As the COVID-19 pandemic forced people all over the world to stay at home, the popularity of Zoom has literally skyrocketed. Statistics show that the number of its active daily users increased from 10 million in December 2019 to 200+ million in March 2020. Initially, this video conferencing app was geared towards the corporate sector. But, in quarantine, people have also started using Zoom to keep up with friends, organize team-building events, create webinars and even host weddings.
The rapid growth of Zoom’s user base showed that there is a huge market demand for video communication platforms. So here are the steps you need to follow to create a Zoom-like app.
Do market research
Although Zoom is the most popular video-chatting app today, a lot of products have similar functionality. Google Hangouts, Skype, Discord, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime have their own advantages and disadvantages but all of them allow users to connect via a video call. So before spending a fortune on the development, you should study the market and analyze the competition.
To give you a hint, the main reason why people are looking for a Zoom alternative is privacy concerns around this app. As it turned out, the communication via Zoom isn’t end-to-end encrypted. Due to its security flaws, hackers managed to access user data and, now, a lot of people are worried that their private information may have been compromised. So if you want to create a video chatting app, pay particular attention to data protection.
Define a feature set
Obviously, video conferencing capabilities will be at the core of your solution. But what else will your app offer? To define this, you have to think about its target audience. At first, it may be quite tempting to create a generic platform that would serve the needs of different users, from Gen Z-ers to employees of large enterprises. But it’s a slippery slope. Odds are if you stuff your application with all possible features, you’ll end up with a complex solution no one wants to use.
Also, there is some basic functionality most users expect to find in a video-chatting app. They include:
- one-to-one chats
- group chats
- video call recording
- screen sharing
- setting a status
- muting /unmuting audio
Besides, you may add some fancy features depending on your target audience. For instance, if you decide to develop a video-chatting app for young adults, it’ll be a nice idea to include face filters in your product like the ones that Instagram and Snapchat have. At the same time, corporate users will more appreciate the white labeling functionality that will allow them to change the app’s appearance so it matches the company’s branding.
Choose a monetization model
Zoom offers a free basic plan that lets users arrange 40-minute video group meetings with up to 100 participants. A business may also choose one of the paid plans that cover additional features and don’t have restrictions in terms of the number of participants and meeting duration. But the free offering is probably the main reason why Zoom has overrun its competitors after the coronavirus outbreak.
When choosing a monetization model for your video conferencing app, you must think of the things your target audience is ready to pay for. For instance, if your product offers premium security, you can make it paid. Usually, organizations that process sensitive data and care for its protection are ready to give their money if they receive peace of mind in return. Yet, entertaining digital products will more likely bring you profits from in-app purchases, so it’s better to make them free for download.
The next steps
Once you figure out what app you want to build, you’ll need to find a reliable technical partner. It’s important to choose experienced developers who will help you improve the product concept rather than just write code. Zoom’s success story has already inspired a lot of people for the ideas of video conferencing platforms. But without execution, ideas amount to nothing. So to win the market, your app must be perfectly designed and built.
