Better than TikTok: which features to select to create an app that delights

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In search of a role model in business, you may be intrigued by the cool results achieved by the founders of one of the social networks.

When every third user living on the earth set the app on his/her device, there’s definitely a secret ingredient in this rapturous story. Yeah, we’re talking about TikTok and its crazy popularity. And we invite you to look into the kitchen where such products are prepared to understand what ingredients should be added to win the tastes of the public.

The Purrweb team studied different recipes of social media, streaming services, and other solutions, and found out how to cook something that will arouse no less interest than original Tiktok from users. The guys packed their experience and tips on how to create an app like tiktok in an easily accessible and actionable form. Read and enjoy!

Why TikTok is worth copying and what can be improved

First, the project was tested on Chinese users, and when it turned out to be an in-demand service, the founders of TikTok started its global version. Even being limited in time and budget, you can start a business if you focus on the core features and a definite target audience. This type of product is known as MVP: it helps to check an idea with less risk and relatively quick.

To create an app that can count on worldwide recognition, it’s advisable to jump into examining the experience the popular solutions demonstrate.

TikTok founders luckily combined features of social media with features of video streaming apps and performed a product that motivated and inspired people all over the globe to try their creative abilities in making engaging videos. High level of simplicity and interactivity facilitated the onboarding of an overwhelming amount of users and encouraged their regular activity. Chasing the aim to create an app that can attract millions of users, think of the customer’s interests and preferences, and assess every feature through his eyes.

Better than TikTok: which features to select to create an app that delights

Conceived as a space for creators where everyone can be self-expressed, by the moment the platform turned into a service where new talents have too few chances to be noticed. Really original content is lost among heaps of outright nonsense. So, to create an app that users will respect, think about the algorithm determining equal opportunities for rich brands and newbies.

Better customer support/ Clear guidelines

One of the most offensive things for creators is the lack of explanation about the company’s politics. For example, the current version of TikTok is famous for taking videos down without any obvious reason. If there was a real working service to explore cases of violating the rules or its absence, the app had a greater reputation.

For you page

TikTok includes a personal account where personalized recommendations and trends are depicted. The more often you watch content, the better the recommended materials coincide with your interests. You can offer users more detailed presets for precise settings. Now users apply various hashtags for searching for things they are interested in. You can add any other options for getting desirable results from users. To create an app with a better user experience, you can use this or any other options.

Video loading and editing tools

Targeting to create an app with short videos, you can’t avoid specific functionality for managing it. Apart from simple tools like «crop» or «add captions», you can offer users specific filters, masks etc. Consulting with professional videographers can be beneficial if you want to create an app that is a perfect match for users’ expectations.

Live streaming

This is an effective tool for engaging the user’s attention and increasing the number of in-app purchases. Feeling of live presence improves trust and makes people buy presents for popular performers for TikTok coins. You can use the same monetization scheme or modernize it with new ideas.

Social sharing and reactions

Different emotions the users want to share can be expressed with various visual means: funny icons, animations, and opportunities to send favorite videos to friends. The unique tools for emotional communication are one of the tested ways to create an app that people enjoy.

Direct messages

Is a very convenient option for connecting people directly with the persons they like. It’s impossible to imagine the idea to create an app as social media without this option: communication here is the highest value.

Duet option/Stitches

That is what made TikTok videos so ridiculous and often viral. Singing or dancing in parallel with their friends, followers or popular creators promotes profiles.

People also can find analogies to different situations they’d like to laugh at in popular films, clips, etc. Sticking the two videos together, they get a humorous effect.

Which tech stack fits better to create an app and how to hire a good team

Since this type of app is complicated and requires strong skills in various fields, the idea to hire a jack of all trades or a group of freelancers doesn’t seem wise. The most effective way to ensure your potential customers will deal with a cute product is to create an app in cooperation with a professional agency.

The next point is an opportunity to optimize the budget by getting a product with high fidelity UX design and impressive functionality. Sounds like ads, but that is what can be actually reached with cross-platform development. The tech stack that enables IT engineers, to realize this plan is React Native. This tool facilitates development by creating products for iOS and Android systems through simultaneous processes. Thus, you don’t have to overpay for two development projects to two development teams. And, what is even more important is that you significantly reduce the time consumption. For example, Purrweb managers can precisely count the timeline of the project and say when your both applications will be completed. The same is fair for the cost as well: no hidden payments, all calculations are transparent: you know how much you pay and for what. Planning to create an app, pay attention to these moments: do not be tempted by a suspiciously low price for a large amount of work, this is most likely a bait.

To wrap up

To create an app that deserves millions of users you need a coincidence of three things: the cutest idea, a really talented development team, and a bit of luck. The more exigent you will be in selecting the first two, the less you need the last.