Buying and selling have always been vital parts of human life. But the buying and selling of goods have evolved over the years. We no longer use the barter system to exchange the needful, and now we increasingly rely less on cash or visiting markets to buy goods. We have online marketplaces or classified apps to sell or buy goods.
Classified apps are popular for offering a consumer-to-consumer trading platform. Suppose you want to take advantage of these platforms’ popularity and build one such app before reaching out to a classified app development company. In that case, you just need to be knowledgeable about the key features of these apps and how they are built.
How did Classified Apps work?
Classified apps offer platforms for users to sell, promote, and buy products among themselves. By setting up an account, you can start using a classified app and list the sellable products for other users to see and promote them; similarly, any user can buy the products of their need.
What are the must-have features of classified apps?
Now to develop a classified app, you need to have a good understanding of the key features. Here below, we describe them.
- Signup and Login
New users are required to sign-up, and existing users need to login with their credentials for using the app.
- Ad posting
The app should allow registered users to post advertisements of their products along with pricing, contact information and descriptions.
- Buying and selling
App users should be facilitated with features yo buy and sell all types of goods easily.
- Search function with filters
To help users find products across categories, users should be provided access to various search filters.
- Push Notifications
For every transaction update, users should get notifications, including ones for lucrative deals and offers, nearby sellers or buyers, discounts, etc.
- Saving and wishlist
There should also be a feature to help users save products of their choice and ads of interest or make a wish list of preferred items.
- User Management
The app admin needs to manage the users through a dashboard with measures to authenticate and verify users.
- Product Management
The app admin should also be able to track all listed products across different categories and their status in the transaction funnel.
- Order tracking
The app admin should be able to track orders, get order data, deal with sales, view inventory, and address transaction issues.
- Payment processing
App admin should have complete control of all user payments for different transactions and should be able to prevent fraudulent transactions.
- Comprehensive reporting
The app admin should have access to consolidated reports comprising details about the app visitors, users, products, transactions, revenue, order value, user sessions, and several other aspects.
- In-app messaging & call
This key feature allows seamless contact and communication among users, buyers, and sellers on products, transactions, offers, locations, and other aspects.
- Multilingual support
For a classified app operating across different countries, multilingual support is a very crucial feature.
- An integrated CRM
An integrated customer relationship management (CRM) tool is necessary for the app admin to utilise customer data and communication channels to push business growth.
- App analytics
App admin, through integrated app analytics, can track the metrics of user activities, transactions and growth parameters.
How to build a classified app?
Developing an engaging classified app requires technical skills, good command over the business model and a solid grasp of the best development practices and processes. Here we are going to provide a step by step guidance for classified app development.
- Knowing User Demands
User demands always shift with time, which is why businesses trying to build a classified app need to focus on user demands and preferences if they are serious about succeeding. It becomes easier to develop a classified app once you know the user preferences or requirements. This is why first evaluate the target audiences and explore the present trends of the market.
- Meticulous Planning
Before starting with the app development process, develop a detailed plan covering the user requirements, challenges for the app and respective solutions, app features, team structure, technology stack, etc. You need to adhere to this plan in a step-by-step manner.
- UX/UI Design
The app’s design must be engaging enough to grab the user’s attention; following well-known design steps such as wireframing, mock-up, and dynamic prototyping are necessary. Whether you use top design tools or not, the experience of the designers is non-negotiable here.
- App Development
As for app development, it is always advisable to go for an expert classified app development company with a team of knowledgeable and experienced developers who can use the ideal technology stack.
- Test & Deployment
At the very last stage of the development process, the app must undergo a rigorous testing process allowing seamless detection of issues. The QA team should be well-versed in the latest testing protocols and best practices. Finally, they need to check whether the app adheres to the submission guidelines of the respective platform.
Summing It Up
There can be hardly any doubt that classified apps are growing in popularity and setting trends with new business opportunities more than ever before. But shaping a successful classified app is not easy as the market is tremendously competitive. Even with a fairly average app, you have little chance to compete with the established and big ones. In this respect, being mindful of the bone considerations is important.
