How to Develop a Fitness App from Scratch [A Step by Step Guide]

“Covid-19 has pushed people to think about health more holistically.” – Josh McCarter, CEO of MindBody

People have now started taking more care of their health since the pandemic hit the world. Now there is a move toward maintaining physical as well as mental health.

Since fitness club owners have quickly understood this trend and now offering 72% more on-demand and live-streaming group workouts, this is up from 25% in 2019.

If you are also looking to tap into this profitable and booming industry, then creating a fitness app is the best way for you to get started. But how to create a fitness app?

Don’t worry; being a top mobile app development company, we have curated this complete guide for helping you build a successful fitness app. Let’s get started.

A Sneak Peek at Fitness App Market Statistics

Where almost everything is just one tap away, how the fitness industry can stay behind? It’s no secret that people choose convenience over anything.

Therefore, the fitness app market has taken advantage of this opportunity. In fact, top health and fitness apps like Peloton, Fit Body, and Nike Training Club are already making huge profits.

Let’s cover some app market statistics to see why developing a fitness app is a good strategy.

1. According to a report by Market Research Future, the global fitness market is estimated at USD 156.82 billion by 2030.
2. One report by Gallup shows that one in five US adults uses health apps and wearable trackers.
3. A report by Vantage Market Research states that the fastest growing region for the fitness application market is the Asia Pacific, and the largest region is North America.
4. Statista reported in 2014 that US internet users primarily have access to a health and fitness app to identify unhealthy habits.
5. Another report by Statista states that in 2022, 86.3 million users will be using health or fitness apps in the USA.
6. Valuates reports that smartphones are going to be the most dominating segment of fitness app market share growth by 2030.



Source: Valuates

7. One report by Statista shows that 18% of US women regularly use mobile apps to track nutrition and diet.

Looking at these statistics, we can conclude that developing a fitness app is the best approach to tap into this industry and generate a high ROI.

So how to create an app integrating necessary fitness app related features? What are the different stages of fitness app development? Want to know everything in detail? Then check the below section.

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How to Create a Fitness App from Scratch in 7 Stages

We have divided the stages of fitness app development into 7 steps. Going through all the mobile app development process steps one by one will help you build your own fitness app.

1. Choose the Type of Fitness App You Want to Build

   Firstly, it is essential to identify what kind of fitness app you want to build to attract your target audience. Therefore, start by categorizing your fitness app idea and choose one of the fitness app types that will help you stand out amongst the competitors.

   We have mentioned app fitness app types for your easy reference:

   • Online Fitness and Workout Apps
   • Hunger Control Apps
   • Diet and Nutrition Apps
   • Yoga and Meditation Apps
   • Activity Tracking Apps
   • Positive Habit Development Apps
   • Sleep Control Apps
   • Mobile Health Apps

   Before you move ahead, finalize the app type check out some of the best health apps in the market. If you have already decided on the app type, directly jump on determining the monetization strategy for your fitness app.

2. Decide the Fitness App Monetization Strategies

   Like every other entrepreneur, you must want to earn a passive income from your fitness app. Also, you may be wondering how free apps make money? If so, here are the monetization strategies you can take into consideration.

   Subscription: In this monetization strategy, a user needs to pay a monthly or an annual fee to unlock the premium features of your fitness app. These apps fall under paid apps.

   Example: Apple Fitness Plus

   In-app Purchases: Using this strategy, you can offer extra premium features that your app users need to buy to unlock them.

   Example: Nike Training Club

   Advertisements: You can integrate ads in your free fitness app to create an income stream. However, you must ensure that the ads are relevant to your app. Otherwise, app users might abandon it after some time.

   Fees: This monetization strategy is all about associating your fitness app with online fitness coaches. You can charge each user who is accessing a training module on your platform.

3. Gather App Development Requirements

   At this stage of fitness app development, you will be required to identify all your business needs so that you build an app that functions exactly the same way you intended.

   Also, gathering requirements will ensure that the fitness app development team understands your needs and are able to deliver the expected outcome of the project. While you do that make sure you have a solid mobile app development team structure.

   Suppose it is challenging to identify your requirements for the app. In that case, you can also involve your team or take a survey for the features and functionalities your target audience is looking for.

   Apart from these approaches, use the following techniques to gather your requirements.

   • Market Research
   • Document Analysis
   • Observation of Users
   • Prototyping
   • Requirements Workshop

   Along with this, it is also essential for you to identify features for your app. To find the features, you can check the comment sections of the top fitness apps available on the app stores. This way, you will get to know what your target audience actually wants from your app.

4. Focus on UI/UX of the Application

   At this stage, your app designers will create user flows to define the best possible ways for your app users to interact with the app. Again, the goal is to design a simple and navigational design for your audience so that there is no room left for confusion. Also, refer this guide to understand what is a good app design practice. This stage also includes the creation of wireframes and mockups to design the final look of the app.

   Also, choosing to build a prototype will help you identify issues and opportunities with the functionality of your fitness app. A prototype is simply an interactive representation of your fitness app. To understand these designs in-depth, refer to the iOS design patterns guide.

   The prototype starts with a low-fidelity version of the design and goes on to prepare a high-fidelity prototype. This will help you test and iterate to improve the overall understanding of the design.

5. Initiate Fitness App Development

   This is the development phase where the fitness app developers will build your app. But before you go ahead to build an app, it is essential you identify the right tech stack for your app.

   5.1. Choose the Right Tech Stack

   When the prototype is ready and finalized, you need to decide on the right tech stack for your fitness app. You can always hire a dedicated developer and discuss your project requirement with them as well.

   But why is it important to choose the right tech stack for your project?

   • Your choice of tech stack will highly affect the cost of app development
   • A tech stack comes with its benefits and limitations

   So let’s discuss how to find the right tech stack for your project based on the app types by technology.

   App Type	Native App	Cross-platform App
   Definition	A native app is built specifically for an operating system, either Android or iOS.	A cross-platform app is intended to run on multiple mobile operating systems. There are multiple mobile app development frameworks that will help you build scalable cross-platform apps.
   Tech Stack	Swift, Java, Kotlin, Xcode, Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, Android NDK	React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, Angular, Vue, Ionic, PhoneGap
   Example	Apple Fitness+	Gyroscope

   In fact, using the same technologies, we built a sports app for fitness enthusiasts.

   

   Game Set Stat

   The Game Set Stat was specially developed for tennis lovers who love maintaining all their past and current match details. Playing regularly and keeping records motivate them to maintain a healthy life.

   5.2. Front-end Development of Fitness Applications

   At this stage, front-end developers build the front-end portion of the fitness and workout app, which users actually see and interact with. Generally, developers use JavaScript, HTML, CSS, React Native, Angular, and Flutter for front-end development.

   5.3. Back-end Development of Fitness Tracker App

   The developers do the backend coding to define the functionalities of the fitness apps. It includes several phases, such as:

   • Integration of basic features
   • User account authentication
   • Account management
   • Integration with third-party websites
   • Customization of the UX of the fitness apps
   • Testing functionalities of the fitness apps

6. App Testing

   Once your app is developed, the quality analyst team will ensure that is app is bug-free and running seamlessly on its intended platforms and several devices under all circumstances. Also, the QA team will check the app’s functionality by carrying out functional and non-functional testing.

   This process might be time-taking. However, this is one of the most important stages that actually decides the success of your app. Therefore, investing some extra time in performing app testing is essential. Also, know that if your app will not be appropriately tested, there is a high chance of your app getting rejected from app stores. Especially, if you are planning to upload Android app, know how to publish Android app on Google Play Store.

   Here are the different types of testing the QA team will perform to check the performance of your app.

   • Functional Testing
   • Localization Testing
   • Speed Testing
   • Usability Testing
   • Performance Testing
   • Security Testing

7. App Deployment and Maintenance

   If you choose Space-O as your fitness app development partner, then launching your fitness or workout plan app is a part of our mobile app development process.

   Our fitness mobile app development team is well-aware of the app store guidelines to launch your app successfully. In fact, we also offer 90-days of free maintenance services after the launch of the fitness app to all our clients across the world.

   Space-O is a leading sports and fitness app development company in the USA have experience developing more than 30 fitness and healthcare apps. We are always known for offering the best quality services to our clients.

   In fact, one of our clients, Mr. Antonio, appreciated us for going beyond and above to build his fitness and food log mobile apps. Currently, his app is really performing well and helping him to earn profits. Have a look at his testimonial.

   

   Now you know the different stages of fitness and health app development. You must be confident to build a meditation app, workout app, nutrition app, or any other fitness app.

However, to make an app successful, it is crucial to integrate the top features.

So what features to include in a fitness app to make it successful?

Don’t worry; we have covered that section below. Let’s find out the top features you can integrate into your fitness app.

Top Features to Integrate into a Fitness App

To build a successful fitness app, you must integrate the top features that make your app stand out. Let’s discuss the top features of a fitness app.

Basic Features of a Fitness App

Here are some of the common features that you need to integrate into your fitness app. Let’s discuss all the features in detail.

Advanced Features of a Fitness App

Once you decide on your basic app features, it is time to look at the advanced features of your fitness app. These advanced features will help you stand out in the online fitness industry. You can even choose to offer these advanced features as a part of your subscription plan.

Now you must be curious to know the actual cost of developing a fitness app. If this is so, let’s dive in to find out the cost of workout application development.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Fitness App from Scratch?

However, this cost depends upon your app requirement, geography, complexity, and development phase as well.

To know in-depth fitness app development costing, we have discussed with our senior application development professional to get the following cost of fitness app development. Let’s take you through the different fitness app development stages.

1. Based on Fitness App Development Stages

   Firstly, we are going to discuss the app development cost based on the different stages of the app development life cycle. Have a look at the following table.

   Fitness App Development Stage	Estimated Cost
   Planning and Prototyping	$1000 to $10,000
   Designing and Coding	$10,000 to $50,000
   Fitness App Testing	$1000 to $10,000

2. Based on Fitness App Complexity

   Also, the app development cost is influenced by the complexity of the app. Please know that the features and functionalities certainly increase the app’s complexity. The more features you integrate, the more you increase your fitness app’s complexity.

   Type	Fitness App Features	Estimated Cost
   Simple App	Registration/Login Wearable Device Connection Social Media Sharing User Profile & Dashboard Workout Menu Fitness Database	$15,000 to $60,000
   Complex App	Live Streaming On-Demand Video Educational Content Video Tutorials Gamification and Leaderboards Virtual Coaches Barcode Scanner Integration with Third-Party Apps & Wearables	$65,000 to $1,20,000

3. Cost of Fitness App Developers Based on the Locations

   There is another factor that influences the app development cost, which is the location of the developer. Therefore, we have shared the developers’ per hour costs based on different locations. Have a look.

   Location	Per Hour Cost
   The USA & Canada	$100 – $250 per hour
   Western Europe	$80 – $150 per hour
   Eastern Europe	$25 – $100 per hour
   India	$20 – $50 per hour

Also, check the following image to find how much app development costs based on different regions.

Source: GoodFirms

We have also answered a few common questions related to fitness app development. Check the next section for frequently asked questions.

Ready to Build a Fitness App for Your Business?

You know the market size of the fitness industry. You learned the opportunity it brings along with it. Through this complete fitness app development guide, you have also learned the 7 steps to building a fitness application. Now is the right time to tap into this industry to make huge profits.

Get in touch with us to discuss your custom requirements for a fitness app. Space-O is one of the best mobile app development companies in the USA and Canada, developing more than 4400 apps for various industries. Once you contact us through the ‘Contact Us’ page, our team will coordinate with you further.