Normally, you can, also, blacklist a user, filter users based on multiple criteria, see who is online, chat with other users, take part in contests and play a bunch of games. Even if we’ve left out something, it would most probably be nothing new to you. This sounds like a bunch of ancient platitudes, is there anything that could give you an edge?
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- Private chat
- Notifications
- User profiles and matching
- Geolocation
- Discovery settings
- Calendar
- Facebook login or any other feature that would differentiate your app from the competition
Accordingly, here are the things that we would recommend, functionality-wise, to businesses so that they could take full advantage of their mobile dating application:
1. Implement differentiated messaging
Many men, many minds. You always find some folks more attractive than others. When it comes to the opposite sex, this may be instantaneous. Consequently, the attention of some people can be a lot more interesting than that of others. To help a user avoid embarrassing situations and unwanted, irksome attention, you should implement the messaging functionality of your dating app accordingly. For example, it can be implemented so that the user will receive messages only from those whose pics they have previously “liked”, or whom they have added as a friend or followed.
As an alternative, you can also make the ability to receive a message from any user in the system optional.
Similarly, it would be beneficial only from the point of view of the UI/UX if you use a limited number of email notifications. Many dating sites start funneling scores of them into their users’ mailboxes once the latter has ticked off the corresponding option.
Sent on every other occasion by both your site and the gaming apps it is integrated with, such notifications can clutter up your user’s mailbox to the brim within days, become a nuisance and, eventually, put them off using your dating app.
Aside from matches-related notifications, it would be better to send email notifications about events associated with the user’s friends, or those whom they have followed rather than with any bookofsex sign of attention from any of the system’s users.
3. Make the list of “likes” user-friendly
With some dating apps, the list of profile visits and “likes” a user has drawn is implemented as one or several (in accordance with the types of “likes” the app supports) sets of clickable thumbnails.
These thumbnails can be enlarged and viewed as the corresponding user’s photo from the main feed. Thus, you cannot switch between the “likes” and conveniently view them one by one. This can become a significant UI/UX issue.
4. Optimize geolocation
Geolocation is of great importance for most dating applications, especially for mobile apps. For example, Tinder’s matching algorithm is centered around user preferences and location. However, the way geolocation is implemented in Web-enabled dating applications is, often, not the most optimal one.
For instance, after the user has been shown all the photos of users that meet their criteria and are based in the location of their choice, they may automatically start being shown the snapshots of users based in a neighboring location. This location may be another major city and not smaller cities and towns in the user’s vicinity. Moreover, the location suggested by the site may actually be foreign, or of little relevance to the user for any of an array of reasons: personal, linguistic, and so on.
If you are considering building a mobile dating app, you should also pick a provider with significant experience in developing and implementing geographic information systems (GIS) and creating GPS-powered apps: you may want to guide your users around and show them places to go out and other spots that can promote their romantic endeavors.