How to Create a Fitness App

People can hardly overestimate the benefits of regular physical activity. It’s known for a fact that exercise helps to stay healthy, maintain a better lifestyle, boost energy, and build resilience. But it can still be so hard to get people involved in a fitness routine. It is often caused by a lack of interest, motivation, or time. Luckily, technologies have presented new solutions to this issue. An efficient fitness app can become a perfect tool to encourage users to do exercise anytime and anywhere. This article will discover how to create a fitness app while meeting both user and business needs. Let’s learn how to deliver a valuable market product and approach the development process itself.

Why Create a Fitness App?

What drives the development of fitness apps? First, I thought about the widespread adoption of technology. It is true. Could we imagine a world without digital technology?

Mobile devices make it easier to manage your daily routine. Fitness will not be an exception. Fitness applications are available with the latest technologies.

The statistics show that the global health and fitness market is expected to grow to $169,7 billion in 2030. Fitness app users continue to increase due to the large number of fitness apps. The number of users has increased by over 20 million in 2020. It is predicted to reach 86.3 million users by 2022.

In the last few years, there have been many changes in the fitness industry. Fitness technology is growing at a rapid pace, with consumers driving this growth. Fitness technology can offer practical solutions to many of the challenges. Let’s look at some of the challenges that users face and how fitness apps can help. It is important to define these aspects before learning how you can create a fitness application. It can provide specific recommendations for app functionality and help businesses identify new reasons to create a fitness application.

Challenge: No time to work

Due to hectic schedules and daily responsibilities, it is not surprising that finding time for exercise can be difficult. Many people use it as an excuse to not exercise at all.

Solution for Activity Tracking

Many people forget that a gym workout does not have to be an hour-long commitment. You can start by doing simple activities like walking around the neighborhood, riding a bicycle with your kids, or swimming. A fitness app that allows users to track their activities is a good idea. It can also suggest physical activity plans for users based on their preferences and availability.

Challenge: Lacking interest and motivation

It’s natural to avoid doing something you don’t feel like or recognize the need for. It is important to identify the interests of users to overcome major challenges when creating a fitness application.

Solution: Functionality for setting targets and achieving them

You can also add extra features to the fitness app. The best way to motivate yourself is by setting goals. You can reward your users with trophies or awards within the app. Users can access new workout videos after completing certain workouts.

Challenge: Staying with a Fitness Program

It can be difficult to figure out how you’re going to start a fitness program. Users are sometimes looking for the magic formula. Surprisingly, there isn’t one suitable for everyone.

Solution: Different level plans

Exercise, nutrition, and sleep are all part of a fitness routine. You should develop fitness apps that cater to different user groups. Some people enjoy intense workouts several times per week. Others prefer flexible programs of moderate intensity. Your application will be more useful if you offer more personalized and engaging programs.

Challenge: Not everyone can afford the gym membership

Costs vary depending on the location and gym you choose. The average US annual cost is $517.

Solution: Free fitness app with paid premium features

Exercise doesn’t have to be expensive. How do companies make money by creating free products? A fitness app that has a solid monetization plan is a great way to get into the market. Even a free fitness app can generate revenue for your business. Leave the decision to your users. You pay for traditional gyms, training, and coaching but you hope to see results within months. Fitness app companies should offer a free version to engage users. Customers who are happy with your basic features are more likely to buy premium services.

Challenge: Exercise at Home

Fitness routines must be adaptable to different situations. During the lockdown of 2020, we’ve certainly understood this need. Regular physical activity is only possible if you organize your workouts at home.

Solution: Personalised plans with active Support

Create an app that will allow users to exercise at their convenience. Flexible and versatile approaches encourage users to become more active. Offer your customers the chance to stay connected by inviting them to join an in-app community. You will be able to find people who share your goals and are interested in setting up new achievements.

Challenge: Coaching for performance improvement

There are many reasons why people choose to work with a personal trainer. The list includes experience, supervision, and company.

Solution: Coach-on-demand

It’s not difficult to learn how to build a fitness application with real-time interactions. Professional developers of health and fitness apps use a variety of technologies to facilitate communication between trainers and coaches. The first step is to arrange a real-time video session with a trainer. Coach-on-demand is usually marketed as an exclusive app feature. It has also become a must-have feature for the latest telefitness apps.

The first step to defining a project’s objective is to identify the challenges and possible solutions. This becomes the primary goal for further app development. Learn how to build a fitness application and streamline the entire process.

How to Create a Fitness App

The development process can be quite complex and long. How well a company organizes the development process will determine the outcome. You might find it surprising, but hiring health and fitness app designers is not enough. To develop an app, you need to create a multi-functional team. Make sure you understand the entire process as the product owner and that you participate whenever necessary. A close collaboration between the product owner and service provider is essential. The desired results can only be achieved by a team that is actively engaged.

When thinking about the design of a fitness application, there are two main aspects: the technology behind the app and the fitness content or value of the app. This article will concentrate on the user engagement and technology aspects. But anyone who plans to create a fitness app must also consider the importance of having sports consultants, nutritionists, and compliance teams on board.

It is useful to break the process down into stages when learning how to make a fitness application. This helps to develop a better understanding of the process and highlights what is involved at each stage.

You will go through the following steps when creating a fitness application:

• Requirement Analysis

• UI/UX design

• Testing and development

• Launch, support, and updates

This is the foundation of delivering a software product to market. All stages are linked and cannot be skipped. Professional team assistance will assist in organizing the process and completing the necessary tasks.

How to build a fitness app: Requirement analysis

When clients contact service providers, their initial project ideas are usually present. The goal should be transformed into project requirements that are documented and defined through their cooperation. Developing a fitness app, this stage requires a lot of planning and research. This stage involves an in-depth review of the app’s functionality and appearance.

It is also a stage of discovery to determine all requirements and create the project perception. Some might call this a preliminary step. This stage is important, but you should not underestimate it. This stage is just as important as the app development process itself. This phase reveals the project’s smallest details, along with documentation and the app visualization. Parallel to this, the team responsible for the development will estimate project costs and timeline.

How to build a fitness app Like Fitbit

Both parties should be involved at this stage. The service provider will usually start by assigning the business analyst and project manager. On the client side, you will need to select one or more members who can work with the team of the service provider and act as product managers or owners.

The team of the client shares their ideas while the provider works out how to make them work in the software. Collecting requirements is the first step in learning how to make a fitness application.

The client explains the project goal. In our case, the project objective is to develop a fitness app with certain features.

Business analysts’ first task is to gather general information on the future application. The business analyst will cover the client’s vision for their app, including stakeholders, targeted audiences, and planned functionalities. Fitness applications are generally divided into three categories: nutrition, activity tracking, and workout apps. Some companies can deliver mixed solutions that combine functionality. You can create a fitness application that provides home workouts both for beginners and professionals. Trackers that show the duration of exercise and calories burned are a great way to encourage users. You can track water intake since the fitness routine is made up of healthy habits.

Hire Fitness App Development Company in India

The team will then proceed to the discovery phase. Both parties continue to communicate about the challenges presented while agreeing on the best solutions. You need to create a database of different exercise levels if you’re creating a fitness app for home workouts. A fitness app development should always suggest plans based on the user’s goals and previous activities. There are many ways to improve the app. Workout identification algorithms can help. Take into consideration other activities that users may do, such as walking or running. Consider integrating Apple HealthKit or Google Fit to provide precise tracking of activity.

Parallel to these meetings, business analysts develop the documentation. The Software Requirements Specification document (SRS), covers the following.

Acceptance criteria and user story:

User stories answer three simple questions: Who? what? What? Acceptance criteria describe the app workflow that will deliver this action. This is an excellent way to specify app functionality and impose requirements. Take a look at an example of a water usage tracker.

User Story

I am a fitness app user and I would like to track my water consumption so that I can meet my water-drinking goals

Acceptance Criteria Scenario

“Given I am a registered user when I open “Health Tips”, the app will show me a list of goals. When I go to “Drink More Water”, the app will display the number of glasses I need to drink.

Business Rules:

Fitness applications can have restrictions, just like any other software. Users cannot search the workout collection without registering, for example. You could send them instructions on how to register instead. Business rules are usually completed after the business analyst has created all user stories, acceptance criteria, and business rules.

User roles:

You won’t have the ability to restrict access to the app functionality without setting permissions. The admins have access to all features of the app, while the normal user has only the basics.

Wireframes:

Those requirements need to be visualized. The provider then assigns UI/UX Designers to work on the look of the app. Wireframes are created to show the logic and structure of an app. The app does not include any graphics as the graphic details will be handled in the next stage.

There are still two aspects to be addressed: the requirements specification and documentation. The team must give an architectural overview of the application. The System Architecture Design Document contains high-level requirements that developers use to implement chosen solutions. The team also presents the Database Design document that defines how data is organized and stored. If you want to know how to make a fitness application for better nutrition then your app should have a huge food database. Database experts organize the data by food brands and categories, as similar products can have different calorie counts. Users can scan the barcode to add missing items.

Both the client and provider can organize and control further development by following all of the steps mentioned. They know where to begin and how to create a fitness application at the end of this phase. The provider creates the final development plan including milestones and deliverables. The client will also receive an estimation of the project’s cost and timeframe.

How to Design a Fitness App – UI/UX Design

Focusing on the design is another important step in learning how to make a fitness application. If your app doesn’t grab the attention of customers within the first five seconds, it is unlikely that they will return. Even with the best features, a poorly designed app will make it difficult to compete in the market.

Users today are looking for simplicity and clarity:

Customers don’t want to spend time figuring things out, but they do want them working right away. The app’s look is a key element of great design. This seamless interaction ensures a great user experience. The responsive design, along with the compatible custom components, helps to positively influence user impressions.

Designers continue working on the visualization of the fitness app:

The UX designers finish the screen layouts including buttons, fields, bars, etc. The UX designers must take into consideration the design principles for iOS and Android applications. They are also responsible for navigation, as they determine how everything works. The UX design defines the action chain and streamlines interaction between app parts. The UX design suggests to the user which options are best for completing the action. You can only offer intuitive and simple navigation if you have an internal logic. The content-centered design allows users to take desired actions and communicate better with your product.

Make your fitness app attractive:

UI designers are concerned with the visual style, which includes colors and effects. It is important to add animations and gradual transitions to engage users. This is the look of the app that customers will see. UI design includes the choice of fonts, colors, textures, and visual elements. It must also carry internal logic, just like navigation. Color selection, for example, is a key factor in attracting an audience. Color contrast is important to keep customers engaged and build engagement strategies. The color of the app should be able to speak for itself.

Why is green often used as a color to promote fitness?

The answer is simple: green represents balance, growth, and hope. This app is a great way to encourage customers to be active and healthy. The software looks great thanks to the excellent UI design.

UI designers should also focus on branding. If the client is a gym owner and wants to extend services by developing a fitness application, the design of the app should match the overall brand concept. The UI will have elements like a gym’s name, logos, and slogans.

The UX/UI designer presents the app visualization with the completed screen mockups at the end of the stage. Professional mobile app development companies also provide prototypes. It’s good to show clients and developers what the app should look like, including animations and transitions.

How to Create a Fitness App: Development and Test

Now we’re at the stage where we need to know how to build a fitness application and prepare it for launch. The current stage is similar to any other software. It involves the back end and the front end. The provider will assign back-end specialists, and iOS and Android experts to work on your project. In parallel, developers will need the help of QA experts to test mobile applications.

Let’s look at another thing before we talk about the major milestones. How do you choose your technology stack? It is important to choose the right technology stack because it will increase product value by ensuring robust performance, functionality, and scalability. It also simplifies the delivery process. As a company that develops Flutter apps, we are convinced that solutions developed with this framework can be delivered faster, increasing the productivity of the team and reducing costs.

How to Create a Fitness App

A hybrid approach can compete easily with native methods due to its high performance and security. Developers are looking for a wide range of customization options, stunning designs, and simple testing. We have compiled the top technologies for mobile fitness application development.

The final decision should be based on the technical features and business requirements.

Node.js is an excellent combination with MySQL because of its high performance and fast processing. Hybrid frameworks for the front end are also becoming increasingly popular due to their many advantages.

Professional service providers always know how to guide the client in finding the best solution. When they can draw a comparison of the pros and cons of a particular project, it is great.

It’s now time to begin the actual development:

This roadmap can be used as a guide to help you create a fitness application from scratch. Remember that the team must apply written project documentation as well as build UX/UI designs.

Here is an example roadmap:

This can vary depending on the scope of the work, the complexity, and several features.

The backend setup includes working with the server and creating databases. Fitness applications often deal with sensitive data such as health records. They need a reliable server that can guarantee the security and privacy of users.

The back-end and Front-end developers are closely connected. They can do their work simultaneously to streamline the process. Initially, the team focuses on basic functionality and then adds features. After each milestone, the client must see a demonstration to either approve or request any changes. This allows both parties to be aware of where they stand and when the fitness app will be ready for submission to the App Store or Play Market.

Conclusion

The popularity of fitness app development is unprecedented. Combining technologies with business strategies allows businesses to offer better fitness solutions on the market. The latest technologies can help your users quickly and easily get into a fitness routine. The tools are available to developers to create a seamless app experience for a large audience.