Today, the live-streaming market is expected to reach $225 billion by 2028, so it makes sense that you would want to participate in this profitable sector. However, creating a live video streaming application is difficult and demands careful planning.
The best platform for streaming content is one of several considerations that must be taken along the road.
We will walk you through the process of making a live-streaming app in this article. But let's first examine what exactly, a live video streaming app is and how an on-demand app development company makes it.
Live-streaming apps, as the name implies, enable users to record and broadcast video at the same time. These apps have become more prevalent in recent years to fast internet and sophisticated camera technologies.
Apps for live video streaming have boosted online communication, entertainment, commercial marketing, and influencer marketing.
- Three Different Live Streaming Apps
You must be aware of the types to which a live-streaming app belongs before you begin to design it.
- Apps for live broadcasting
The most well-known kind of live-streaming apps are probably those for live broadcasting. Users of the app can stream live recordings of audio and video to viewers who have access to the stream. A large number of internet influencers and celebrities have been born through these apps.
YouTube Live and Livestream are all well-known live-streaming applications.
- Streaming audio
An audio streaming app is all that's left when the video has been gone. You can listen to audio that is being delivered in real-time via the internet using an audio streaming app.
This group includes Apple Music and Spotify.
- Streaming of on-demand video
This kind of live streaming tool enables users to plan and get their preferred TV programmes whenever they want online.
Amazon Prime, Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, Viki, and many more.
- How To Create A Live Streaming App in 2022
Firstly, We'll concentrate on the creation of video streaming apps in this section. Check out these 6 essential stages for developing a live-streaming app.
- Define Your Audience And Their Needs In The First Step
You shouldn't design a live-streaming application based on conjecture. Instead, you should find out what the app's actual users' wants and preferences are. Plan and conduct user interviews to find problems as they arise.
When creating the live app, the early feedback will direct you in the appropriate direction. Additionally, you might already have your first set of beta testers.
- Select Monetization Techniques
These are the three most common ways to monetise the live streaming app made by the app developing company, which is ultimately what you'll want to accomplish.
- An app that consumers must pay to download is a paid app.
- Offer the app as a freemium model with some features only available to paying customers.
- Run advertisements on the app to earn money via advertising.
The most widely used live streaming services generate revenue from subscriptions, advertising, and a portion of the sales of animated "bits" that users purchase to animate their comments and honour their favourite players.
TikTok generates revenue in three ways: through advertising, in-app purchases, and ECommerce services.
Livestream is another illustration. YouTube Live and Facebook Live are only two of the sites that may stream content using mobile live streaming software. The Apple App Store and Google Play Store provide a free download of the Livestream app. However, in order to use the app, customers must have a paid Livestream membership.
- Use a dependable platform for live streaming, hosting, and storage
The next step is to choose the platform that will be most effective for hosting, streaming, and storing the content. It's not always a good idea to go with the cheapest supplier.
In the beginning, you could get away with sacrificing quality for money, but as users and traffic increase, it becomes clear that the inferior performance is there. Users will abandon the app if it continues to offer sluggish streams or low-quality videos.
- Produce Outstanding UI/UX Design
You must develop a fantastic UI/UX for the app in addition to selecting a workable streaming platform.
Technology is simply one component of a successful live-streaming app's formula. You need a fantastic user experience to stand out in a highly competitive market. As a result, you'll need to spend money on the app's UI/UX design.
A clean interface frequently performs better than a crowded one.
- Build and test your MVP
Creating a live-streaming app is an ideal method to test out any of the dozens of ideas you may have for your live video streaming service. An MVP is a stripped-down version of the software that just has the functionalities it needs to run. It's easy to use and makes it simple to obtain user feedback.
- An App For Live Streaming's Tech Stack
You will still need to select programming languages, databases, messaging queues, and other development components, just like with conventional mobile apps. But three things need your focus.
- Protocol for Streaming
To broadcast video, the following two protocols are frequently used:
- WebRTC Protocol
- RTMP Protocol
- RTMP
For streaming in high quality, RTMP protocol is employed. RTMP is used to transmit live broadcasts from events like concerts and conferences. The ability to transmit high-quality audio and video is the main benefit of using RTMP.
A delay of 10–20 seconds occurs between the screen capture and the viewer's screen as a result of the lengthier processing time.
- WebRTC
Real-time communication is the main focus of the well-known WebRTC protocol. It can be found on video call services like Zoom, BeLive, and Google Hangouts. Even if WebRTC is faster, if the bandwidth is insufficient, the transmission quality will be negatively impacted.
- A streaming service
We've already highlighted how crucial it is to select a platform that will work for streaming content. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the best option in this situation. It offers the resources required to host the application, manage streams, and give users access to content.
- Network for Content Delivery (CDN)
The users' access to and performance of the live stream are ensured by selecting the appropriate CDN. Several streaming services, like Netflix and AWS MediaLive, are powered by the AWS CloudFront option.
When it comes to selecting a tech stack for live-streaming applications, nothing is set in stone. The problems you want to address must be defined, and the stack must be adjusted accordingly.
- Release, Maintain, and Improve
Your time and effort spent on discovery, testing, and MVP creation have culminated in one satisfying result: the launch of your product. However, this project is not yet complete. As soon as your live streaming app has been launched by the app development company, you should start monitoring user behaviour analytics. Usually, the majority of the significant insights are revealed at this phase. Therefore, it is crucial to consider them, test what works, and incorporate them into the functionality that already exists.
- Features That A Live Streaming MVP Must Have
You'll require the following fundamental features to create an MVP for a live-streaming app:
- A straightforward registration form is provided for users to sign up for an account and log in to the app using their credentials.
- A live stream can be recorded and aired to viewers who have subscribed to the user's channel or to the general public.
- Users can utilise the search bar to look for information based on topics, popularity, trends, channels, locations, or interests.
- User profile: Display to friends and subscribers the user's contact information and profile image.
- User gallery: A place to save and arrange saved videos on a user's profile.
Live streaming apps that have a commenting or rating system thrive on social interaction. Consequently, it's crucial to incorporate a commenting/rating system so that viewers can provide input on the video.
- Features That Would Be Nice For A Live Streaming App
You may construct a live streaming app with these features to enhance user experience once you have an MVP that the people like.
- Users may join up using their social media accounts with just one tap, saving them from having to fill out time-consuming forms.
- Extended user profile: Include additional fields like interest, preferences, location, and personalizations in addition to the default name and profile image.
- Additional streaming options - You might think about including extras like filters or screen sharing, which open up additional creative ways to use the service.
- Chats - Including a chat feature enables the streamer to interact in real time with the viewers.
- Increase the number of searchable parameters using the expanded search features. Users can, for instance, look for films nearby by setting a certain search radius.
- Include a more interactive feed so users can more easily customise the kinds of content that are presented.
- Introduce different sorts of subscriptions and provide people easy access to manage them through the app.
- Show users related content based on their interests and viewing history in the recommendations section.
- Allow the app to notify the user via push notifications when intriguing material is being streamed.
