When times are tough and considering the COVID havoc, the world needs more peace and spiritual awakening. Furthermore, advanced technology has made it simple to achieve peace. It has the potential to nourish our soul in addition to providing entertainment and other worldly needs. Yes, this is about meditation. Meditation apps are appearing gradually, and some are already well-known, such as Insight Timer, Headspace, and others.
People would rather meditate to find peace while they can. They need a break from their hectic schedules and chores, as well as some peace and quiet in their lives. Meditation can influence whether they prefer deep breathing or guided meditation to unwind their minds.
Top meditation apps like Insight Timer have created a massive buzz around the world, raising $27 million in the company's most recent $250 million financial round. Furthermore, Insight Timer, the meditation startup, has raised $3 million in funding to become one of the vast Nasdaq-listed airport spa operator XpresSpa.
This article is intended for entrepreneurs or mobile app developers who want to create a meditation app similar to Insight Timer or Headspace.
The Most Important Features of Your Meditation App
1. Graphic Design
People use meditation apps to feel relaxed and Insight Timer, and because colours affect how we perceive things and our mood, it is critical to use colours correctly when developing a meditation app.
If you look closely, you'll notice that many popular meditation apps use pastel colours. Insight Timer, for example, used blue and green colours, whereas Headspace used pale blues, greens, yellows, and mild oranges. Violent colours, such as red, are rarely used in meditation apps. The visuals you use have a significant influence on the user's mind and mood. As a result, choose your colours carefully.
2. Onboarding
Onboarding is a critical component of the user experience in mindfulness apps, especially if your apps are designed for beginners. Many people instal the app with the hope of sticking with it for an extended period of time. To keep them, create an engaging onboarding experience that is visually appealing and attention-grabbing.
For example, tell a story, show a short video, and explain what meditation is and why you are delivering it to first-time users. Make it engaging, interactive, but simple to understand.
Make sure your introductory videos aren't too long; they should ideally be between 60 and 90 seconds long. Demos should also be no more than 5 minutes long, or users will lose interest.
3. Sign up
In addition to email, users can register using social media networks. Signing up with a social media account is faster, and you won't have to remember another password.
4.User profiles
Users require a location where they can quickly access critical information such as their subscription plans, the history of their recent meditations, progress, and so on. Gamification elements like active user bonuses and leaderboards must also be easily accessible.
5. Participant
In the real world and apps, meditation is typically guided by an instructor's voice. As a result, at the heart of your app, you'll need a media playback function. A good player will play high-quality video or audio.
6. Library of Contents
Typically, guided meditation takes the form of podcasts; however, videos can be used for fitness or yoga-related meditations. Meditation recordings must be of high quality and shot with professional equipment. Users will be turned off by low-quality content.
The library should be easy to find and well-organized. Many meditation apps categorise meditations by goal: anxiety, sleep, calmness, positivity, guided meditation for beginners, and so on. It's a straightforward method for listing recordings. You can, however, create your own listings or playlists. The most important aspect is to describe your system to users.
7. Favorite song
Some tracks will perform better for users than others. This is natural for such a personal practise as mindfulness. Allow users to bookmark their favourite tracks and return to them whenever they want.
8. Offline Replay
Users appreciate the ability to download tracks and play them in offline mode whenever they want. This is especially useful if you need a quick meditation session while commuting.
9. Suggestions
Consider using machine learning when developing a meditation app like Insight Timer or Headspace to provide a customised and personalised experience. Artificial intelligence can assist your app in evaluating the meditations that each user hears and recommending similar ones based on purpose, theme, or narrator.
10. Gamification
This is one of the most effective ways to keep users interested in an app. Everyone is competitive in some way, and some people enjoy competing with others. You can conduct an A/B test on your target audience to determine which gamification elements they prefer.
11.Trackers and Statistics
You'll need tracks if you want to create a meditation app that focuses on weight loss, eating disorders, or fighting depression. Design your app to ask users about their moods or to allow them to track their weight in the app if it is related to their meditation goals. Trackers and statistics will allow users to see patterns and work toward their goals.
12.Push Notifications
Most people require reminders when developing a new habit, including meditation. Push notifications appear to be a solution. They are not as intrusive as alarms, but they are instantly noticed.
When it comes to mobile app reminders, however, it is critical not to go overboard. It is not necessary to remind your users to meditate every hour. It will appear that you are bugging them, which can be annoying. Because meditation is a personal habit, it is best to set a personalised reminder. It should be up to the user to determine when they want to meditate and when they want to be notified.
13. Integration of Wearables
Many apps allow you to send notifications to fitness trackers and smartwatches. When it comes to mindfulness, wearable technology can be used to allow users to begin breathing exercises without using their smartphone.
The Price of Creating a Meditation App
These are the factors to consider when estimating the cost of developing a meditation app.
1) Development team experience
2) Server costs
3) Upkeep and support
4) Location 5) Characteristics
Mobile apps like Headspace or Insight Timer can take at least 3-4 months to develop, depending on the size of your team and how well everything goes. The length of time required will be determined by the complexity of the features, the complexity of the design, and the number of experts involved. The development cost can range from $20,000 to $50,000. However, incorporating additional features with complex technology can broaden the range.
Conclusion
For the past decade, the meditation app market has thrived. However, given the pandemic and global stress levels, there has been a surge in the use of such apps this year. This suggests that meditation apps have a sizable market and will only grow in the future.
