With organizations going remote and processes getting virtual, the demand for video chat app development has increased significantly. As a part of this digitally burgeoning society, you must have connected to your contacts, colleagues, family, and friends virtually through video calling at times. Also, such video chat apps provide features like chat options, minutes of meetings, data sharing, screencasting, and much more, which have made our work life more seamless than ever before. The versatility of such applications has contributed to its adoption in different businesses coming from a range of industries.
For example, the concept of telemedicine has been burgeoning because of video chat applications where patients and healthcare professionals can connect via these apps. The healthcare personnel can examine the patient’s condition and provide a prescription for medicine. Similarly, team collaboration in a multi-national organization has also been one of the core use cases of such video chat applications. You can even find some customer support departments using the concept to identify the customer’s problem and provide a solution in no time. However, the social media platform remains the biggest landscape where video chat applications are connecting millions of users in real-time. With the growing demand, more companies are looking to build a video chat app to cater to these expanding needs.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the video conferencing market size was valued at $28.6 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow with a CAGR of 7.8%, reaching a valuation of $60.1 billion by the end of 2032. This growth highlights that developing a video chat application can be a significant business idea, offering a great return on investment. However, to create a video chat app, you need a basic understanding of the development process and all the relevant factors. In this guide, we will inform you about the process, the required resources, and tips to ensure the utmost quality of your solution.
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Understanding Core Features of a Video Chat Application
You must have used several video chat applications like Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and many more. While the purpose and functions of all these applications are the same, there would be a particular one that you like to use most of the time. So, the preferences are entirely based on the number and types of features a video chat application provides to its users. Irrespective of the core functionality, the additional features can help you grab a user base that you might miss otherwise. So, when considering video chat app development, here are the basic features that you must include in your video chat application.
One-to-One Video Calls
This is one of the most basic features that you must ensure while video chat application development. This feature enables the two users to have one-on-one communication with each other while connecting on the video call. This is mostly usedbyr friends and family.
Group Video Calls
The feature increases the use case of video chat applications significantly as it allows multiple users to join a video call and have a conversation over any topic. So, the app can be used for professional meetings, between friends, making family decisions, and much more.
Screen Sharing
The screen-sharing feature allows the users to display anything that they are currently watching or surfing on their devices. So, the team members can use screen share to open a presentation and share it with everyone attending the call for better discussion and understanding.
Text Chat Integration
There are a few applications where you can use the live chat option while using video conferencing. This feature helps to note down the minutes of meetings, take notes, ask doubts, or share any information in written format when the audio is not ideal for any reason.
File Sharing
File sharing integration in the video chat application will allow the users to send different types of media like images, videos, files, audio, or anything without relying on any third application. So, when holding a professional meeting, one doesn’t need to open any email platform to share insights.
Push Notifications
A basic yet necessary feature is push notification. As no one can keep their video chat application running all day, push notifications alarm the users whenever any of their contacts or team members are invited for a call, share a file, or send a message. It is an important feature to keep all team members up to date.
Call Recording
Call recording is a rare feature that enables the users to record all the audio and video during the calling. Whether it is sharing the recording with those who couldn’t join the call, going through the clip in case of confusion in the future, or having it as proof of certain communication, the feature fits in different scenarios.
End-to-End Encryption
The video chat application is used for different purposes and thus, all the communication and comments made in the application are expected to be secure and private. The end-to-end encryption makes sure that only the communicated users can access the call and information while no third party interferes in the process.
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Choosing the Right Tech Stack
The Tech Stack or the Technology Stack is the basic unit of different technologies that are used to build the architecture of the application. From making an attractive user interface to coding the different features and using different APIs, there are several options in the tech stack to choose from for building a scalable and performing video chat application. So, it becomes important that you choose the right technology stack according to your requirements and vision for the project.
Frontend:
Frontend is the visible portion of the application that an end-user sees on the device. It includes all the user interfaces, icons, menus, and much more. To build an interactive and intuitive UI frontend, Flutter and React Native are the most preferred options for a mobile app. Similarly, React.js, Vue.js, and Angular are more preferred technologies for developing a website.
Backend:
To embed the features and functionalities of the application, technologies like Node.js, Python (Django/Flask), or Ruby on Rails are used by the developers. These technologies help in user authentication, and data storage, as well as establishing real-time communication.
Database:
Choosing real-time databases like Firebase, or traditional ones like MySQL, or PostgreSQL is one of the best options that you can opt for. These databases are used to store all the data coming from the application including the chat logs, media files, and much more.
WebRTC:
This is one of the most important components when talking about video chat application development. This is an open-source technology that enables real-time audio, data communication, video calling, and more communication between browsers, and mobile apps. To implement the WebRTC, one needs to set up a signaling server that establishes the peer connection. Then the WebRTC API is used to create media streams, manage connections, and handle ICE candidates.
Streaming Protocols:
It is important to implement some protocols that help to process, buffer, and transmit the video and broadcast the pictures in real-time. There are different streaming protocols available that you can choose from. For example, there is RTMP which stands for Real-Time Messaging Protocol used for streaming audio, video, and data over the internet. Then there is HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) that helps in adaptive bitrate streaming protocols with higher latency than RTMP. Third one is WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) that enables the peer-to-peer audio, video and data sharing.
SDKs and APIs:
There are a range of ready-made tools that you can use in order to make your application and bring the functionalities of video chatting. These tools are available in the form of SDKs and APIs. Some of the popular names are Twilio, Agora, Daily.co, and Jitsi. You can choose the right by assessing the features and functionalities they bring in your application and aligning it with the vision of your product.
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Detailed Steps to Build the Video Chat App
When you are planning to build a video chat application, it becomes important for you to have a good idea about the overall project lifecycle so that you can understand the terminologies shared by your development partner. At the same time, familiarity with the certain phases of app development will also help you to make your contribution in the development on the defined time.
So, we have here enlisted some of the core phases of complete video chat application development process along with the tasks associated with the each development phase.
Step 1: Setting Up Your Development Environment
The video chat application development process begins with setting up a development environment for the effficient workflow and colaboration.
- You have to choose the right tools and technologies to ensure the visioned project development. You can select the IDEs like Visual Studio Code that can support you chosen language and frameworks.
- Then you need to identify and install the essential dependencies like libraries and framework. You can include WebRTC that hel[s establish real time communicaiton while using React and Angular for frontend.
- You will set up a version control system using Git that ensures the backup of your code and fosters collaborative development.
Step 2: User Authentication and Profiles
Next comes the user authentication that imparts security and personalization into the application. Some of the methods for doing so are-
- Integrating OAuth for seamless login using social media accounts like Google or Facebook.
- Utilizing Firebase that ensures easy management of user account including the email/password authentication and phone verificiation.
- Building custom solution using JSON web tokens to manage the user profile.
Step 3: Implementing One-to-One Video Calls
The third step goes toward setting up the WebRTC that can be enable the video calling capabilities into the application. There are two methods of doing so.
- Using the WebRTC as an open source technology for real-time communication.
- Using SDKs from Twilio or Agora that simply brings the features of video calling to the app.
Step 4: Adding Group Video Call Functionality
Having established the one-on-one video calling feature, the fourth steps focuses on enabling large groups to have video calling session on the application. For the same, the following are the two challenges which have to be solved by development team-
- Managing multiple stream is the foremost concern so that each participant can see and hear each other during video call.
- Bandwidth concern that helps the users to switch from video to audio or send the text when there is low network problem.
Step 5: Incorporating Chat and File Sharing Features
To make the application more useful and achieve the competitive advantage, the 5th stage is dedicated to bringing the additional features to the video chat applicationn development. Here are the core capabilities which are added to the app-
- Handling the messages along with enabling the users to send and receive messages using WebSockets.
- Imparting cloud services like AWS S3 to enable image and file sharing during calls.
- Creating a database that helps in storing the chat history and accessing previous conversation.
Step 6: Integrating Push Notifications
Push notification is one the best features that users expects in any video chat app. Following tasks in sixth stage of app development assists in integrating the push notification features into the app.
- Integrating Firebase Cloud Messaging to send notifications for invitationns to join group calls.
- Implementing notifications that enables users to return to the app in case of missed calls.
- Notifying the users to update the application to leverage the new features.
Step 7: Testing and Debugging
The final stage is testing and debugging which is focused on achieving the best version of the application before deploying it to the targeted marketplace. Here is the list of testings that helps to remove all bugs from the app-
- Cross browser testing that runs the application on various browsers and devices to ensure the compatibility and performance.
- Firebase Test Lab to automate the testing process on different devices and configurations.
- Local testing to identify different bugs in video calling and other features of the app to solve it timely.
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Designing the UI/UX for a Video Chat App
User interface or UI are among the most important components of an application as it is the point of interaction for the users to access the different features and functionalities of the application. So, if the UI of the app is not attractive and easy to understand, you might lose a big portion of the target audience in the very first phase. The seamless user interface helps the users to easily navigate through the features and functionality, connect with their friends, and avoid the hustle of searching for the features. So, having a user friendly design instantly increases the chances of user retention.
Key UI Components
You must have interacted with a different types of buttons and icons that helps you perform different types of functions like placing the call, muting your mic, switching camera, or ending the call. These buttons and icons are the key UI component. These icons and buttons must be well placed with ample touch space so that user can easily touch and access the features.
Call Quality Indictors
Other than the buttons, there are some indicators that helps us to know the network strength, and video quality. So, the user can move to an area with better network strength and clear resolution.
Responsive Design
It is important that there is a response design of the application which is compatible with devices of different sizes and competencies. Irrespective of the screen size and resolution, it enables the app to perform seamlessly.
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Monetization Strategies for a Video Chat App
As we interpreted in the earlier section that video chat application development requires good investment, there are a range of monetization strategies as well that helps to get a good return on the investment. However, there are some considerations that you will have to ensure in order to choose the right monetization model for your video chat application. Here are some of the best monetization strategies that you can use for your app-
Freemium model
The foremost monetization model is the freemium model that allows the users to access the basic functionalities for free while charges a premium fee for accessing the advanced features. For example, you can allow your users to leverage the video calls to their contact for free of cost. However, the user will have to pay if they want to take minutes of meeting, send emojis, or take down the notes.
Subscription-based models
As the name suggests, subscription based model charges the users on the periodic basis. By paying a certain subscription amount, the user can access the all the features without any interferences. The subscription can be charged weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. To implement this model, you must ensure that your app is delivering the worth of subscription money to the users and they are willing to pay when their current plan expires.
In-app advertisements (optional and user-friendly).
This is one of th excellent subscription model that can help you generate an outstanding return on your investment. All you have to do is selling space on your app to the business partners who want to advertise on your platform. So, you need to charge nothing from your users as advertising is generating a good revenue for you. But, if you want to use this monetization model, it is important that your app is carrying handsome number of users so that your business partners are willing to put advertisement on your app.
Offering business solutions (B2B services)
When you want your video messaging app to be used by solely business clients, this monetization model can be the best choice for you. With this monetization model, you can set up your software on the computers and devices of the client where the employees can use your platform to connect with each other. For the same, you can charge the consultancy fee, implementation fee, and the subscription renew amount after the end of a certain period.
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Challenges and Solutions in Building a Video Chat App
Video chatting app development is never easy and it comes with a range of challenges which have to be addressed efficiently. If the mitigation strategies are not effective enough, these challenges can turn into the user problem and affect the performance of your application.
Challenge 1: Bandwidth Issues and Ensuring Smooth Performance on Low-Speed Networks
Video chat application needs the good bandwidth to provide the high quality audio and video streaming serrvice to the user. However, the absence of a good network might impact the video quality and user experience which further results inn dropped calls, or experience lag.
Solution– Adaptive bitrate streaming that automatically decides the video quality according to the network is the best solution. Similarly, the audio/video codec optimization, network quality monitoring, and peer-to-peer connections are the other possible solutions.
Challenge 2: Handling Real-Time Communication at Scale
As the application gets popular, the number of users also increases which makes it challenging to maintain an efficient and responsive communication system. Further, high traffic leads to quality degradation and delays.
Solution– The foremost solution is load balanncing that distributes the user connections over the different servers. Further, scalable architecture, use of WebRTC SFU, and singal optimizatoins are the other effective solutions.
Challenge 3: Cross-Browser and Cross-Platform Compatibility Challenges
It is often very challenging to ensure that application works seamlessly on the different operating systems and browsers due to varying support for web standards.
Solution– Conducting extensive cross-browser testing is the foremost solution that can be implemented to the application. Progressive enhancements, feature detection, and use of Pollyfills or Fallbacks are some other effective solutions to this challenge.
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Case Studies: Successful Video Chat Applications
There are established market leaders in the landscape of Video Chat application which are used by billions of users around the world for a collaborative working. Having an idea about their journey and what they did right to be the most popular apps can inspire us to take the right steps for our app too. So, here are the short case studies of some of the best video messaging application-
Zoom
As per the statistics, the Zoom app has over 300 million daily active users who uses the differnet features of the application. The app is mostly used by the industry professionals, teachers, lecturers, interviewers, and even students on the daily basis. The app was developed by Eric Yuan in video conferencing in 2011. By enabling the users to enhance the experience of team meetings, conferences, and lectures, it made it possible for everyone to collaborate digitally. To ensure that they can get to wider audience, Zoom used the Freemium model. So, the platform was used by the people who can not pay anything as well as the users who are eager to pay a fee for accessing the premium features. This model made Zoom one of the fastest growing application inn 2020 and 2021. The app was downloaded more than 3.5 million times in a single day of April 2020.
Microsoft Team
Similiar to Zoom, Microsoft Team is also a go-to platform for millions of professionals to collaborate with their team virtually. There are more than 320 million monthly active users of Microsoft Teams who relies on the video chat features to share information with their colleagues, and stakeholders. There are number of factors which combined contributed to make the Microsoft Team one of the biggest video conferencing app. First of all, the app could be integrated with the other Microsoft Apps like PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, SharePoint and much more which helped in increasing worker’s productivity. The video calling was scalable with Microsoft Team where people can collaborate. Similarly, it was a pandemic friendly solution that enabled the organizations around the world to continue their operations from the comfort of their homes. All these factors transformed Microsoft Team into a video chat app giant.
WhatsApp is the biggest social media video messaging platform around the world with over 2 Billion active monthly users. However, this app is entirely different to those of Zoom and Microsoft Team. WhatsApp is used more for the personal connections rather than establishing the professionals meetings. This app debuted in the market as a messaging app which allowed the users to connect and message their saved contacts for free. The seamless UI and scalability of the application quickly brought million of users on the platform. WhatsApp never stopped with innovation and video calling feature has been one of those innovation. As people were already attached to the application, it doesn’t took much long for this new feature to be popular. WhatsApp now provide high-quality, unlimited video calling feature to its users.
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How much does it cost to create a video chat app?
The video messaging app development requires a significant amount of investment which makes it very important to have an appromixate number in mind when taking the decision. However, there are no particular digits that can be stitched to your cost of video chatting app development. The reason behind the statetement is that a number of factors altogether helps to determine the cost of development.
To have a better understanding about the overall cost concept, we have enlisted some of the core factors which plays important role in determining the exact cost of development.
Type of Platform
There are a number of platforms that you can choose from when developing the mobile app. For example, you can build the app for Android, iOS, or any other platform. However, due to te changing expertise of the workforce and the requirements of different technologies, the cost of developing a Video messaging app is different for different platforms. Developing an app for an iOS platform is generally expensive compared to developing an app for an Android device.
| Platform | Approximate Costing |
|---|---|
| Single platform (iOS or Android) | $20,000 – $50,000 |
| Cross-platform (iOS and Android) | $40,000 – $100,000 |
| Web-based platform | $15,000 – $30,000 |
Complexity of the Application
You can build a video chat application with the limited functionalities to bring down the app development cost to the minimum. At the same time, you can also choose to integrate a number of APIs, and third party services to make the app more useful but complex. However, the second option will also add dollars to your bill for app development. So, the more complex your video chatting app is, the higher will be the development cost.
| Complexity | Approximate Costing |
|---|---|
| Basic functionality | $30,000 – $60,000 |
| Medium complexity (chat, calls, file sharing) | $60,000 – $100,000 |
| High complexity (HD video, encryption, multi-party) | $100,000 – $200,000 |
UI/UX Designing
When developing a video chatting app, you will get a normal user interface that will allow your user to access the different features and navigate throughout the pages. This UI is not going to put any significant impact on your development cost. However, if you want to impart the intuitive and interactive elements in your user interface to enhance the experience, it will also require you to invest more dollars in the designing.
| Designing | Approximate Costing |
|---|---|
| Simple design | $5,000 – $10,000 |
| Custom design with animations | $10,000 – $20,000 |
| Advanced, unique UI/UX | $20,000 – $50,000 |
Number and Types of Features
Number and types of features are directly proportional to cost of video messaging app development. If you want a basic app with fundamental features like video calling, and separate messaging, it will cost you way too less. On the other hand, if you are looking to develop an app with features like group calling, HD quality, MOM features, and more, you have to put more dollars in the project.
| Features | Approximate Costing |
|---|---|
| Basic features (text chat, single call) | $10,000 – $30,000 |
| Standard features (group calls, media sharing) | $30,000 – $70,000 |
| Advanced features (screen sharing, live streaming, AI filters) | $70,000 – $150,000 |
Location of App Development Team
The country of app development team decides a lot about the overall cost of app development. Hiring an app development in western countries like USA or UK will cost you twice as compared to hiring the same development team from Asian Country like India.
| Location of Developer | Approximate Cost |
|---|---|
| North America/Europe | $100 – $200 per hour |
| Eastern Europe | $40 – $80 per hour |
| South Asia (Mobile App Development Cost in India) | $20 – $50 per hour |
| South America | $30 – $70 per hour |
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Choosing Between Ready-Made SDKs vs. Building From Scratch
Choosing the ready-made SDKs or building the application from scratch, both have their positive and negative points. While you can develop an application quickly with ready-made SDK, you can ensure higher customization while building the application from scratch only.
If you are also confused between both of the options, here is a comparision of ready-made SKS and developing application from scratch, so that you can make the better decision according to your requirements.
| Comparison Factor | Ready-Made SDKs | Building App from Scratch |
|---|---|---|
| Customization | SDKs offer you very limited opportunity to customize the solution according to your requirements. | You can build a highly customized video chat application that meets your particular vision with each feature imparted as per your choice. |
| Project Timeline | You can develop an app using SDKs in comparatively less time. | It takes more time for the developers to build an app from scratch. |
| Flexibility | You don’t have much flexibility to alter the components according to your preferences. | You can implement changes over time, whether it is about features, designs, or themes. |
| Development Cost | Ready-made SDKs are a very cost-efficient option to develop a video messaging app. | It is comparatively expensive to create a custom video messaging app. |
| Exclusive Ownership | SDKs don’t provide complete ownership of the codes, and you can find the same themes and designs in other apps as well. | You have the IP rights and full ownership of your custom mobile app. |
Conclusion: Future Trends in Video Chat Apps
So, there is no doubt that the constant adoption of video chat apps by the organizations, corporates, educational institutes, and healthcare institution is going to contribute significantly toward the growth of this technology. With the things getting advanced, it is not too far where we will be witnessing the AI integration in such applications to provide the features like real-time language translation, and AI assisted call quality management. At the same time, the AR/VR technology and further transform the scenario where the device screens might be eliminated with real-avatars of team members.
Still, it can not be denied that all these advancements are possible only because of the 5G network that enable the transmission of huge amount of data to ensure the best video quality. So, with the coming 6G and improvements in network strength, video chatting app development seems to be a great idea.
If you are having a similar idea and looking for the technical guidance, we invite you to our free consultation session where you will be asking your doubts from the industry experts to take the right decisions.
