Navigation applications are getting highly popular these days. The number of location-based service users is predicted to increase in the future. Hence, if you are also planning for creating a GPS navigation app, you are on the right track.
According to the report by BIS Research Agency, the market of the navigation app is developing continuously, with an expectation of $34.56 billion income by 2021. Hence, having a navigation app can bring lots of profit to your business.
Maps and navigation apps have been a central feature of smartphones since the first iPhone, but new advertising options and map integrations have made them more prominent to consumers and accessible to advertisers. Marketers have a range of options for using maps and navigation platforms to promote discovery or a better user experience.
Navigation apps market
- According to the recent BIS research, the global automotive navigation systems market is expected to grow up to approximately $35 billion by 2021.
- 6,675,323 live websites use Google Maps
- Waze navigation app has around 100 million users per month
- Around 5 million registered users in OpenStreetMap (OSM)
- Citymapper is live in 39 cities
When a smartphone user needs to go somewhere, chances are high that they use a mobile app to find the best route with the fewest obstructions and lightest traffic. The rapid growth of GPS navigation and map apps shows that consumers are increasingly using smartphones while travelling or running errands.
Did you know that 77% of smartphone owners have navigation apps on their phones? This way, they avoid getting lost, get to discover new places, read reviews of restaurants and other service shops, and easily share this information with friends. A recent report on the navigation app market showed that GPS apps are going to bring $34.56 billion of revenue by 2021. A navigation app can be a very profitable business.
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Navigation app development
If you’re looking to build a navigation app like Waze, you’re going to follow the standard mobile development process. Here are its main phases:
Choosing your technology partner
You need to pick a software development company to build your app. This is the stage where you research, analyze and select a company to cooperate on your navigation app. Signing an Independent Contractor Agreement is a key part of this process. Read more about choosing a partner for your app development.
Product Discovery
Define the app you want to build: what problem does it solve, who is your target audience and why do you want to build it? Clarify your app’s vision, define your product’s goals and determine who your end-users are. At this point, you also need to decide which features are the most crucial for creating your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), which platforms your app will work on, and what will be your monetization models. Read more about the Product Discovery phase.
UX / UI app design
This is where you determine how your navigation app will work and look. You need to create a User Journey Map, and then use the UX insights to create clickable wireframes, visual user interfaces, and motion design (animations and screen transitions). Read more about UX/UI app design process.
Project kick-off & setup
These are the last preparations before the development team begins to work on your app. This is where you get to meet team members, define roles in the team, agree on key rules, the next steps and tools that will be used. The idea here is to set up the project environment using best practices, ranging from project management to DevOps. This is how you make sure that the development process runs quickly and smoothly. Read more about project kick-off and setup.
Mobile development process with Quality Assurance (QA)
This is where developers finally get to build your product, using best practices such as Continuous Integration: plan, code, build, test (and repeat). Make sure that your team involves Quality Assurance at every stage of navigation app development, using manual and automated tests. Most teams follow the Scrum framework and divide the work into short iterations followed by demos.
Publication of the app on Google Play Store and Apple Store
Releasing an app means that you need to upload assets required by laws, create promotional materials, get some beta testing done, optimize the product page/store presence, and everything else that ensures your app approval will go as smoothly as possible. Preparing for launch is key if you want your navigation app to stand out from the crowd and succeed.
Post-development phase -- app maintenance and further development
The team keeps a close eye on your navigation app, detects any crashes, monitors the app’s statistics, and works on further development by adding new features or improving the existing ones. This way, your GPS app keeps on attracting users and responds to the changing market conditions, as well as feedback from end-users.
What are the key features of a GPS navigation app?
1. Authorization
This is an important part of an app like Waze. Once registered, users can get a personal account to post reviews and ratings as well as communicate with other users. You can sign in with your email address and password, or you can sign in to a social account like Facebook.
2. Real-time updates
Displaying high-quality satellite imagery in the Real-time update navigation app is enough, but Waze does more than that. Real-time updates from other users create a very efficient user experience. In addition, you can upload images and add notes to provide otherwise perfectly accurate data.
3. InApp Messages
If you want to open the Waze like navigation application, consider displaying more attractive user messages. Do you want to send them as push notifications or send them in chat? This can be done for the navigation application when the user enters a specific area or location.
4. Voice navigation
Drivers must not be distracted by maps. Turn-by-turn navigation is a must-have feature, and mobile GPS navigation apps are nothing without it. Voice navigation helps drivers hear prompts like where to turn, the route to use, traffic alerts and notifications when a better route is available. If you are distracted by voice navigation, you can disable this feature.
5. Social media integration
Integration with social networks For reasons of authentication, the application must be integrated with the social platform to provide social capabilities. Additionally, social media integration improves the user experience and reduces the security risks associated with authentication. This is because most of the possible security issues and vulnerabilities have already been maintained. It also does not force the user to create another account, but uses an existing account for seamless login.
6. Redirect
GPS tracking application forces the driver to quickly redirect the route in the event of a road accident or incorrect direction change if the driver is unable to follow basic instructions. To do. The driver does not have to wait long for the application to reanalyze the route. They quickly get the exact direction.
7. Geo-fencing and navigation
Maps form the basis of your navigation application. Use the GPS system to locate the user, identify the object, and show the way. Because it relies on information from the mobile operator, you can incorporate cell ID functionality into your application to reduce errors. When the team combines cell ID and GPS, the app's geolocation service will be accurate.
8. Payment
A GPS tracking app that allows you to integrate non-app purchases as a way to monetize. Partnerships are possible when the application becomes popular with drivers and additional service providers.
9. Carpool service
Carpool applications such as Waze like where drivers can get fuel for free. If the user goes in the same direction, it will be displayed on the screen. The driver and his companions share the price of gasoline for the trip. The boarding rate is set in advance with the rate offered by the Wazelike application. The app will automatically debit the credit card from your bank account.
10. Google Calendar Sync
Waze like app users can sync the app with Google Calendar to take more trips. Once Waze has access to the calendar, Waze will create a list of upcoming appointments in their area.
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