TikTok has become one of the top-rated apps of all time. A social phenomenon! With having 800 million active users, it has surpassed all its social media App competitors such as FaceBook and Snapchat.
In fact, In India alone, TikTok's user base amounts to Approximately 58.6 million users. The number of Tik Tok users will increase to 104.8 million users by 2026.
With this ever-increasing popularity, the demand for creating a similar App like TikTok and running the cost to develop an App like TikTok is high. It's no surprise that many owners turn their heads to success and want to create an App like this on their own.
What is TIK TOK?
Tik Tok is a social media app designed to discover, create and edit short videos and allow the world to see them. It enables you to edit videos to your preference, lip-synch to your favorite songs, dance, sing, and allows expressing yourself through comedy too. The platform has gained fandom in a short period.
Reasons for fame behind TikTok
Duration Of Video
Having only 15 seconds for creating content is excellent for retaining attention, primarily since it targets teens.
Celebrity Endorsement
TikTok also has been making a huge presence on Instagram and Snapchat due to its connections there.
Many celebrities have been using TikTok to create engaging content and interact with fans, gradually creating more awareness.
It can be shocking how one post from a celebrity can do for promoting an app.
Opportunity To Make Money
This App not only allows you to have fun, but it also serves as a place to earn money. By creating content, selling ads, and receiving gifts on the live stream, you have a chance to make money.
Your Target Audience
TikTok is aimed at 16-24-year-olds and includes mostly that category of people addicted to smartphones. Not only that, but TikTok makes sure to give them the entertainment and distraction they crave.
Methods to create an App like TikTok
When developing any social media App, it is essential to know what your success depends on.
Creating a new App is difficult, and you don't know how the feedback you'll receive. This is why it's always better to go first with the MVP version, consisting of only the App's basic features.
This allows you to get respective feedback from the audience and cuts down on initial costs. It will also help you get an idea of what more features you could add and gain your stakeholder's trust in future investments.
Essential Features of TikTok App:
Login and Register
Include a login before creating content. This can be done through multiple social media Apps such as FB, Twitter, or Instagram or only via phone or email.
Editing Videos
Users should have all the options to edit their videos as quickly and smoothly as possible to their liking. Options include flipping, adding speed and stickers, crop, and even adding beauty mode for enhancement. TikTok also has the option of adding background music after recording videos.
Uploading Videos
Provide an easy and fast way to upload videos. Meanwhile, also adding tags, naming names, and giving a short description.
Filters and Effects
Features include adding various filters and effects on their videos. So adding this to your App is a must. You can even bring in new unique filters to attract more significant customers. TikTok has some amazing AR effects that enable users to alter their eye and hair color while also adding elements to their face.
Edit Profile
Add the option for users to customize their own profile to their liking. Such as adding pictures, changing their profile username, and adding a bio.
Sharing Option
Your App must have an opportunity that enables your content to be shared with other social media Apps. This not only creates more awareness but also helps users share their content with the world.
This helps them link their profile to other social platforms.
Likes and Comments
This provides an opportunity for fellow users to interact with each other. Like every other social platform, users can like and comment on other video creator's content. You can also check out other people's likes on videos on a separate tab in the same way.
Push Notifications
Subscribers get notified on their favorite accounts when a new video is uploaded, and video creators get news on their accounts. Also, lets us see your new followers and comments.
Live To Stream
Works on premium accounts. Users can make live streams for their fans.
The basic features are covered, except for the one i.e. you can gradually add more complex features depending on your App's success. It's also essential to understand the development process.
Development Process to create an App similar to TikTok
Have a vision in mind
Before developing the App:
1.Have a plain image of what you want the App to be.
2.Make a list of the basic features and what you want to include.
3.Choose a design and platform suitable for your respective audience.
Market Research
When developing a new App, it's important to consider understanding your target audience and their needs. This way, you can fill out the gaps in their expectations and develop the exact App they would like. The best way to do this is to research your niche and look at competitors as well.
Carrying research involves finding out your target audience's age, residence, and living style, as well as what type of operating system they use more. (ISO or ANDROID)
In short, this tactic involves finding anything about customers that could boost their desire in your App.
Prepare a Design
When preparing a design, it's essential to include a user-friendly interface. This enables easy navigation for users. The procedure usually includes features, menus, tabs, and other parts of your App. Also, make sure to declutter your App to avoid too much information and make the screen look overcrowded. Always make sure to invest in the right apps for designing your app.
The best apps to design your app for Android include Sketchbook, Adobe Capture CC, Infinite design, and Art flow.
Required Team
Gather the right team because the outcome will depend on their level of expertise and understanding of what you want. You will need a team of people who have a strong technical background, have good knowledge of the business world, and have the ability to multitask.
Whether it's through outsourcing or hiring an in-house team, each has its advantages and disadvantages. While outsourcing has some benefits, the in-house team is usually easier to communicate with, but outsourcing would be preferable if you want to scrimp and save on costs.
Q&A TEST
Test run your App initially before releasing your App to avoid crashes and bugs. To create an App like TikTok, your team should consist of:
- QA Engineer
QA engineer's main role will be to track and test your progress before heading into another stage. This ensures you're making the right progress at all times.
- Back-end developers
Back-end developers usually work hand in hand with front-in developers. They are hired to write the web services and API's used by the front-in developers.
- Front-end developers
Usually required to bring in the visual elements that users see and interact with within a web application.
- UI/UX designer
This is really important in determining the app's graphic design. The user interface designer's role is to design an app that is user-friendly and based on what they desire.
- Android developer
If you want an android platform and for your app to be available on android devices, think of hiring an android developer.
India's population consists of more people having Android, making it the best option to release an android platform for users in India.
- Business Analyst
Usually keeps track of the other team members' needs and expectations. They are basically the link between developers and stakeholders.
- Project Manager
A project manager's main goal is to continuously monitor each stage of the app development and accordingly communicate what needs to be changed. They also make sure to keep the whole team intact, ensuring they perform up to their abilities.
Also, consider hiring a brand manager, ASO Specialist as well as content creators.
Required Technologies
Along with the right team, it is vital to choose a programming language. For an IOS compatible device, you should take the help of SWIFT, while for making the TikTok App in Android studio, the best options would be Kotlin and Java.
After adding all these factors, it's time to measure the cost to create an App like TikTok.
TikTok App Development Cost:
The cost to create an App as TikTok varies from one country to another. In the U.S, For example,
You need at least $100,000 for one platform (IOS). If you want to develop the app on two platforms (IOS AND ANDROID), the price will double and cost you $200,000. On the other hand, In India, the cost would be different.
Unfortunately, this price isn't fixed for everyone and can vary depending on your App variations. It depends on the type of developers hired, the development team, and the country from where you're getting it developed.
It also keeps increasing once you start adding new features over time to keep improving your App.
Can you develop an App like TikTok for free?
To develop an App like TikTok, you can use Free App builders. From this, you can test your Tik Tok idea for free and publish your App. However, this won't be the same as the original TikTok App.
Apps Geyer is another way through which you can create a free App on Android. This free App creator provides the templates for which you can video-create. This consists of the most basic TikTok features, such as video editing, uploading, live streaming, social sharing, likes, comments, and push notifications.
Final Thoughts
Creating an App like TikTok is not as hard as it seems! With the right mindset about what you want your App to be, you can move on to all the steps and create an App similar to TikTok.
