As new apps enter the market, it becomes increasingly tricky to find a good idea worth selling. As an app developer, you have to stay relevant and anticipate market trends simultaneously. Creating a successful app, therefore, hinges on the quality of your concept. Here in this article, we discuss web app ideas that are trending and expected to reach new heights in 2020.
How and where to find new web app ideas
There are several ways to discover trending web app ideas besides coming up with a unique design from scratch yourself.
- Research and analysis are critical factors for innovation. Look at how your competitors operate and find the gap. Then design an app that addresses the gap and satisfies customer needs.
- Another place you can look for consumer demand and app supply trends is social media platforms. For example, look through your friend’s activities on Facebook or Snapchat and see what they like or dislikes. It is as right a place as any to look for people’s pains.
- Shortlist apps from other niches which you feel have features and functionality that suit your business. See if anybody else has incorporated these features. If not, you can be the first to try and bring them in.
- Get in touch with a professional developer or development company (such as Folio3) and brainstorm your options. A professional team, including a project manager, might deliver the groundbreaking app you’re seeking.
Trending web app ideas this year
Voice-Text-Voice translation apps
One of the most trending web app ideas these days involves translating direct voice input into a language of your choice in real-time. This service is a market niche still only ruled by a handful of apps including the likes of Google, Microsoft and Apple. Although, keep in mind that providing quality translations when dealing with languages such as Russian or Mandarin is a formidable task, especially when interpreting the spoken word in the context of accents and slang.
As you require such services mostly when you travel, it goes well with the next web app idea on our list.
Travel apps
Travelling is one of the wonders of globalisation. With borders less severe and travel becoming more accessible, travel apps have seen significant growth. Very different web app ideas can fit this category since the needs of a traveller are so varied. For example, apps that facilitate city tours and explore popular tourist attractions such as museums, parks and galleries.
On the other hand, apps like Airbnb have become a necessity for helping tourists and locals alike find a place to stay for cheap. Much like Uber and Lyft, these apps allow for an opportunity to earn for locals as well. Your travel app might also help users find public transportation for those who choose not to rent a vehicle to move around the city. If that’s not enough, your app can offer guides to the city nightlife like ‘Unight’ which caters to tourists and locals alike that are looking for a good time.
On-demand service apps
No list of web app ideas is complete without mentioning on-demand apps. As mentioned earlier, an app like Uber, Airlift and Careem is one of the most popular business models of today and the foreseeable future. From food to transport to repair and maintenance services, everything is moving to the ‘on-demand’ format and cashing in.
Anonymous communication apps
This particular web app idea draws inspiration from the recent spate of privacy and data leak scandals that shook the IT world. People are inherently social animals, and therefore, communication is an essential part of our lives. If you need to find someone with similar interests to talk to that is outside your social circle, you might just be looking for an anonymous messenger or social network. Your app could connect people with similar interests and hobbies in anonymous chat rooms with the option to report inappropriate behaviour.
Telemedicine in healthcare
Another exciting web app idea involves creating an app that helps you avoid going all the way to a clinic or medical centre and wait hours to see a doctor all while managing a fever, sneezing your brains out, and breathing through a sore throat. The answer to all this lies in telemedicine which allows users to make video calls to an available medical professional anywhere in the city. Developing telemedicine apps is an excellent opportunity for startups, and the idea is quickly gaining momentum.
Event planner app
No matter your age, gender or geographic location, you will at some point need to celebrate a life event such as birthdays, weddings or holiday parties. Depending on the nature and scale of the party, it can take weeks to prepare, and some people don’t have the time. Therefore this web app idea revolves around providing apps that help users plan and organise parties by offering creative ideas and themes, right places to source materials and decorations as well as functionality for creating and sending invitations. The app can even link the user with reputable event planners and designers in the area in case the user would prefer discussing their idea with a person rather than a machine.
Internet of Things (IoT) apps
Another new web app idea comes from the IoT concept. Every year, more and more devices enter the IoT ecosystem of homes, businesses and more. The benefits are undeniable as IoT-enabled appliances make our lives more convenient (heat the house before we come home), help save on expenses (turn off everything that’s not needed) and keep us and our belongings safe (smart security system notifications) Innovative web app ideas for IoT digital ecosystems are the thing of the future and, with growing popularity, there will always be room for new player.
Augmented reality apps
Augmented reality (AR) web app ideas are nothing new but have to be very innovative to capture people’s attention while remaining compatible with a wide range of devices and browsers. Ingress, Pokemon Go and Jurassic Park Alive are good examples of mobile apps that have capitalised on the growing versatility of AR. Here are a few suggestions for ‘augmenting’ AR into apps from other categories:
- Travel apps
- Apps offering an additional tour of popular tourist attractions through the user’s phone;
- Medical training
- Med students can use an app to understand better and maybe even practice surgeries without working on real cadavers;
- Interior design and decorating
- Take pictures of your room and see how furniture and upholstery will look once installed;
- Mechanics
- Make faster repairs with fewer errors using visually guided instructions.
Wellness and fitness apps
Smartphones play an indispensable role in our lives, no matter how you look at it. Therefore, when developing new web app ideas for health and fitness, first determine how you want the app to enable its users and then design accordingly. For example, do you want the app to connect friends, or help build new relationships based on shared fitness goals, help find practical dinner recipes or stream the most appropriate workout music?
Even though fitness and wellness apps inundate most app stores, there is always room for improvement, given the dynamic nature of technology. Both phones and what we can do with them grow exponentially almost every year so there will always e some new way of doing things.
Apps for sports equipment rental
Another web app idea linked with fitness is rental services for sports equipment. Most people prefer to invest in personal sports equipment, so this app would focus on renting items on a larger scale. For example, you want to organise a friendly cricket meet-up for kids and need twenty sets of bats and protective gear. Not only will such an app enable people to host small scale competitive events, but it also allows owners an opportunity to recoup their costs. Users can find strangers in their area who own equipment and want to rent it out or maybe even join in for a game.
Virtual study group app
Study groups are difficult to organise at the best of times, but if you have people involved who are not in sync with your psyche, the study group is not going to work. Therefore, with this web app idea, students can meet up and coordinate on a common forum and can help each other prepare for exams, test and more. Furthermore, the app itself can provide popular study material, tools, discussion help and guides.
Graphical restaurant table reservation
Trying to find and decide on a restaurant for dinner takes forever only for you to get less than ideal seating once you get there. For this web app idea, you can develop an app that offers a graphical layout of each restaurant so that you can reserve a seat or seats according to your needs. For example, a quiet, private corner for a special date or a large central table for making announcements. Using an app-based graphical restaurant reservation system, you can choose your desired table/seats and book in advance for whatever length of time you require.
Motivational and scheduling apps
This app lets the user schedule necessary things like reading, exercising and cleaning-up as per their convenience. This app will motivate them and act as a reminder to carry out the task correctly.
What’s in your fridge app
The goal for this app is to help you prepare a meal at home based on what you already have in the fridge or your pantry. For this web app idea to work, all you have to do is enter a list of items you have on hand along with the respective quantities. The app then takes into account all the vegetables, spices and other materials you put in and suggests a step-by-step guide on what to prepare.
Apps for finding nearby parking
Finding parking is a time-consuming hassle which leaves you tired before you even get to the actual purpose of you being there. In such cases, imagine an app hooked-up to local parking facilities which can help you find places to park nearby and the level of traffic in the area. The amount of traffic in the area will give you an idea of whether it’s worth driving to the parking facility or not.
Conclusion
An there you have it, our list of trending web app ideas to explore in 2020. Even though we have covered a wide range of subjects on this list, it is not exhaustive. However, it should provide you with a good impression of what to expect during the rest of the year and how you can wow the market.
Regardless of the idea, included in this list or otherwise, you have to conduct your market research and analysis. Use this list as a base point from which to launch your app development process. And if you still feel like you’re stuck in a swamp, contact an app development company like Folio3 to learn more about how a professional team can help your idea take off.
What are trending software web app ideas in 2020 FAQs
How do I develop an app idea?
Some key points to remember:
- Research your idea;
- Create a storyboard or wireframe;
- Get pertinent feedback;
- Develop a thorough business plan.
What are the most useful apps?
The most useful apps are those that fulfil a need. Regardless of the scale, as long as the app successfully addresses a human problem and provides a practical solution, it will be useful. For example, Netflix solved consumers need for on-demand entertainment and Uber did the same for personal transport.
How do you monetise an app?
If you want to monetise an app, you can consider some of the following options. However, we recommend you get in touch with a development company like Folio3 to avoid any pitfalls.
- Picture ads;
- Video ads that get you particular access or resources within the app;
- Option to pay and upgrade to an ad-free version;
- Additional features available for purchase within the game;
- Sponsorships;
- A combination of any of the above.