Since we aimed to drive more engagement, we included a direct messaging system that allows people to directly message each other. Just as they do in dating apps, they also get matched with users who share the same locations, and interests and follow the same teams as them.

Results

As the result, the business received a well-tailored MVP app and promo website suiting the audience with features of two different domains - Sports and Dating at once. That brought market opportunities and is already undergoing live testing with early adopters. The team created a clear roadmap for the next updates and scaling which would be interesting for the market. Events, challenges and goal features will help with the promotion of social-based features and the security feature will allow everyone to have the opportunity to care about their health regardless of their security concerns.