I'm a front-end React.js developer who enjoys being a part of what's happening in the JavaScript ecosystem. Developing user-centered online experiences I rely on a common-sense approach to web usability and facilitate good UX practices.

Łukasz Walczak

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The Covid-19 crisis has majorly impacted lots of industries. Some of them went into a complete standstill, but others flourished. Elearning is one of the few that have experienced growth - helping people to better themselves in those challenging times. People are looking for ways to occupy their minds while being indoors. This makes the eLearning market a lucrative business model for those planning to build platforms like [Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/) or [Coursera](https://www.coursera.org/).

Here is what you need to know before you start developing your own eLearning platform.

## What is an eLearning portal?

Long story short eLearning, also known as electronic learning, refers to education delivered through digital devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones. It enables students to learn without the need to physically attend a traditional classroom, allowing them to progress at their own speed.

Virtual learning platforms, such as Udemy or Coursera, have gained increasing popularity due to their numerous advantages. These platforms offer flexibility, as learners can access courses anytime and anywhere. Additionally, they provide cost-effective options compared to traditional education, and students have the freedom to learn at their own pace with online course.

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/720x388/eff024f773/types-of-learning-platforms.jpg)

Within those platforms we can distinguish several types of learning portals:

* MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) like [Coursera](https://www.coursera.org/), [FutureLearn](https://www.futurelearn.com/) or [Udacity](https://www.udacity.com/)
* Virtual learning environments (VLE) like [Moodle](https://moodle.org/?lang=pl) ([open-source LMS](https://selleo.com/blog/open-source-lms-comparison)) or [Blackboard](https://blackboard.uwb.edu.pl/)
* Video streaming services e.g. [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/?hl=pl&gl=PL)
* Visual instructor-lead training (VILT) e.g. [WebEx](https://www.webex.com/)
* Discussion boards like [Kialo](https://www.kialo.com/)
* Forums e.g. [Teacher’s Corner](https://teacherscorner.pl/)
* Podcasts e.g. [Hardcore History](https://www.dancarlin.com/)

## Udemy and Coursera: leading eLearning providers

### How do websites like Udemy work?

Online learning platforms, such as Udemy, operate by offering a wide range of lessons and tutorials from both individuals and established institutions. These platforms follow a user-friendly approach: individuals interested in learning to sign up and create an account, enabling them to search for courses that match their interests and begin their educational journey.

In the case of Udemy, the platform extends its services to teachers and instructors as well, providing them with access to a diverse set of tools for content creation and delivery. Additionally, Udemy takes charge of marketing and distribution to reach a broader audience. However, when establishing your own online learning platform, you have the flexibility to either grant complete freedom to instructors or handle these aspects on their behalf. This allows for a customized approach to suit the specific needs and goals of the online educational platform.

### What makes them so successful?

You might wonder why such platforms like Udemy and Coursera are so popular among users. Here are some factors:

1. Advanced technology to offer a better learning experience (asynchronous learning, video content e.t.c)
2. Extensive database of experts
3. Competitive pricing (including free options)
4. Course-creation toolkit
5. Rating system
6. Content in different languages

## Why build your own LMS like Udemy?

### Benefits and challenges

Online learning has become one of the most sought after mediums to learn something new. There are many eLearning websites already available, but new ones are constantly emerging as the demand rises. Many businesses recognize that building their own Learning Management System is a profitable endeavour. But before you start developing your own solution it is important to be aware of the benefits and challenges of online learning as well as the current trends (you can read more about it in the post [EdTech Trends To Watch In 2021](https://selleo.com/blog/edtech-trends-to-watch-in-2020). As for now, let's dive deeper into the benefits and challenges of eLearning website development.

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/720x332/13724632d2/benefits-of-building-your-own-elearning-platform.jpg)

1. **time flexibility -** websites like Udemy or Coursera offer time flexibility for students, unlike traditional classroom environments. This attracts many learners, especially those with full-time jobs.
2. **pace of learning -** no two students have the same pace of learning. Online learning platforms allow them to go through some topics faster or take more time to study the more challenging ones.
3. **multiple courses -** with an app like Udemy you can sign up for multiple courses at once, which allows students to acquire more than one skill simultaneously.
4. **cost-effective -** online courses are much cheaper than traditional classroom courses. What is more, students do not have to travel from a different city and pay for accommodation and transportation.

Despite the clear advantages and high potential, virtual education is not perfect. Among the most common challenges related to eLearning are:

* self-discipline issues
* lack of feedback from trainers
* lack of face-to-face interaction
* quality of content
* reliance on technology

<ReadMore> Read also: [How To Build A Successful Social Learning Platform](https://selleo.com/blog/how-to-build-a-successful-social-learning-platform) </ReadMore>

## Steps to building an eLearning website

### 1. Validate your idea

To properly validate your idea you have to look at the numbers. According to the statistics, the global eLearning market is going to reach [$300 billion by 2025](https://elearningindustry.com/growth-of-the-elearning-market-gamut-size). To succeed in the business you need to build an effective and affordable product.

### 2. Define your niche

Think about the courses you will offer. Focus on the most common niches like business and entrepreneurship, health, fitness, personal development, arts and crafts, computer and technologies. Think about what is the demographic of your learners (age, gender, educational background) as well as about the primary objectives and learning preferences.

<Baner name={elearning} />

### 3. Choose a business model

Choosing the business model is the first thing you need to know before you start the development. This will determine how you earn money through your platform. You can choose from:

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/720x297/54927275ae/types-of-business-model.jpg)

* **paid certificates -** users pay for a platform-verified certificate
* **subscription-based -** users buy a monthly or yearly subscription that gives them unlimited access to the website
* **affiliate model -** the courses have integrated links to books and equipment that might be needed to progress in the course
* **corporate collaboration -** this is where you collaborate with business organizations to have specific courses
* **paid courses -** students purchase a paid course and the revenue goes to the instructor and the website owner

Here is a comparison of the most popular online learning platforms:

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/820x931/7235ed22ab/lms-comparison.png)

### 4. Implement must-have features

There are a number of features that make up the core of almost any eLearning platform. They can generally be divided into student, teacher and admin panel features. Building an MVP with only the must-have features is an amazing way to test the usefulness of your solution on real-life users. You can read more about MVP development in our post [Why MVP Development Should Be Outsourced](https://selleo.com/blog/why-mvp-development-should-be-outsourced).

#### Student profile features

* search, category and filter - enables to search for specific keywords and courses, divided into several categories based on subject, prices, expertise level etc.
* recommendations - shows relevant training courses based on ones the student already enrolled for.
* easy payment options - student profiles should be [integrated with a payment gateway](https://selleo.com/blog/how-to-integrate-a-payment-gateway-into-a-website) for easy and secure transactions

Apart from that, each profile should have basic user info a history of purchases and profile settings.

#### Teacher profile features

* course creation and updates - instructors should be able to create and edit their courses
* dashboard - a feature necessary for instructors to keep track of the courses they have uploaded, number of people participating etc.

#### Admin profile features

* add, edit, remove users
* add, edit, remove courses
* statistic reports
* manage notifications
* subscription plan change

Consider implementing push and email notifications for the subscribers to inform them about new courses, recommendations, events etc.

<ReadMore> Read also: [Why Build Your Own Corporate LMS?](https://selleo.com/blog/custom-corporate-lms) </ReadMore>

### 5. Choose the development approach

When building a website like Udemy or Coursera you have two options. You may build it from scratch or choose a ready-made solution from the market (see [Custom LMS Vs Ready-Made LMS: How To Choose The Best eLearning Software In 2021?](https://selleo.com/blog/custom-lms-vs-ready-made-lms) ). Let’s talk about it in more detail.

#### Custom eLearning platform development

If you want to provide specific functionality to a great number of students a custom-made solution would be best for you. Although it is more time-consuming it enables you to implement any required features as well as easily scale the platform.

Selleo can provide you with a web development team with a cost-effective approach and years of experience. We will guide you through the entire process from start to finish and provide support after the launch. Learn more about how to [build an LSM from scratch](https://selleo.com/blog/how-to-build-a-learning-management-system-from-scratch) in our blog post linked.

#### Ready-made products

Open-source software like Moodle, Joomla or [Canvas](https://selleo.com/blog/canvas-lms-pros-and-cons) has basic student management features and many free plugins. However, it might be tough to implement a specific functionality or import custom themes.

Offering a unique design will make your platform stand out from the competition. You also have to choose an optimal tech stack that matches your needs.

When it comes to UX and UI simplicity is the key. The eLearning website should be intuitive and operate without much effort. What is more, as mobile devices are an inherent part of our lives, the learning platform should include a responsive design. Apart from the right technology, you can also use external plug-ins or third-party tools to deliver an engaging user experience.

### 6. Engage good educators

A good UX and UI and first-class performance will not give you success without great content. The content should be delivered by top-notch educators, so you should consider cooperating with universities and other educational establishments.

An example of such a master collaboration is [MasterClass](https://www.masterclass.com/), offering courses from Marc Jacobs, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, Annie Leibovitz and other famous people.

<Baner name={contact-elearning} />

## Our [case study](https://selleo.com/portfolio#e-learning)**of** eLearning platform development

Our client from Sydney, Australia wanted to create a social e-learning platform available for everybody, not just students. An educational solution that is equipped with a simple design and uncomplicated interface allows to motivate and encourages more curiosity from learners. It delivers a flexible and personalised dashboard that incorporates parts of machine learning into online and face to face learning for the best results.

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/1000x615/63b9ffccb4/neutopia-lms.png)

This progressive social learning platform combines both web and mobile solutions for the best user experience. With the wide content repository including videos, articles, books, audio files and slides students can adapt their course content to individual needs.

[Neutopia](https://selleo.com/portfolio/elearning-platform) includes course features like:

* progress tracking
* slide page
* activity feed
* personal workspace
* notifications
* search
* smart triggers

This educational platform can be used by both individuals and educational institutions who want to promote their resources or courses. Moreover, it addresses the specific needs of:

* authors and experts where peer to peer learning is the best way to grow together
* teachers and schools delivering a place where people can learn from one another
* teams and businesses that what to create a shared culture of appreciation and common purpose

## Conclusions

Platforms like Udemy or Coursera offer online education and training programs for individuals from all around the world, interested in various courses. Elearning is becoming a significant part of the education industry allowing a unique and renewed distance learning.

Constantly increasing demand means an amazing opportunity for businesses to create solutions of their own. You have to keep in mind that a highly competitive environment means your product has to have expectational functionalities as well as a learning experience.

If you want to build an eLearning product that will answer the needs and requirements of your customers, [contact Selleo](https://selleo.com/elearning-software-development). Together we can create a customized solution and become a leader in the electronic education industry.

Want to know how to build a successful eLearning platform like Udemy and Coursera? This comprehensive post has got you covered.

How To Build A Successful E-learning Platform Like Udemy And Coursera?

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Video chatting is something that people have loved doing for ages. It allows staying in touch with family and friends even from miles away. The popularity of video chatting grows steadily with the development of better video chat apps.

With the outbreak of Covid-19 impacting most of the economies things like social distancing, home office and virtual events have become our new reality. Many businesses opted for video conferencing technologies to host events or meetings safely. The technology helps to strengthen relationships by keeping in touch with business partners and employees while saving time and boosting productivity.

**A video calling feature can be easily integrated into any existing application**, allowing to leverage the functionality in order to improve productivity. This is a great idea for saving money and development time. To do so all we need to do is **integrate the API or SDK for video calling** into the existing software.

So do you want to integrate a video conferencing API into your application now? This article will explain it all.

## What is a video chat API/SDK

Video chat API is a video-audio integration tool that makes a device capable of using real-time video chat. The API provides a technical infrastructure to set up video communication. API is an interface that allows different types of software to communicate with each other and exchange data.

An SDK (software development kit) on the other hand, is a set of tools that makes building apps easier. SDK provides tools like libraries, visual editors, debuggers and APIs.

Among the top features of video calling SDK and API are:

* various conferencing formats
* screen sharing
* messaging
* recording
* voice features

## What Are the Benefits of Web Conferencing for Businesses?

The ongoing pandemic has definitely forced enterprises to rethink the way they operate. They transformed the way they stay connected and turned to digital platforms like Zoom. Video conferencing is the closest alternative to a face-to-face meeting allowing to quickly exchange messages and address concerns on the spot. Let’s talk about the benefits of web conferencing.

* **convenience -** thanks to video conferencing you no longer need to travel to see colleagues or clients. It can be utilized to quickly connect during time-sensitive or pressing situations. Users can seamlessly talk to individuals in different time zones outside of standard work hours from the comfort of their homes.
* **money and time savings -** travelling can consume big chunks of time and budget. Although some meetings should be held in-person, most of them can be easily held during a video conference.
* **more personal online meetings -** if compared to email or audio calls, video conferences takes it to the next level. You are able to make use of facial expression cues and build a more personal relationship.
* **recording tools -** the majority of video conferencing platforms allow meetings to be recorded. This ensures that important points form the meeting are not missed and can be shared with those who were unavailable at the time of the meeting. What is more, platforms like Verbit can generate live transcripts of video calls, for example, to help produce summaries of meetings.
* **employee onboarding -** video conferencing can be used in the education of new employees. HR departments often use it during onboarding and offboarding. Remote training has proven to be the most effective and engaging when using video tools.
* **accessibility -** thanks to tools like live captions or transcription video conferencing gives all employees equal opportunities to engage and participate. Those tools guarantee that remote employees or those with disabilities like hearing loss can effectively participate in meetings.
* **digital workforce -** video meetings help to maintain human connections and speed up the decision making process through global collaboration.

## Who needs video conferencing?

Ready-to-integrate SDKs make it possible to implement video conferencing technology quickly in any business use case. Integrating it into the existing solution gives you:

* **more security -** video conferencing APIs and SDKs have built-in security standards that can be automatically implemented in the product at the time of integration
* **added capabilities -** some of SDKs and APIs for video conferencing come with AI/ML capabilities which can, for example, allow generating analytics for video calls
* **reduced costs -** you do not need to develop an entirely new solution from the ground up

Now that you know what are the benefits of using video conferencing and implementing it into your existing software, let’s discuss which businesses particularly need such a solution.

### Healthcare

More than one and half of the hospitals in the US use telehealth apps. Live video conferencing is one of the types of telemedicine applications. It is used for a two-way interaction between a patient and healthcare specialists. It is often used in treating common illnesses or to determine whether a patient should go to urgent care. Live video-conferencing can be used instead of a visit to the doctor’s office. It saves travel time and waiting time in the long queues at hospitals or clinics. You can read more about that in [How To Build A Telemedicine App From Scratch?](https://selleo.com/blog/build-telemedicine-app).

### LMS

Many schools and universities opted for online teaching amid the Covid-19 pandemic. It allows them to seamlessly collaborate without physical contact. What is more, LMS can make use of the recording tool to give access to webinars and presentations at any time.

### CRM and digital commerce

Thanks to tools like Zoom for Close you can launch and review the video calls since they are automatically attached to the appropriate lead. You can see every interaction that you and your team have had with leads and customers.

### Real estate industry

Real estate can leverage video conferencing technology by enabling its customers to visit properties virtually via video chat. This means more customers will be able to see the property in a shorter time. This also allows investments in various states and countries as borders no longer matter.

### Ecommerce

More and more people are ordering essentials via contactless delivery to retain social distancing. This meant a decline in the sales of electronic appliances that require installation and demos. By integrating a video conferencing technology to your digital platform you can allow your engineers to help customers through a video call.

### Video calling in HR

HR departments can reduce delays in the recruitment process by adding video conferencing technology to the existing process. They are able to connect with candidates as soon as they are shortlisted. This is also very useful at times like this when a global pandemic suspends recruitments.

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## Challenges of video calling solutions

Video conferencing can be very beneficial for businesses, but only when used correctly. Some of the platforms may seem easy to handle, but training sessions are a must to ensure employees are aware of the features available and how to best use them.

Lighting and sound quality play a significant role in effective communication. Proper setup can take time, so it is important to address the possible issues beforehand. What is more, business leaders should equip their employees with a strong Internet connection.

One of the best practices of video conferencing is setting a clear agenda and communication points before the conference to ensure all viewers stay on track.

In this article, we talk a lot about integrating a video calling feature into an existing application. But what if you decide to build a solution from scratch? There are a couple of points you should be aware of.

* **longer delivery time -** it will take longer to build a solution from scratch and test it properly before releasing
* **operational complexity -** you will need to deploy and manage an entire infrastructure
* **cross-service security -** when building from scratch, you need to ensure that the solution meets all necessary regulations and compliance requirements

However, building your own solution will enable you to customize it to your needs, implement functionalities that fit your requirements and create a one-of-a-kind design.

## Top video chat APIs

There are various mobile APIs that help to implement video chatting. Here are the most popular ones:

### [Twilio](https://www.twilio.com/)

A cloud communication platform ideal for building video and voice-based apps. It allows making and receiving phone calls using video chat APIs. What is more, Twilio supports the development of open-source apps that allow configuring phone numbers to route phone calls. It is a reliable, well-documented yet simple solution.

Twilio also provides a web service ‘In the Cloud’ that allows integrating real-time phone calls into apps. It is the best way to develop business by leveraging a telephone system in a cost-effective manner.

### [Quickblox](https://quickblox.com/)

Ready-to-go modules like push notifications and video calling. It allows developers to build their own video chat app. The company also sells various communication tools to app builders. Quickblox is used by many social networking apps and enterprises. It is easy to integrate and provides features like content settings, users, location or ratings.

### [Amazon Chime SDK](https://aws.amazon.com/chime/chime-sdk/)

A set of real-time communication components that allow developers to quickly add audio and video calling as well as screen-sharing capabilities to an existing mobile or web application. Thanks to Amazon Chime SDK you can eliminate the complexity and costs of building and maintaining your own real-time communication services and infrastructure.

### [Sinch](https://www.sinch.com/)

Sinch SDK can be implemented to an existing mobile or web application to enable video conferencing. It provides video chat APIs and SDKs that supplement applications with video, voice and real-time communication APIs.

## How video SDK interacts with your application

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/731x973/63682b42df/sdk.png)

This is a step-by-step process from creating a room to attending a video conference.

### Creating a room:

1. Server Application asks Video SDK to create a meeting room.
2. SDK validates the provided information and creates a new room.
3. Video SDK responds with the Room SID (a unique identifier which can be used in API requests).

### Client 1 gets an Access Token

Clients have to have an access token for connecting to a meeting room. It ensures that the client application has control of who is authorized to join the meeting room.

1. Client 1 requests an access token from the application server. Usually through the HTTP request from the client app.
2. The application server uses Video SDK account credentials to generate a secure access token.
3. Client 1 obtains an access token.

### Client 1 gets connected to the Meeting Room

1. Client 1 connects to the room with the Video SDK connect interface and validates using the fetched access token
2. Video SDK verifies the access token. If it is valid a connection between the room and the client is established. The client becomes a participant in the room and can subscribe and/or publish media tracks from other participants.

## Summary

Video calling has become easier and easier. Businesses are recognizing the benefits of using video conferencing in place of face-to-face meetings. Video conferencing is used in industries like education, healthcare, real estate and eCommerce.

It is possible to integrate an already existing app with video conferencing functionalities thanks to SDKs and APIs. Ready-to-deploy SDKs and APIs like Twilio, Quickblox or Sinch can reduce time-to-market and costs, however, a custom solution will give you more flexibility.

If you want to transform your product and equip it with video conferencing capabilities or build new software from scratch, [book a call](https://selleo.com/custom-software-development-company) with **Selleo developers**. With years of experience in programming, our fully-fledged teams will provide you with a top-notch solution.

Want to learn how to easily integrate a video conferencing API into your existing applications? In this article, you'll learn exactly that.

How To Integrate Video Conferencing API to Your Application

Not everyone in the world can own a car. If you own a car, there are still many issues you might face in big cities like New York and London. Due to endless problems with traffic, parking, and car maintenance, most people prefer to hire a taxi then owning a car. Based on these facts, we can say that on-demand-ride-hailing services like Uber will find their users all over the world, which leads us to a simple fact that this is an attractive niche for many entrepreneurs.

COVID-19 has immensely affected this niche over the last few months and in less time than a year, the profits have decreased from [$302.2 million to $192.3 million.](https://www.statista.com/outlook/368/100/ride-hailing-taxi/worldwide) This year has seen a 36% decline in profit for ride-hailing services. Looking at the pace of growing cities, it is expected that these services will cope with the crisis, and revenues will reach all-time highs in 2023 ($334.5 million).

If you are looking to invest your time and money in building a taxi booking app then this article is for you. To build a taxi booking app, first, we need to understand how it works and what its basic building blocks are.

## How Does Ride-Hailing (Uber) Application Work?

An on-demand ride-hailing or ride-sourcing service like **Uber acts as a connecting bridge between the consumer (rider) and service provider (driver).** It is a marketplace that provides an opportunity for the consumer to book a ride and a service provider to earn money. The application is designed on a basic 5-steps foundation. These steps made a revolutionary change in the market of ride-sourcing services.

**Here’s how a ride-hailing app model works.**

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/779x169/a0a6f7dde5/uber-design1.png)

### **Step # 1 – A Consumer (Rider) Request a Ride**

Consumer requests for a ride using the app from a specified current location. The request is sent to the nearby drivers through the app.  
**Step # 2 – Matching of Rider and Driver**

App sends the ride request to nearby drivers within specified miles. It is up to the driver to either accept the bid or reject it.

### Step # 3 – Confirmation of Ride

As the driver accepts the ride, the consumer gets a notification of ride confirmation with an estimated arrival time. A consumer can track the movement of the driver through the app in real-time.

### Step # 4 – Ride Ends

After the driver’s arrival, the consumer can check the details on the app, and once confirmed, he/she can sit in the car and ask the driver to start the ride. Once the consumer reaches their destination, the driver ends the ride. The estimated payment amount has already been shared with the consumer which the consumer can pay using cash as well as other cashless payment methods. In many countries, Uber only allowed payment via cashless methods such as credit or debit cards.

### Step # 5 – Ratings

Both rider and the driver have the opportunity to rate their experience. The rating factor is significant as it brings trust and reliability among riders and drivers.

Here you must be wondering when the rider is paying the driver the fare of the ride, then how come Uber-like apps are making money. Well, let’s have some detailed research on that too.

## How does Uber like Apps make Money?

These apps have two primary sources to earn money. These sources are:

### Fees / Commission

Uber-like apps charge a commission from both the rider and driver. A rider pays the fees in terms of extra charges such as ride cancellation charges, animal transportation charges, etc. But, the major part of income is generated through a commission from the drivers. Uber-like apps charge drivers a certain commission for giving them business. For Uber, the commission starts from 20% to 35% of the driver’s total ride fare. Uber’s commission rates differ in different regions.

### Sponsored Ads

Since millions of people use ride-hailing applications daily, it is the right spot for companies to run their advertisements. The apps showcase companies sponsored ads on a cost-per-click or similar model. Most of the time, large corporations collaborate with these apps to offer a discount on their products and services for ride-hailing service users.

Now let’s move on to the technical part and learn how to build an app like Uber.

## How to Build an App like Uber – A Step by Step Guide

Building an app of such complexity **requires both client and server-side development.** There is a need for a highly optimized central server to manage the interaction between the users (riders and drivers) on a real-time basis. There is numerous functionality that an app will play like matching, cost calculation, location, guiding the way to the driver through Google map, commission subtraction, and rating. For all these purposes, there should be many geographically distributed servers to optimize response times, eliminate failures, and provide constant service availability.![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/803x177/e7dec226a0/uber-design.png)

Let’s look at the steps now:

### Step # 1: Find your Niche

You first need to identify your niche for a taxi booking app. Getting an idea about your niche is very important and it can be considered as the foundation of building a taxi booking app.

### Step # 2: Conduct Research & Audit

Do your research and gather all the information for taxi mobile app development and improvements you want to make.

### Step # 3: Prepare Documentation

Prepare a complete roadmap for the technical specification of app functionality, the app’s architecture, and tech stack details.

### Step # 4: Start Development

Divide the project into different tasks, starting to implement each task based on their priority and conduct unit testing to find errors.

### Step # 5: Deploy your Uber-like App

After testing and getting a good-to-go report from QA officers, it is time to launch your app to the live environment to ensure that it runs properly on all devices.

## Basic and Advanced Features for Taxi Booking Application

The first thing to understand is that a taxi booking app is divided into three different sets of products. There are two separate apps for rider and driver, as well as an admin dashboard. Let’s look at some of the basic and advanced features for each.

### Rider/Consumer App

#### **List of Basic Features**

Here’re some of the main features that every taxi booking app should have for consumers.

* **Registration** - Users can easily register by using his/her profile on existing social media or create a new one via email or phone number.
* **Ride Booking** \\– Users can easily book a ride in real-time or can schedule for later. The app should have both options.
* **Payments** \\– It is an important feature that enables a passenger for auto payments right from the app.
* **Notifications** \\– Notifications should be sent to the rider about the trip when the driver accepts the request. The notification message should contain vehicle information such as model, passenger count, color, and the number of the car, and the average time of arrival (ETA).
* **Ride History** \\– An option that shows all the previous rides' transcripts to the consumer.
  -**Fare Calculator** - It helps to calculate the cost of the trip.
* **Driver’s Review and Rating** \\– The app should show the driver’s reviews by other customers and overall ratings so that consumers can decide whether to continue the ride or not. This feature is more important to build a trust factor, especially for females.

<Baner name={software-development} />

#### **Advanced Features**

Now let’s talk about some of the advanced features for a passenger app:

* **Pick-Up Location** - By using the built-in GPS module, a consumer can point out his/her exact location without typing the complete pickup address.
* **Split Payments** - It’s an advanced feature that splits payments between two or more passengers. Uber is using this feature in many regions of the world.
* **Vehicle Selection** - Allows picking another driver for the trip.
* **Interactive Map** \\– It helps users track the driver’s movement in real-time and show nearby rides.
* **In-App Messenger** - Ensures communication between passenger and driver right in the app through messages.
* **Gamification** \\– The features motivate users to take more rides to win badges, special offers, leadership boards, etc.
* **Discounts** - Gives a discount for trips by adding code or digital coupons.
* **Voice Recognition** \\– It is one of the most advanced features not available in many taxi booking apps. It allows the user to give voice commands to the app to book a ride.

It is the end of the list for a Passenger/Consumer/Ride side of the app. Let’s move on to the second app which is for a driver.

### Driver’s App

**Basic Features**

The basic features of the Driver’s app overlap with the passenger/consumer app. The driver app also has the registration feature which allows them to do personal profiling and submitting additional documents like a driver's license. The app also has features like push notification, fare calculator, ride acceptance/rejection, messenger, etc.

**Advanced Features**

There are some unique elements for drivers’ app which are:

* **Status** \\– It is a feature that makes a driver visible in an app and on the map that he/she is ready to pick rides.
* **Order Alert** - Informs about a new trip and shows payment and road details. Also, it allows for getting or canceling orders.
* **Navigation** \\– The navigation feature helps the driver to choose the best route for the trip.
* **Estimation** \\– It helps the driver to know the count of trip costs and discount
* **Reports** \\– This feature shows the statistics about trips and earnings to the customer

Let’s move on to the last part which is the Admin dashboard.

### Admin Dashboard

**Basic Features**

One of the basic functions of an Admin Dashboard is to store databases and manage passengers' and drivers' activities. It offers complete details of logistics of drivers and trips and manages all financial issues. It has all the data for both the riders and drivers.

**Advanced Features**

An admin dashboard can be linked with the Google Analytics tool for analysis of the behavior of app users. It is one of the most advanced and important features to monitor and strategize marketing activities. It can be the starting point for the revision of the entire business process.

One other important thing that should be noted while building an app like Uber is that in many countries, the legislations have strict guidelines that strongly require a detailed admin dashboard, even if it seems functionally unnecessary for your business model.

## How to Gain a Competitive Edge in the Taxi Booking Industry

If you copy the same style and features of Uber, how will you gain a competitive edge over it then? There needs to be something unique that users can remember. When it comes to taxi booking apps, innovation becomes even more critical to stay ahead in the competition race.

The following are some of the strategies on which business owners can improve their chances of success.

### Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/1732x1154/97fa94bc56/unique-value.jpg)

There is a direct relationship between an app’s success and its end-users’ satisfaction. Based on this fact, the first thing that every taxi booking app needs to add in the list is riders and driver’s satisfaction. There are numerous ways to offer unique value to both rider and driver, some of them are listed below:

#### Rider’s Unique Value Proposition

* Track the driver’s route and arrival time
* Discounts, badges, prizes on rides
* Fixed affordable prices for known places like Railway Station or Airport
* In-app payment gateways to pay for the rides from within the app
* Fare estimate calculation based on Pickup and drop-off location

#### Driver’s Unique Value Proposition

* More fare charges in peak hours
* Bonuses on set targets
* Easy and hassle-free registration
* Flexible timings to complete daily or weekly targets
* Insurance coverage

### Global Expansion

Being globally recognized is another UVP that inspires people to prefer your brand over others. If you have a budget, expanding your services globally is a competitive advantage. It also raises your target audience to a larger scale. Uber's success is a clear example of it.

There are still untapped markets where Uber has not reached yet, including **Brunei, Malta, Iceland, Cyprus, and Luxembourg** for different reasons. That’s evidence enough that the service has some roadblocks and the first business to find a way across them can expect huge rewards.

## Conclusion

It is correct to say that **companies like Uber and Lyft have captured the taxi booking market**, but there is still a lot of room and space for new entrants. By identifying a niche and focusing on the unique value proposition, they can create a profitable monetization strategy.

All you need is **an out-of-the-box idea and a perfect implementation** of that idea in terms of a user-friendly ride-hailing service app. The more innovative and advanced features you will propose to users, the more value your brand will gain in the target audience’s eyes. It can be done by freezing the requirements pre-development or building an MVP first to ascertain product feasibility and response.

**If you need guidance along the way to build a taxi booking app, or you want to outsource the project to an exceptionally talented and experienced team of developers, then you should consider [Selleo](https://selleo.com/).** We have the best developers from around the world to help you develop your dream taxi booking app.

If you are looking to invest your time and money in building a taxi booking app, then this article is for you. To create a taxi booking app, first, we need to understand how it works and what its basic building blocks are.

Łukasz Walczak

Blog posts that I worked on

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How To Build A Booking Taxi App Like Uber? A Complete Guide

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