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Introducing MyFitnessPal
Founded by Albert Lee and Mike Lee way back in 2005, MyFitnessPal was a gift to Mike Lee’s fiancée because she wanted to lose weight before the wedding. Fast forward to 2013, a funding came through for approximately $ 18 million.
By the time John Doerr joined the team as an investor, the app already had 40 million downloads which later increased to 80 million registered users. The list of food items had also grown to over 6 million.
So, it is not really surprising at all that MyFitnessPal is arguably one of the most popular and sought after calorie counters right now. By downloading the application, you not only gain access to a reliable platform that recommends your daily calorie intake by checking your weight but also to a smartly designed exercise log and food diary too.
Why you need to create an app like MyFitnessPal?
Today, more and more people are concerned about their bodies and are willing to take responsibility to do something about it. And technology is closely entwined with how it has progressed so efficiently.
The current market snapshot shows that the space has a lot of potential. As it expands and grows further, more segregation in app categories have appeared, namely, workout and exercise apps, nutrition and diet apps and activity and log cracker apps.
Fitness applications in 2018 saw a revolution. With the advantage of having access to data rich features, the focus is now more on offering users a personalised coaching experience. What’s more, everything is available at the click of a button.
There are tons of fitness and workout apps entering the market in quick succession. Therefore, to be a part of the fitness app industry, you should be well-informed of the benchmark apps like MyFitnessPal and have a list of features handy.
Most importantly, you need to know what it is going to cost to create an app like MyFitnessPal? And get a team together to execute your plan and its development cost.
Read Also: Tips for Developing the Best Healthcare App
Steps to Create an App Like MyFitnessPal
You need to follow this checklist to ensure that your app development process progresses smoothly. Take a look.
Step 1: Select the category of fitness app that you wish to develop and simultaneously research on the current trends in the online fitness market. Have a SWOT and competitive analysis for ready reference.
Step 2: Shortlist the features that will be integrated into your fitness app. You can base this on developing an MVP type. This should be broken down in a phase-wise manner.
Step 3: Always ensure that the app that you wish to create is offering a problem resolution in the space that is yet to be solved. The functionalities should be designed accordingly and must stand out.
Step 4: Find a reliable developer or software development company for your project. Get an approximate estimate for your fitness application and timelines for development basis the features. Decide on a budget accordingly.
Step 5: Plan your application development stage-by-stage. This is the time when you also decide on the technology stack as that too has an implication on your overall budget.
The recommended stack that is similar to MyFitnessPal is as given below:
- Sketch – UX/UI graphics design
- Xcode – iPhone App Development
- Java – Android app development
- AWS – Database
- Android Studio – Google PlayStore
- Geo-fencing – Limiting Location-based functionality
- Google Analytics – Gives the app performance
- Google API
- MEAN Stack
- Stripe – Payment Gateway Provider
- Firebase – Push Notification
Step 6: Once the app is ready stage-wise, ensure you set up a testing team to check the app’s readiness. Demo testing is very important to ascertain that all functionalities and features are working as per plan. Share the beta version with some actual target audience for reviews and feedback. Take corrective measures wherever possible.
Step 7: Once the app is ready after demo testing, let your development team publish it on the app stores. Keep track of your downloads, reviews and ratings.
Step 8: Keep fixing bugs and share app updates with your users regularly.
Essential Features of MyFitnessPal App
To create a mobile app like MyFitnessPal, you must have a list of features ready for incorporation. Take a look at our recommendations:
User App:
User Registration & Login: Offer regular sign-up through submitting email id or phone with a password combination. Additionally, you can also allow registrations using social profiles such as Facebook, Twitter, Gmail or Instagram.
User Profile: To create the user profile in an app like MyFtinessPal, the individual can submit his or her name, age, height, weight, preferences and any other relevant information that counts towards fitness goals.
Track Diet & Activity: The activity and diet tracking are key features of an app like MyFitnessPal. This should include activities like walking, running, cycling, swimming, calories burnt, steps made, miles run, etc. on any given day.
View Diet Plan: Tracking activities and diet are not enough. The user must be able to access a diet plan and the recommended calorie intakes for the day. This will be calculated based on preferences, user details, etc.
View& Manage Health Records: Since the user started using the fitness application, this feature will allow him or her to view his or her entire health history.
View Daily Progress Report: This progress report features shares a daily snapshot of the health status of the user.
View& Track Your Steps: Just like the user monitors the calories burnt on a daily basis, the steps feature allows them to keep a track of the number of steps walked every day.
View health Tips &Suggestions: It is important that your users are able to access health and fitness tips and suggestions on a regular basis through the app. Ensure that you build a section with relevant content.
Payment Gateways: Have a payment gateway feature integrated with the application if you are selling a premium version of the app or related health and fitness products that can be purchased directly from it.
Link External Wearable: Your application should be able to integrate with wearable devices and that user should be able to access basic tracking features of their daily activities and diet through it.
Admin:
Login: Develop a user-friendly admin panel that should help the administrator manage the dashboard.
Manage Dashboard: The dashboard feature is important as the administrator can manage all activities, edit, add and delete content and information, organise user profiles, etc.
Manage Users: Using this feature, the administrator can add or delete users.
Manage Payments: Payments such as commissions can be managed by the administrator using this feature.
Manage Plans: If your fitness application offers premium plans, then it can be managed using this feature.
Manage Notifications: Notifications are key to any application. The administrator can send out relevant notifications like app updates, new content, features, offers, and more using this functionality.
Manage Rewards: If you offer a rewards program, this feature can assist the administrator to manage it.
Manage Media: Manage your images and videos with the Manage Media feature.
Manage Subscriptions: If you have any subscriptions, the admin can manage it through this.
Read Also: Growing Prevalence of Healthcare Mobile Apps in UK
Advanced Features of Fitness App Like MyFitnessPal:
Paid Subscription: Paid subscriptions will be applicable to the premium version of the model and can be a part of the advanced feature that your fitness app offers.
Social Media Integration: Social media integrations with popular networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter are great for sharing your goal achievements.
Chat Module: Using this feature, you can chat with the trainers.
In-App Purchase: Shop for products using this feature.
You can deploy these recommended features in a phase-wise manner. Always use reports from your analytics to see what is working for your audience and build on from there.
How Much Does It Cost to Create an App Like MyFitnessPal ?
Everything will work out if you are able to manage the finances intelligently. So, after your initial research stage, you must have an approximate idea of the cost to create an app like MyFitnessPal.
There will be many factors that will determine the overall cost of this project. However, by adding up the expenses of the key components, you can arrive at a reasonably accurate estimate.
First and foremost, the complexity level and size of the fitness application is the primary contributor to the overall budget. For instance, the features that you have shortlisted for your MVP app will give you develop a rough idea of the time involvement which again will help decide on the expenditures.
Next, you need to decide on which platforms will you be developing the app. Generally, Android apps are lower priced than the ones for the likes of iTunes.
If you share your blueprint of the fitness application, which may be based on your benchmark application such as MyFitnessPal, the development will be able to provide you with a detailed estimate of the development costs.
Other than that, the geography and local labour market of where you choose to develop the app will also impact the price. In fact, the hourly rates will vary according to the location of your development team.
For example:
- USA based developers: – $ 60 to $ 260 per hour
- Developers in Eastern Europe: – $ 40 to $ 170 per hour
- Developers in India: – $ 10 to $ 70 per hour
Usually, apps as complex as this require a team of developers to work on them.
Ideally, you should have a team constituting of:
- Project Manager
- Developers
- Designers
- Test Engineers
By adding the cost of these individual elements, the cost to create an app like MyFitnessPal should range anywhere between $ 15,000 and $ 30,000 on average. This is for a single platform only with just basic features.
A cross-platform app unquestionably will be more expensive to develop. Adding advanced features and functionalities will add to the cost too.
It can increase the cost by as much as $ 60,000. Having said that, an average spends of $ 50,000 will ensure that you are a stand out amongst your industry competition.
Read Also: 10 Best Health & Fitness Apps 2020
Conclusion
Create an app like MyFitnessPal for the fitness segment is in demand simply because people have no time to visit the gym. There is a ton of potential opportunities to be explored if your idea is solid.
Before you embark on the journey, make sure that you have a plan in place that is backed by some cutting-edge features. That will always be your selling point.
At the end of the day, a clear vision will help your app to succeed and get the best return on your product investment.