Vilmate Blog

How to Make a GPS App

App Developmentgeolocation appTechnologies

GPS apps are still gaining popularity. There are many reasons for people being interested in developing and using such apps. Anyway, it is not only about the exact location and precise geographic coordinates, it is rather about time-saving and enabling us to find the most suitable options when making the best use of the real-time GPS tracking. To begin with, however, you have to give some thought to what people expect such apps to be like.

What is a GPS app?

Primarily, GPS apps deal with location and all that goes with it:


This list is not yet exhaustive, and a lot more possibilities can be added. Nonetheless, it shows the basic principle. Creating GPS apps is always a good idea, as in the first place they deal with such a loose concept as location. Besides, the variety of these mobile applications is ever expanding, and the generation of geographic coordinates as such offers new opportunities. Consequently, trying to create something new and helpful, developers face a challenge which they accept right away.

How beneficial is geolocation app development?

Almost every smartphone has some GPS tracking applications installed. As a matter of fact, they are in high demand now, and their development is getting only more popular. What differs here is the offered service. For instance, the special features contributing to the popularity of GPS apps may be the following:

With that said, the main reason for GPS application development being in demand is combining location tracking itself with other useful time- and energy-saving services. And that is exactly what the modern society needs.

How does this app function?

The two necessary components for GPS tracking app development are map and location services. Thus, via a map app, a user can access relevant information about cafes, roads, hotels, local taxi services, or even find a certain address.

Still, the use of maps is a difficult task for many people, but this problem is already about to be solved. GPS apps show the user’s current location so that they can not only see where they stand but also in what direction they should move.

However, it also makes people feel insecure about sharing their location details. If you keep it in mind and allow users to disable location tracking on their smartphones at any time, eventually, you are more likely to win their trust.

Where does the profit come from?

The app itself can cost some money for users downloading it. However, often, it is personalized recommendations that encourage people to install an application — free or not — without deleting it the very next day.

Another source of profit is the advertisement. You can decide what should be advertised in your app and what might be interesting for users.

Not many people — if any — like to watch ads when they are busy and need to find something quickly. Then they can get a paid premium version of the app to remove advertisements. Premium versions have some advantages when compared to paid apps since in this case, all those involved in creating an app get a chance to prove that it is worth paying for.

Users can get not only premium versions for a certain price but also other possibilities offered by your app. In-app purchasing allows users to purchase additional content from within an application.

Not only consumers are ready to pay a price for what your app offers. Producers of goods and providers of services can pay for it, too, to attract more customers. For example, sponsored search means that certain establishments are shown in the top of the searching list.

Stages of geolocation app development

GPS app development starts with analyzing users’ requests and finding or defining the exact aim of the app. It can target drivers, tourists, or businessmen.

The second stage is connected with design specifications. Here, you choose colors and features — you think — suit your app most.

Then the app design itself comes. After an app is developed, it is tested and if testing is successful, it is released.

Therefore, we can single out the following stages:

1. Analysis;

2. Design;

3. Development;

4. Testing;

5. Publishing.

How much does it cost to create a GPS app?

GPS tracking application development costs vary depending on certain features apps have. There are two possible versions of apps: a minimum viable product (MVP) and a fully functional product. An MVP is a basic version of an app which has all the necessary components, like security and access control. Fully functional versions have some more features enabled and offer enhanced functionality.

The key advantage of an MVP over a fully functional product is its lower price. First, you can work with your app, get information about queries and only after it, taking into account the experience of the MVP version and the requests received, you are more than welcome to have the fully functional version developed.

At a rough estimate, developing the MVP version of an app would cost 25-30 000$ — including the work of 4 to 5 IT specialists: developers, back-end, front-end and QA specialists — and it will take them on average 4 to 6 months. Furthermore, costs and duration depend on the complexity of the app itself and where the developers are. Here are approximate prices of apps in different countries:

Quite a number of people wonder how to create a geolocation app. However, it is more important to understand why you want to develop an app and in what way it can be useful to the society. These questions are not complicated as there is always something new people might like.

Citizens of different countries have different traditions and interests. If you want your app to be popular in a country that bears almost no resemblance to yours, you should pay special attention to its people, their hobbies, daily life, as well as to new trends in this society.

Just keep up with the modern world and try to improve it by creating a helpful application turning your app idea into reality!

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