How To Develop Apps Like Airbnb And Slack?

Mobile & web applications can play a significant role for accelerating growth of businesses by accessing new markets, expanding customer reach, growing the brand's visibility, improving the customer experience, and contributing to various growth strategies. They also offer the potential for gains that drive the economy of scale and benefit from effects of networks, and, which in turn, increase competitiveness and productivity. Digital technologies can substantially lower numerous costs, including expenses for search, replication distribution costs, tracking costs and verification costs.

Let's take a look at two apps developed by large corporations that have taken over their respective industry with a vengeance and have transformed their business growth and customers' reach to millions through their mobile and web applications.

Airbnb

Airbnb is an application that provides online vacation rental services that connects those looking to rent accommodation with people looking to rent their homes or properties. Airbnb is accessible to travelers and homeowners of around 191 countries and 65,000 cities around the world, with thousands of listings. Due to its enormous growth, the company has been granted funding from more than 15 big corporations, and has received an investment of $4.4 billion.

The Airbnb mobile and web app provides services like a record of customer reviews and stories about various restaurants, accommodation costs for tourists, and more in the last few years. First and foremost, for developing an app similar to Airbnb, it must offer a smooth transition from starting to the finish of it. The app must be simple to use and give a more user-friendly experience, which will result in positive reviews for the app.

The working process of Airbnb:

1. The property owner/property owner provides their property description along with the rules, amenities, prices and any other information that attracts the attention of travelers and tourists seeking accommodation.

2. Renters looking for properties to rent will apply the search filter based on the cost range, the location and other requirements.

3. Next comes the request to book, in which travelers are obliged to submit a demand for a booking at the accommodation of their choice.

4. The property owner can then decide whether or not to accept the request based on the availability of the property.

5. After the property owner accepts the reservation inquiry, the booking deposit will be taken out of the traveler's bank account. The balance must be paid out after the time of stay by the tourist.

6. In the end, following the stay, both host of the Airbnb home and the visitor are able to reflect on their experiences as a reference point for future travelers and homeowners.

Once you know how the Airbnb application works we can learn more about some of the framework and programming languages that are used to create the Airbnb app.

To build an Airbnb duplicate app you must master the tech stacks in the following order:

• Backend Frameworks like Node.js, Django or Ruby

• Frontend Frameworks like Vue.js, Angular.js, and React.js

• Serverside technologies include Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and DigitalOcean

• Technologies for managing databases such as MongoDB, MySQL, MSSQL, PostgreSQL, and Azure DocumentDB

• Network Caching Services like Nginx and Redis

In order to create an app that is similar like Airbnb This is the list of some features that you can incorporate for the best user experience:

1. Login/Sign-up In the beginning, users are required to sign-up for the website or application by providing basic personal details like name, ID number or email address. If they are already registered they must sign in in by filling in their login and password.

2. Search Filter: Filters enable users to set their requirements like property type size, dimensions, price ranges, available dates and others so that they can locate the property of their choice easily.

3. Manage Account This feature allows users to manage, update, or edit their profile and information in the app, such as the password they change, etc.

4. Wish List: The wish list feature allows users to save or mark any property that is desired by the user to be used in the future or if it is currently unavailable.

5. Chat Notifications As a way of letting users know that a message basically notifies the user, chat notifications inform users when they receive a message in their chat app.

6. Chatbot A user wants to interact with the owner of the property prior to booking the property, chatbots can be helpful.

7. Maps Maps locate properties on maps, so that the user can view the whole area as well as its surrounding locations.

8. Booking This feature allows you to show the history of the booking the property and booking it. of your choice.

9. Payments This feature lets the guest to pay the rental to the property owner upon completing the booking. Users can also see their payment details as well as select the currency they want to pay in and also their payment method.

10. Help Help feature of an app lets users to counter any difficulties that users face and offer solutions through specifically designed FAQs or by connecting them to support representatives as well as websites.

11. Review This feature lets users share their experiences and ideas for travellers and homeowners.

12. Sharing In the event that a person wishes to share the property details with someone else, they can easily do so with the share feature. This lets them share the information through other social platforms or on the app itself. The app also has the option of inviting other users to the app.

Airbnb boasts more than 7 million listing and users spread across around 200 different countries. It has become so accessible for property owners and travellers that it now has over 150 million active users. The more users who use the app mean more customers and more income for your business.

Slack

Slack is one of the fastest-growing startups in the world. It is a workplace/business communication tool. Within just eight months of launch, Slack reached a valuation of $1 billion. Originally developed as a solution specifically for developers of games, Slack gained 8000 companies join within 24 hours of launching the now renowned remote working tool.

How did Slack create such a powerful remote-working tool?

In essence, it's a simple messaging app. It's packed with interesting features , such as chat rooms with public access categorized by subject, direct messaging, and private groups. An administrator can accordingly define the access of each user so companies can easily regulate the information for various roles and hierarchy. This also involves creating public channels such as #random, which allows teams to discuss informal or non-work discussions and to build relationships within the workplace.

The features of the Slack application are:

• A contact book

• In-app search bar for contacts groups, contacts, media files as well as specific messages

• Online/offline/typing status and visibility settings

• Exchange of messages with receipts for reading

• Group messaging, delivered and read receipts

• Voice and video calls , as well as group calls

• Emojis that are custom-designed in the app

• Media file transfer (pictures, videos, documents, contact cards, external links, etc.)

• Wallpapers and user themes that can be customisable for users.

• Independent slack channels for different departments

• Third-party integrations , such as Google Drive and Office 365

• Separating threads for seamless communication

• Workflow Builder that automatizes routine tasks and communications

• Event management tools such as run sheets, Gantt charts, and event-specific calendars

Slack is accessible as a web app, desktop app and mobile application. It can be accessed on any mobile device, browser and also as a standalone desktop app.

Web

Slack is mostly built on a blend of JavaScript/ES6 and React.js specifically for use on using the Web platform. When Slack developed the Windows application they were unable to utilize the existing codebase. To make it available on all types of devices and on the web, Slack decided to implement tools for development across platforms, such as Electron.

Desktop

The Slack desktop app was developed with Electron for a frameless, more responsive design as well as a myriad of background improvements for an improved user experience. The Electron framework allows cross-platform desktop applications by using programming languages like JavaScript, HTML and CSS.

But, the original desktop application was created using the MacGap V1 framework. It used WebView to host web content within the framework that was built into the native application. However, it wasn't simple to upgrade it with the new features available only to Apple's WKWebView, and moving to this view would require a complete app rewrite.

While there is a possibility that Slack desktop uses a hybrid system but the codes and assets loading were not accessible for the most part. The Slack developers integrated Chromium with Node.js for the engine that renders and the module system. The new desktop app is now based on an ES6 with async/await React application, which gradually changes to TypeScript.

Mobile

• Slack is built by a mix two programming languages: Java along with Kotlin for Android.

• For iOS it's written using a combination between Objective-C in addition to Swift.

In order to create an app that is successful, a strategic approach in the process of development is important. Alongside full engineering of the product, deploying technologies to sustain the development of the product, features enhancement and other development areas.

​An MVP, also known as a Minimum Viable Product, MVP is a great way to create a user-friendly product and software design that is easily tested before fully unveiling the final product. A lot of businesses create MVP first and launch with a small number of users to test the functions and features. They collect feedback from their users and later incorporate that feedback into their final product. MVP is also a fantastic way to get initial funding to develop the application. It also helps validate the whole app idea.

First published here