How to Build a Business Directory App?

Have you ever used an online app that offers you a plethora of options while ordering a pizza, finding a nearby Italian restaurant, or seeking a gas station? Well, that’s what a business directory app is all about! It is an online directory that offers a brief about various places nearby to your area in a matter of seconds.  

Whether it be café, restaurants, saloons, food shops, or even gas stations, you get information about multiple places on your preferred mobile devices. In fact, Yelp and many other brands have already launched their custom business directory apps for users. And why not?  

Business directory apps are generating good profits and revenues for these companies. Businesses can sell the listing of any niche to the concerned party in exchange for money. They can even market their new products with the data obtained from a business directory app!  

Do you also want to build a business directory app for your brand? Well, you are at the right place!  

In today’s blog, we will be exploring everything about business directory app development, from features to tech stack and development process. We will also discuss monetizing your business directory app to generate extra revenues.   

But before that, let’s know what a business directory app is.    

What is a Business Directory App?

Today, nearly every business is adopting digital transformation services to expand their reach. So, why does a directory business lag? That’s what a business directory app is all about!  

A business directory app is a type of mobile application that allows users to search for and find information about local businesses. The app typically includes a database of companies, with details such as the business name, address, phone number, and categories or types of products or services offered. Users can search for businesses by name, category, location, or other criteria, and the app will display a list of relevant results.   

Business directory apps can be a useful tool for finding local services and products and can also be a way for businesses to market their brand to a wider audience. Some business directory apps also include user ratings and reviews, which can help other users make informed decisions about which businesses to patronize.  

Why Should You Build a Business Directory App?

In today’s mobile-driven era, people need everything on their smartphones, and with the help of a business directory app, they can do so easily. Whether locating a nearby police station, healthcare center, or even a Subway, everything gets easy with a custom business directory app.   

But what do you get by building a business directory app? Well, the answer is quite simple! You get valuable data of the online users and their interests. Whatever your idea, you will have a large audience to make it a big hit.   

With that data in hand, you can easily connect with any leading brand. You can help your partners with better revenues and traffic by placing them at the top of your business directory app.  

Here are a few more reasons to invest in business directory app development!   

To Gain Users Worldwide

A business directory app can be useful for people looking for local businesses and services. It can help them discover new places and make informed decisions about where to shop or eat.   

Enhanced Revenues

There are several ways that a business directory app can generate revenue, such as through advertising, paid listings, or subscription fees.  

Easy Community Building

By encouraging users to rate and review businesses, you can create an online community within the app and encourage people to share their experiences.  

To Build a Brand

If you build a business directory app that is well-designed and offers unique features or a great user experience, it can help you stand out in a crowded market.  

Overall, building a business directory app can be a rewarding and lucrative project as long as you are able to provide value to users and effectively monetize the app. For that, we strongly recommend you connect with a reliable app development company having expertise in creating a complex yet engaging mobile applications.  

You can schedule a free consultation call with our experts by filling out our form.   

Features to Include for a Top-Notch Business Directory App

Features are the most critical aspect when planning to build a business directory app. You must include user-friendly features that resolve your user’s concerns and distinguish you from competitors.  

Now, search filters, business categories, forums, ads, and favorite listings are common features of a business directory app. However, you must also include some advanced features to help you win the competition.   

Hence, as a leading mobile app development company, we have listed some exceptional features for you to include when building a business directory app.  

Voice-based Search

Gone are the days when users were interested in typing the whole keyword or getting suggestions from some selected words. Today, everyone likes to have output on their voice commands. That’s where voice-based searches come into play!  

A voice search option allows your users to get results anytime using their voice commands. You can even use advanced NLP models to predict accurate results using related keywords, and that too in user-preferred language.   

Social Login

Another exciting feature that you must include in your business directory app is social login and social sharing. Your users must be able to log in to the app using any of their social accounts, whether Gmail, Facebook, or any other. Plus, you should also enable them to share the listing or reviews from the app to their social accounts with one tap.   

That will help you market your app and lure new users without much effort. Plus, you will have good reviews and feedback that will further raise your app’s credibility!  

Online Chat

Online chats and automated customer support are most common these days. Nearly every app and website have this, so why should you lag? Hence, you must integrate an AI-driven chatbot into your business directory app. Try to opt for conversational AI development services to enhance your chatbot’s capabilities.    

CMS Integration

CMS, also known as a content management system, is a must-have tool for business directory app admins. This feature allows you to easily store your app’s marketing and other content in text, videos, and images. Plus, you can even use it somewhere else in the future via CMS integration.    

Google Maps

Ensure to integrate Google Maps into your business directory app to offer accurate locations to your users. You can integrate Google Maps API in your business directory app to help your users get the perfect location of their destination. Google Maps can also work in an offline mode, so that will again be helpful to your users in the case of inactive internet connectivity.   

Local Business Advertising

You must include local ad functionality when planning to build a business directory app, especially a local business directory app. That feature will help you earn extra revenues by listing the local businesses on your app. The users can see the local shops and restaurants nearby to their locations via this feature.   

User Analytics

That one’s most important. The main aim of your business directory app should be to collect user data and generate useful business analytics from it. For instance, you can get your users’ emails and contact numbers. Besides that, you can also know your users’ interests and past activities. All that data could either be used for better marketing or safely sold to the concerned business.

Getting Started with Business Directory App Development – Key Steps to Follow

Now that you know the benefits of building a business directory app, most of you might be thinking about how to begin with business directory app development. Well, like other custom applications, a business directory app also involves many processes and calculations.   

The development procedure is quite complex, even for those well-versed in the app development processes. Hence, companies mostly hire a professional app development team that can turn their ideas into a reality in a hassle-free way.   

Some companies even hire freelancers, but they have certain limitations, due to which leading companies always prefer to go with an experienced app development company.   

Whatever your way be, there are certain steps that you must follow to kickstart your business directory app development.   

Additionally, since every app development idea begins with thorough research, we assume you have already done that phase. If not, we strongly suggest going for market research and competitor analysis, as that will help you frame an effective app development strategy.   

Don’t want to go through the whole process? Don’t worry; we have got you covered! Simply fill out our free consultation form to directly connect with our experts and begin your app development in no time!   

Select a Suitable Type

Once you have analyzed your target market and business goals, it is now time to select a suitable type of business directory app you want for your brand. There are various kinds of business directory apps, including B2B apps, B2C apps, local business directories, niche-based directory apps, etc.  

We have mentioned some of the most prominent ones below to help you make informed choices.   

Niche-Based Business Directory Apps

These niche-based apps deal with any or all of the following: real estate, healthcare centers, eCommerce sites, restaurants and hotels, cafes, gas stations, automotive shops, etc. You can find anything or everything on these types of business directory apps.   

Local Listing Apps

Another common type of business directory app is a local listing application. In this type of app, you can find the details of every business present in your local neighborhood. The local listing business directory apps focus on businesses in a specific geographic area, such as a city or region. They may include a wide range of businesses, from restaurants and shops to service providers.  

Online Business Directories

Whether you are searching for an online coupon site, an events site, or an online spa center, you can find those on an online business directory app. These types of business directory apps focus on all the businesses that are operating over the internet. These businesses can be related to food, travel, entertainment, or even the reward and loyalty industry.    

Job Listing Directory App

Finally, we have a job listing app as the most common business directory app. With a job listing application, you can easily target the people or companies looking to hire people for a specific job. That can be home services, repair services, accountants, or even software developers.   

There are many other types of business directory apps, depending on the needs and interests of the target audience. The key here is to identify the needs of your target audience and build a business directory app that meets their requirements.  

Connect with a Reputed App Development Company

Once you have analyzed your target market and selected a particular type, the next and most crucial step is to choose a reliable app development partner. Yes, that’s the most crucial step, as a majority of your app’s success depends on it.  

Partnering with the right app development company will help uncover your true business concerns. You will have access to the latest market trends to help you build a successful business directory app.   

An experienced company will help you choose your app’s perfect features, technologies, and designs. You will have all the resources you need to build a business directory app. Besides that, some professional app development companies even offer needs-based scaling services so that you can easily increase or reduce your development team per your project needs.  

Hence, always choose an experienced app development company having expertise in next-gen technologies. You must check out the companies’ portfolios, services, and customer reviews to make an informed decision.

Include the Best Features and Next-Gen Technologies

That one’s the most important step to building a business directory app. To launch a successful mobile application, you must have unique features that help you stand out from the competition. Those features must be effective to resolve your target audience’s concerns.   

So, as a leading app development company, we have listed the best features you must implement in your business directory app. Now, apart from features, the technologies you used to build a business directory app can also help you win the competition curve.   

For instance, you can use the Hidden Markov Model, a deep-learning model for automatic voice recognition, to offer voice-based searches to your users. Besides that, you can also provide chatbot functionality that will streamline 80% of your customer support operations. You need to work with NLP (Natural Language Processing) models to do that.   

Apart from that, you may need to work with the following technologies:  

• Android App: Java, Kotlin  
• IOS App: Swift, Objective C  
• Cross-platform Ap: Flutter, Xamarin  
• Database: MongoDB, MySQL  
• Cloud: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure  
• Location-based Functionality: Google Maps API  
• Social Login: Gmail API  
• Push Notifications: Push API

UI/UX is Important

Apart from features and tech stack, if something impacts the success of your business directory app, it’s the UI/UX. For those new to the app development market, UI refers to the user interface, and UX refers to the user experience.  

In simple terms, UI is the design and user-friendliness of your app that allows your users to access your app seamlessly. Introducing a simple yet engaging design and easy functionality to your users will lead to an enhanced user experience.  

In other words, if your users can seamlessly navigate your app without getting confused with the functionalities, it simply results in a higher user experience. And we all know that a higher UX means good traffic, more users, and better revenue.   

Hence, always invest heavily in the UI/UX part of your business directory app. You can look for freelancers or can hire a reputed app development company. A professional development partner will always offer UI/UX services integral to your app development package.   

Always Begin with an MVP

MVP stands for a minimum viable product and is the best way to reduce the chances of redevelopment. MVP is a functional prototype that helps you identify and determine the user-friendliness of your app. You can check how certain functionalities will act and, majorly, how your app will work once developed by your chosen engineers.  

If you do not like certain features or are unsure of the navigation, you can easily alter those at the MVP (designing) phase. The decided changes can move forward to the development phase. Hence, you will be left with a custom digital product meeting your expectations.   

So, before proceeding with business directory app development, always begin with an MVP. Ask your development partner whether they provide MVP development services.   

Read More: Why You Should Start with the MVP for Mobile App Development?  

Do Not Forget to Test

Once you have finalized the MVP, it’s time to build a business directory app. While developing your app, do remember to follow the agile development methodology, as that approach keeps you updated about your app after every development stage.  

Once the app is developed, remember to test it. That’s because testing ensures that your business directory app runs smoothly over different devices and under various situations. You can detect even the smallest of bugs left unidentified during app development.  

Hence, always opt for automated or manual testing before launching your app.     

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Business Directory App?

So, we are at the most interesting section of our article – the cost of developing a business directory app. Well, like any other custom mobile application, the cost of building a business directory app also depends on several factors.   

For instance, if you want to include advanced features and next-gen tech in your app, the cost would be much higher than the one with the basic features and one or two advanced functionalities. Similarly, if you launch a cross-platform app, the cost would be much higher than an Android or iOS app.   

Other factors like testing methods, services opted by you, resources working on your project, and even cloud integration services add to your app development cost. So, we strongly suggest you connect with our experts over a free consultation call to discuss your ideas and get a free estimate for your business directory app. Click the link below to book a free consultation call with our experts.

Final Takeaway!

To conclude, we can say that mobile apps have become a sure-shot way to succeed in today’s competitive market. Every sector of the global market is today investing in mobile app development, and building a business directory app is also one of the ways of earning good revenues and a higher brand value.   

Hence, you must invest in business directory app development for a profitable business. You can partner with us to learn more about the concept or to begin with your app development. Fill out our form for a free 30-minute consultation and a no-obligation quote for your project!