Travel app development is complex. When an idea strikes your entrepreneur mind and you start visualizing its use cases to make it better and better, you have a version of the app in your mind that is solid. However, when you decide to get that built, reality hits differently. Some of the features you thought in mind aren’t as effective as you wanted them to be, some additions simply don’t make sense, your app development budget exceeds by 30% and more.
From the time your app is an intangible entity in your mind, it’s undergoing evolution. Evolution based on your preconceived notions, second-hand experiences, borrowed opinions and more. All these factors combine together and take you far away from reality where things seem completely different.
This phenomenon is what we comically call Expectations Vs. Reality. In Mobile Application Development Services, there are several instances where there is a stark difference between what you expected out of your travel app and what you receive in the end or simply differences in the pricing, development time and more.
Over the years, we have encountered several such experiences that have helped us become more mature in our approach to travel software solution development. These are years of experiences we are talking about. And considering the travel scenario today, we really felt that one cannot waste time committing mistakes and learning by themselves. That’s why we have decided to make our learnings open-source for you to benefit.
In this article, we have compiled several expectations vs reality instances in travel app development that could completely alter your perception of the development cycle, the travel industry and more.
Read on to find out what they are.
Expectation 1 – It Must Be Very Expensive To Develop A Travel App
Reality
This is a general notion prevailing around the cost of development of travel apps. A lot of solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who intend to run bootstrapped businesses are skeptical about bringing in the latest technologies into their services mainly because of the expenses involved.
However, we would like to clarify that the cost of development of your app completely depends on several factors. If you had to make a list of them, it would feature these –
- The type of travel app you want to develop – only for flight booking, accommodation or an all-round travel app
- The deadline within which you want to roll out the app in the market
- The features you want to include in your app
- The tech stack required to build the app
- The level of technology you intend to incorporate in your app – blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning and more
- If you require individual native apps to be developed for Android and iOS separately or a hybrid app
- The country you intend to outsource the project to and more
Notice the layer of intricacies influencing the pricing of travel app development? If you ask in your circle, the unanimous answer you are most likely to receive is on the travel app development being pricey. Whereas, the reality is way different.
Expectation 2 – Two Weeks Is a Good Time To Get My App Developed
Reality
This is not even an expectation. This is illogical. Ask any developer you know of and they would tell you that you could hardly get anything developed in a span of two weeks. The lifecycle of a travel app starts from mind-mapping, where all the features are listed, UI/UX frameworks and skeletons are drawn, ideas are validated, MVPs are rolled out, changes are made, ideas are pivoted and more.
Getting an app developed in two weeks will only give you a rip off of an already existing travel app in the market with only changes in the colour scheme.
From an entrepreneur perspective, it is understandable that your market conditions might be ideal and volatile for you to launch your idea. However, all apps must go through a series of rigorous development processes such as –
- Designing
- Development
- Testing
- Fixing
- Retesting
- And launching
Even if you missed a step in this could lead to undesirable consequences for your app including bad reputation. Unless and until you are launching an MVP, you cannot get a travel app that is safe, secure and stable in two weeks.
Expectation 3 – I Don’t Need An App. I Can Simply Make My Website Responsive
Reality
While the idea is good, you cannot offer the best of experiences to your target audiences. There are several valid reasons for this. A website runs on your browser and the maximum capabilities it can offer depends on the functionalities of your browser.
On the other hand, an app runs on your phone. So, the potential of the app to offer advanced features and functionalities multiplies by manifold. A travel app you develop for your users can make use of your device’s functionalities and power such as the camera, gyroscope, speed, memory and more to offer advanced options to users.
Whereas, your responsive website cannot do so. A responsive website might aesthetically compensate for the lack of an app, but it can never replace the requirement of one.
Expectation 4 – Mobile Application Submission Is An Easy Process
Reality
So your app is tested and it looks airtight. All the features serve their purposes and the overall experience you get out of your app is solid, too. The next thing your mind expects and visualizes is the instance where you click the Submit button on the respective app markets and they get approved. In two days or less, you want your apps to be available to users and hit a significant download number.
However, you should understand that app approval is one of the most crucial and cumbersome stages in app development. Have you ever wondered that millions of apps get developed and submitted to app stores every day? And it’s not necessary that all these apps have the same ethical intentions? Out of the million apps, there could be thousands of apps with malicious codes and plugins.
So, how do they end up getting rejected? How is it that the apps on the authorized markets are safe for usage?
That’s the part that most of us tend to overlook. A travel app you developed must not only be functional but be completely safe and secure as well. To get an idea of the factors that influence app approval process, check out the list below:
- A solid description of your app
- A clean and clutter-free user interface
- Complete details of your app such as business owner details, APIs used and more
- Value proposition
- Zero bugs or crashes
- Absence of broken links and more
There are several other factors that affect your app’s approval status. So, this is not an easy process but probably the toughest.
Expectation 5 – What If I Made A Replica of An Existing Travel App?
Reality
You could but that won’t take you anywhere. If you intend to run a sustainable travel business in the market, this is unfortunately not the way. Your expectations could take a very bad detour if you did this. From legal issues and copyrights breaches to infringements, you can get into troubles that could cost you your company.
The reality dictates you to go for a custom travel software industry solution. Custom because not all travel businesses come with the same requirement. Based on your business needs, budget, operating niche and more, you could have requirements that are completely new and offbeat.
So, the most ideal approach is to list out all your features and expectations and go for a custom-built travel application.
Wrapping Up
Apart from these, there is another expectation in the market. The expectation that freelancers would do a good job in developing your travel app. However, you should remember that your business idea could only sustain if it’s developed by a team that has adequate exposure in developing travel apps.
There are tons of layers in travel app development and only a credible team can help you roll out an app that sells. That’s why we recommend you get in touch with a travel app development company like ours to get your travel app developed.
We handpick and work with the best travel app developers who have solid exposure and expertise at what they do.
Get in touch with us today.
Nisarg Mehta
Nisarg Mehta is the CEO & Chairman of Techtic Solutions Inc., NYCs award winning Mobile App Development Company. Nisarg is active in operations in his daily routine as he is one of the key decision makers in terms of technological advancements of the company. He is a friendly leader with hardworking, motivating, visionary and passionate personality.
