Complete Guide To Develop An App Like Instagram

Instagram has taken the social media network to the next level. Social media platforms like Instagram are contributing a lot to raise social connectivity. It allows users to create, share and consume content in the form of audio, video, and images.

Do you know with the huge popularity and constant growth, Instagram was giving tough competition to the social media giant, Facebook? In the list of most downloaded apps where Facebook, Facebook messenger, and Whatsapp have secured a place, Instagram has joined the list too. Being the largest social media platform, Facebook took a smart business move in 2012 and purchased Instagram. The social media brand does not stop here, later in 2014 it purchased Whatsapp too. This way Facebook has acquired the four most downloaded apps of the decade.

The modern generation finds Instagram the most happening social media platform that catches the eyes of billions of active social media users. As per Statista, in 2020 approximately 48.3 percent of the global population were actively using social media. This count is expected to grow by 56.7% of the global population in 2025.

Demand for social media apps like Instagram is continuously increasing among the modern generation. With a billion user base, Instagram has gained immense popularity. It is also connecting people emotionally and allowing them to share their beautiful memories via text, images, and videos.

Instagram’s splendid success is credited to its easy onboarding, user-friendliness, and ease of use. In this guide, we have jotted everything that is necessary to develop an app like Instagram. The first thing that you must keep in mind while developing an app like Instagram is releasing updates on a timely basis. This is the one main reason why Instagram is gaining more popularity every next day.

Below are some major features introduced by Instagram

IGTV

When businesses find it complex or have failed to educate their target audience, Instagram has introduced IGTV. This allows users to set up their own channel and share videos and products. This gave organizations to enhance the visibility of their products along with delivering entertaining content. 

Live Video

Every time when a user starts the live video, followers get notified. Live video is best to increase customer interaction as it provides an option of a comment section where users can share their thoughts. The live video feature on Instagram is advantageous for brand promotion, eCommerce, and product marketing. 

Stories

Instagram Stories have one of the most versatile aspects of Instagram. Image sharing and a short video with a limit of up to 30 seconds display on the top of the feed page. Users can freely add unlimited stories and can share the same stories directly to their Facebook profile as well. Followers can send a direct message via the stories also.

Moreover, the Instagram stories feature enables another option where users can add links to their stories. Users can use the Instagram swipe-up feature to add links to their Instagram stories. It allows users to get engaged with their followers more easily. 

Verified Accounts

The Instagram verified accounts define the authentic presence of a global brand or notable public figure. The verified accounts on Instagram have a blue badge and checkmark right after the profile name. This checkmark helps the user to find their preferred brand on social media. Being a verified account holder is a big deal hence these are exclusively for popular brands, public influencers, or celebrities.

Integration With Messenger

After Facebook has acquired Instagram, it announced that Facebook messenger is linked with Instagram. In the updated version of Instagram, you will find that the messenger icon has replaced the direct message option. Users can click on the messenger icon at the top right corner and search for the person’s name whom they directly want to chat with.

Reels

Masterstroke by Instagram! Instagram reels have become the hottest trend. From common people to b-town celebs millions of individuals are appreciating Instagram reels. The endless scrolling option and variety of content for different domains are what is offered by Instagram Reels. From delivering entertaining content to strengthening e-Commerce services, Instagram reels have provided a whole new way to promote businesses and user experience.

Why Should Companies Invest in Developing Apps Like Instagram?

Direct connection with your audience

It allows entrepreneurs to build strong connections with their consumers. It helps you to know your audience and their requirements. Entrepreneurs can get to know their target audience better and offer them custom services as per their requirements. 

Gain Valuable Data Insights

Knowing your audience’s behavior will help you to deliver quality content. You will be able to know how audiences perceive your business. It helps you adapt a better strategy to grow your business. 

Access to paid advertising

Facebook ads manager allows marketers or businesses to choose paid advertisements and promote their products and services more effectively. It allows users to think beyond organic posting. 

Increase brand awareness and loyalty

As the number of social media users increases day by day. You can promote your brand and introduce it to a wider audience in one go. Strong social media presence extends customer reach, loyalty, brand awareness, and reliability. 

Generate Maximum Converting Leads

Businesses operating on social media platform channels get maximum chances to generate leads. The probability of lead conversion of social media platforms is more than other search or display networks. 

Get Rich Customer Experience

Companies can pay attention to customers’ requirements and improve the quality of content delivery. 

To develop an app like Instagram, you must plan it before the execution. Know about the right steps to create a successful app like Instagram.

How to Create an App Like Instagram Successfully?         

• Conduct market research to know your audience and their preferences.Divide your search criteria into three parts

1. What makes users stick to one application?
2. What are the additional features and services offered by competitor applications?
3. Your target audience, their likes, and dislikes and what market gap your product needs to fill up? 

• Evaluate competitive social media apps
• Conceptualize your unique and outstanding app concept
• Define your project strategy and estimate certain things like budget, deadline, goals, and technologies.
• Make your promotional strategy and promote your app to create brand awareness.
• Build communication to get in touch with your audience and get their feedback. Getting user’s feedback will help you to know the loopholes. 
• Hire a mobile app development company equipped with experienced app development professionals. It will help you to design, develop and test your product in a better way.
• Keep doing competitor analysis and build your project with additional features and functionalities to stay ahead. 

To develop applications for any industry the points mentioned above are the initial approach to take your project in the right direction. But, developing an app is not enough. You need to put extra effort to make it successful. Behind the success of any app, there are some defined factors which we will discuss in this guide. Let’s begin!

Active Users

The foremost factor to succeed is the active number of users. You can win users by engaging them in your app, inviting more with social media channels, and running a referral program. If you reward your existing users, they refer your app to their friends and this leads to an increase in the number of active users.

Longer Engagement

One must not think that people who sign up for an app will stay longer with them. There are multiple factors to ensure it such as the average time they spend on a particular app, how frequently they log in, how many likes they give. Each factor becomes a key indicator of whether users are likely to stay longer or not.

Retaining Customers

This step is all about reminding users regarding your app periodically. Push notifications play a great role in this purpose. Before sending a push notification, you must research your audience and plan your push notification according to their convenience i.e. when they have time to spend reading your pushes.

What tech stacks are used in Instagram-like app development?

Instagram is based on a wide array of technologies. You can also use some of them for your next project. Instagram is fully functional on both Android and iOS operating systems. For back-end development, Instagram relies on the Django framework and HTML5. For your reference, the entire tech-stack of an app like Instagram is listed below.

JavaScript UI Library

• React

Cross-platform

• React Native

Language

• Python
• JavaScript
• Java
• Objective-C

Framework

• Django

Web Server

• nginx

Database

• PostgreSQL
• Memcached

Web Servers

• Gunicorn
• JS Utility & Library
• Immutable.js

DevOps

• JS Build Tool
• Webpack
• JavaScript Compiler
• Babel
• Load Balancer
• HAProxy
• Server Configuration & Automation
• Fabric
• IDE
• Nuclide

What are the basic functionalities that should be added in the social media app development like Instagram?

Authorization

This feature enables users to register themselves using their email ID, mobile number, or also via social media login. After the successful registration, he/she can get the inside view and benefits of the app.

Editing profile

• Editing personal data
• Removing personal data
• Adding personal data

Post creation

• Upload picture from phone gallery
• Take a new picture from the app
• Add tags and mention other friends in the posts

Feed

• Subscribing (one-way following)
• Liking
• Commenting

Standard options for image customization like

• Cropping
• Rotating
• Image adjustments
• Applying filters

Geolocation features

• Identify the existing or current location of the user and add it to the post

Messaging

• Text and photo messaging

Notifications

• Push notifications to notify users about the new messages and other activities on the app

Search option

• By username or full name
• By hashtags
• By places

How much will it cost to develop an app like Instagram?

The mobile app development cost depends upon multiple factors. It seems like the more advanced you will add to your app the more it will cost. To determine the overall app development cost some factors play a lead role. Let us emphasize the points that must be taken under consideration before you invest in app development.

Factors that determine the social media app development cost:

Research

This is the initial step where you need to invest a lot of time to know everything. From knowing your audience, their behavior, and market demand. Great research often leads to a successful product. You can assume that if you have done great research then half of your success you have already gained. 

Hire App Development Professionals

If you want to make your app technically sound then you can take the help of expert professionals. You can research online and connect with a top app development company. Based on your target audience you can hire Android App Developer or iOS app developer to build the desired product.

If you hire an experienced social media app development company you can connect with industry experts like app designers, developers, and quality analysts who know all the right approaches to create a successful app.

Designing

The design of the app holds the power to attract maximum visitors. You can hire a graphic designer to make your app highly engaging and interactive. The implementation of modern graphics and eye-catchy design can drive maximum traffic that boosts your productivity. 

Development

This is the stage where the development team will code and develop your product. The developers will create an app that meets your specification and implement the features and functionalities as per your business needs.

Deployment

At this stage, the app will be deployed to the server and will further release on the app store. After the deployment of the app users will be able to app installation and utilization.

Final Words!

When Instagram was first introduced it supported a basic filter and image sharing features. With the passing years and users’ demand, it introduces multiple features and functionalities that we had already discussed above. Today, a single app is capable of performing multiple jobs and creating a buzz over the internet. It won’t be wrong to state that Instagram has become a hub of social influencers, marketers, and notable brands.

Many businesses are inspired by Instagram and find it a money-making opportunity to invest in developing an app like Instagram. But the biggest question is “What All It Takes To Build An App Like Instagram?” Well building an app like Instagram is not an impossible task but not an easy one too. It takes a great combination of the right project strategy, mobile app development skills, and an experienced team of professionals who can build technically sound products.

Sparx IT Solutions is the one-stop destination for social media mobile app development services that bring the best outcomes. We help businesses to grow faster by delivering modern app solutions.

In our mobile app development portfolio, you will find the masterpieces that we developed for our clients to give their businesses a drastic boost. So far, Sparx IT Solutions is a leading mobile app development company that has worked on a variety of apps for different business domains. Our adroit team follows a standard approach to create applications like Instagram.