To every cloud, there is a silver lining. Although the outbreak of COVID-19 devasted the whole world, it also brought in new opportunities for all. And there are some, who never let any opportunity go to waste. There has been a significant change in user behaviour, especially in 2020, and the app developers wish to encash on whatever comes their way. Just last year alone, mobile app downloads saw 7 percent rise, with over 218 billion downloads. With this, the nature of apps is getting highly intriguing. Take for instance Clubhouse, an audio-based social networking app, which was launched last year, is garnering tremendous lauds. Call it the market demand or the audience’s expectations, apps like Clubhouse are on a quest to be creative and give the consumers what exactly they are looking for. Or on the other hand, such apps are here to create a need. This article talks about how to build an app like Clubhouse, what makes it stand apart, features to use to create such an app, and more.  
What is Clubhouse? 

Developed by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth of Alpha Exploration Co., Clubhouse is a space for casual, drop-in audio conversations – with friends and other interesting people around the world. An invitation-only social media app, this app hosts live discussions where members can take part as well. Participants are mostly on mute and can unmute whenever they want. These digital rooms are a host to an array of topics – right from how to use Clubhouse, various aspects of technology, self-help groups, interviews, wellness, places, panel discussions, group experience, etc.
Let’s say, Clubhouse is a mix of the podcast and live conferences. Hosts can create an event and participants can join them to explore what they can offer. These are real-time events only. As per the Clubhouse guidelines, conversations are prohibited from being recorded, transcribed, reproduced, or shared without explicit permission. 

What makes Clubhouse unique? 

Currently, valued at $1 billion, Clubhouse which had around 600,000 users in December, now has 10 million weekly actives users. Let us figure out why this app has become the 16th most popular app in the social media network category of the App Store. 

  • User-friendly and attractive features.
  • Intimate and live conversation. 
  • Invitation-only app making it more secure and authentic.
  • Has star-studded user base.
  • Impeccable search and explore options. 
  • Newsfeed catered to the needs of the user. 
  • Is a host to conversations and debates over varied and informative topics.
  • Created rooms offer various levels of privacy. 
  • Offers Clubhouse Creator First, which is an accelerator program, that aims to help the creators with content creation. This program provides resources wherein the creator can thrive and build their audience. 
  • Has rolled out monetization schemes. 
  • Consumers can take up different roles such as listener, moderate, and speaker.
  • It does not yet have an official logo. The app has a black and white portrait of a person as an icon. Figures on the icon are usually the ones who have made an impact on humankind. Currently, Drue Kataoka, an artist-activist, appears on the latest icon.
  • A calendar option that sends the user a personalized list of their upcoming task.

Well, this is what got Clubhouse millions of downloads over time. However, to create an app like Clubhouse upping the game and giving out-of-the-box options, apart from these, will attract the users. 

How to develop an app like Clubhouse? 

Clubhouse is doing something right which is why over 180 organizations and venture capitalists have invested in this app. Having a great idea for an app is a good start but the true journey begins after that. And what possibly got people hooked up to Clubhouse is because of what it offers its audience. It must have taken then them a great deal of planning and developing before the app went live. Understanding the market and audience and encashing on the opportunity is what made Clubhouse what it is today. Here’s are a few development processes and a guide to design an app like Clubhouse.
 

  • Understand the ‘why’?

Before jumping into developing the app understand why the app is being created. Have a crystal clear idea of the motive behind making the app public. When the intentions are clear overcoming uncertainties becomes a tad bit easy.  

  • Overall analysis 

Developing an app without market search is like driving with your eyes closed. Without having an idea of the market or the audience launching the app will lead to its downfall. Understand the market, industry, competitors, and audience. Research and collect all the valuable data which will help you move forward. This will help you determine your goal. With that, take some time out to see what your competitors’ work looks like. 

Coming with the same app with exactly similar features will do no good to your app. Your app should provide the audience with something that they have never seen but something that they always wanted. Always have an edge over others. How well do you know your audience? Now is the time to wear your creative hat and get into the shoes of the target audience. Have one-on-one interviews, target focus groups, and usability tests. Surveys play an important role in understanding the user. Creating a user journey map provides tangible results. 

  • Android or iOS?

The app can be either released on iOS or Android. However, Android and iOS generate more than 70 percent of the online traffic. And together they account for 98 percent of the total mobile OS market share. With such sharp figures going with cross-platform or hybrid applications makes sense.  

  • A team that matters

Great things in business are never done single-handedly. They are done by a team of people. Taking into consideration their talent and likes, put forth a great team that can lead your app to success. Having a team with the same mindset will take the project a long way. 

  • Designing and much more

This phase gives the knowledge of user flow, site maps, mockups, and other things. Generating a wireframe helps in laying out the skeleton of the app. It gives an idea of how the user will interact with the app. This process might take a lot of time. It is difficult to land on the final look with just one wireframe. In the end, the final wireframe gives an overall idea of the user interface.  

  • Monetization Model 

There are several models to increase the profitability of the app. Having a sense of what the audience is looking for will give you an idea of which monetization model. Some of the models are:

  1. Premium or paid apps.
  2. Free with in-app advertising.
  3. Selling data. 
  4. Free with in-app purchases. 

 

  • MVP

For initial testing having a minimum viable product (MVP) is a must. It is the basic version that has most of the essential features and components. MVP lends a helping hand to software engineers. This determines the app’s potential.

  • Get, set, go! 

After all the hard work behind the scene, it’s now go time. Now is when you hand over all the information to the development team. They are the ones who create a high-fidelity version of the UI. Then begins the testing phase. After the user, beta, and internal testing, taking the feedback from the development becomes a must.

  • Maintain and analyze

Once your app goes live, with your fingers crossed hope that it becomes a hit. The work isn’t yet done. Now begins the process of analyzing and keeping the app live in the hearts of your audience. You ought to get answers for.

  1. Did the app meet the purpose?
  2. What are the pain points and how to address them? 
  3. Views of the users about the app?
  4. How to maintain the app?
  5. How can the app functionality improve?

Tech stack 

To build a high-end and audio-chat app like Clubhouse, stacking the best possible technology infrastructure, or the best data ecosystem guarantees easy and flawless communication. Two major programming languages used for iOS platforms are Objective-C and Swift. And for Android, Java and Koltin works like a charm. React Native, Xamarin, and Flutter can be used for cross-platform apps.
Apart from using these stacks of technologies, these days what works in the favour of the app are the influencers and promoting it on various social media platforms. 

  • Programming language
Swift
PHP 
Koltin 
Node js 
Python ​​
  • Cloud Storage
AWS
  • Framework
Nest
Spark
  • IDE​​
Android Studio
Xcode
  • Database
Mango DB
MySQL
DynamoDB
PostgreSQL
  • Payment gateway
Paypal
Stripe
Braintree
  • Email
Gmail
AWS
Cost and time required to develop an app like Clubhouse
The basic formula used by most app developers to calculate the cost of an app is:
Cost = time spent on the specific feature * hourly rate.

Further, the cost may also vary as per the platform, complexity, UI, back end services, animations, icon creation, integration, app design, location of the agency, features, and more. Typically to build a high-end app such as Clubhouse may cost around $14,500 to $300,100. And the time required to see the completion of the app depends on the level of the complexity. To build a feature-rich app like Clubhouse, may take around 5-7 months.

Takeaways

The only thing constant is change. As times change, we ought to adhere to it. In all this, the user should always be the top priority. There is a lot that can be done in the audio-chat app segment. What users adore are quirky apps that not only satisfy their basic app needs but offer them something more as well. At App Scoop, we consider all these attributes. To talk to our experts, kindly contact: https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

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1 Comment

Lisa Brown · April 27, 2022 at 6:35 am

Wow… Amazing blog. Thanks for sharing the article. Keep posting such informative article

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