Cost to Build an App like Khaleej Times: A Complete Guide

The 21^st century has witnessed a rise in news apps as the go-to platform for global current events. These powerful tools deliver the latest updates and insightful analysis, keeping you informed about everything happening around the world.

Certain News Apps such as Khaleej Times are user favorites for their unbeatable mix of personalization and reliable news. This app has become a user favorite by offering the latest insight from the UAE to the world.

Now, with that, the demand to build an app like the Khaleej Times is at an all-time high. And, the first question that crosses my mind is “How much does it cost to build an app like Khaleej Times?”

The cost to make a news app like Khaleej Times can range from $20,000 to $40,000. It can increase as per the features and complexity of your project.

Let’s get to know about everything in detail:

What is Khaleej Times?

Founded in 1978, it’s the UAE’s oldest English daily newspaper. They hold a strong presence in the UAE. From local UAE news to international affairs, they cover everything including business, politics, culture, sports, and more. Soon, they launched their app which has made quite a remarkable presence among users.

Other than that, the app provides control to the user over their feed. They can easily personalize their feed with topics that interest them. So, it’s not wrong to say that the popularity of the app stems from its convenience and ease of use. Also this app’s in-depth reporting is the cherry on top, which has inspired many to develop similar news apps.

The Khaleej Times’ vast readership in Dubai and globally makes it a compelling model for others to follow. With that, we believe you are ready to delve and gain comprehension about how to create a news mobile app like Khaleej Times? For which first necessity is to know about the top-notch features that will determine your app’s success.

Features for Khaleej Times like App

Features are the backbone of any app.

If you integrate the best features for your app, then it will surely outshine in the market. Now, to help you with the best features for your app, here are our top picks:

1. Easy Sign-Up

As you know onboarding process gives users access to the app.

In case, if the process is lengthy, this will result in user disappointment and they might abandon the app.

So, the best you can do is offer them an easy sign-up and registration process by providing them with different methods such as phone numbers, Gmail, and more to make it easy to onboard on the app.

2. Search Functionality

Allow your user to search for any article on any topic or through any keyword. These searches will them to get what they are looking for.

Such functionalities let users delve into the app’s archive uncovering a wealth of past articles related to your query.

It empowers your app to become a more effective news source that helps users for exploring in-depth on any topic and provides better information about current events.

3. Personalized Feed

Ensure to have a customized feed. This way they will engage with the app more.

So, no more irrelevant stories!

This can help users with personalized feeds prioritizing news based on preferences, saving a lot of their time and enhancing their experience.

This way, you can unlock user satisfaction and become a top news app with personalization.

4. Push Notification

Push notification services can be a game-changer for your news app.

Incorporating personalized article recommendations plays an essential role for to develop a news app like the Khaleej Times. To keep users engaged and informed on current news, your app should prioritize personalized news alerts.

This strategic push notification feature can be highly welcoming to readers while simultaneously increasing user engagement for your app.

5. Social Media Integration

If you want your user to continuously make contact while sharing interesting articles and stories with friends and followers across different platforms.

This surely increases user engagement making your app more interesting for users through which they can share the content effortlessly.

6. User Customization

Let your user find specific news stories by keyword or topic.

This way, they can personalize their feed by following specific interests or preferred news outlets leading to enhanced user engagement and ensuring that they stay relevant to their interest first. Seeing the competitive market landscape, user customization should be on your priority list.

7. Offline Reading Option

How about allowing your user an offline reading option?

Let’s suppose they came across an interesting article, but they can’t read it right away. In such time, you can offer them an option “Save for later’’.

Once they tap and save the article, they can easily access it in their free time through the “Offline section’’.

This will offer them flexibility and control over news consumption, even when disconnected from the internet.

Advanced Features

Here are some advanced features we are adding to the list that can be of help.

1. Multilingual Support

This can be one of the impressive features to get in mobile app development.

Through this, you can target a broad audience, and allow users to switch between languages for the news content.

Moreover, this can be particularly valuable for multilingual users or those interested in international news. As there is a lot of competition in this market, doing so will help you stand out in the market.

2. Text-to-speech Functionality

Text-to-speech is functionality in news apps that allows you to listen to articles being read aloud.

Besides, you can integrate this advanced feature with some extra options such as voice settings, choosing different narrators, controlling the speaking speed, and on top of them selecting the preferred language for the narration.

People with visual impairments will surely appreciate this feature.

3. AI-Powered Recommendation

Artificial Intelligence can analyze your reading habits and suggest related news stories you might be interested in.

As AI App Development has become a standard. By leveraging this, you can match news stories with your user preference.

This goes beyond basic keyword matching and can identify underlying themes of topics they find engaging. As AI holds tremendous power, it will surely make your app future proof too.

4. Augmented Reality

This emerging technology can be used to bring news stories to life.

By leveraging AR development, you can transform how they perceive news through mobile devices. This way, you can create interactive experiences for your news app users, bring many events to life, and enhance their understanding.

Overall, it’s safe to say AR holds a huge perspective, so do not overlook it.

5. Payment Gateway Integration

Integrating different payment gateway will help them to choose from different payment options and pay to enjoy high-quality material.

To create an app like Khaleej Times and make it successful in the market, you can offer multiple payment options through which they can pay for a subscription, get an ad-free experience, or even pay for specific content they’re interested in.

These are some of the best features to integrate while developing a mobile news app like Khaleej Times. Now with that, let’s move forward to see how the app will be developed.

News App Development Process: From Idea to Launch

How to develop a news app like Khaleej Times? This is exactly what you must be curious about.

If you are, then let’s delve into a step-by-step app development process to see how your app would come to life.

Step 1: Planning Your News App

Do you want to create an app like Khaleej Times? Of course, you want to.

To bring your app idea into a successful reality, it is important to understand your target audience, the challenges of the market, and user pain points that will guide the app’s features and functionalities.

Other than that, you can also understand the existing news app and find areas for differentiation. This way, you can define who is your target audience, decide on core functionalities, and much more. And, make a competitive app that attracts users.

Step 2: Designing Your App

Next step is designing your app.

Without any doubt, UI/UX design is a crucial part. You should focus on creating a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and easy to navigate. This also includes fast loading time and a beautiful layout.

Make sure to create a wireframe and prototype to understand the outcome. Moreover, we will suggest using clean fonts, color choices, and amazing images that are easy on the eyes.

Step 3: App Development

Moving forward, it’s time to build what you have decided.

Your developers will work on your app as per your preferred platform where the concept and design will translate into a functioning app.

It is one of the longest stages in the app development process, to make sure you get what you intended, you should have clear communication with developers throughout the process.

Step 4: Testing Your App

Once the final version of the app is ready, it is time to test the app.

Mobile app testing is done with a motive to find bugs, errors, and any kind of technical issues, and they are eliminated immediately to provide a smooth and polished user experience.

Step 5: Launching the App

As testing made sure that the app was issue-free.

Now, your app is ready to be launched to the public. That means you can Submit your App to the App Store or Publish your app to the Google Play Store.

It will take time to hear from them approx. 2 weeks, but you shouldn’t stay idle, make some amazing marketing strategies to make your app successful in the market.

Step 6: Maintenance and Support Services

Maintenance and support services are crucial for the long-term success of your news app.

This is why you should continuously monitor the performance of your app, review user feedback, and implement new updates to keep your app user-friendly, secure, and competitive in the ever-evolving landscape.

You will create a more stable and enjoyable experience for users.

After looking at the process, we know you are curious to know “How long will it take to make a news app like Khaleej Times?”

How Long Will It Take to Build News Apps Like Khaleej Times?

To make an app like Khaleej Times, the average time will be between 8 to 16 weeks.

However, time will be decided on various factors that include what features you are planning to integrate, and the complexity of your project. So, this estimated development time can increase too.

Other than that, here is a small breakdown of the time to build a news app:

How Much Does It Cost to Develop An App Like Khaleej Times?

So, How Much Does It Cost To Build An App Like Khaleej Times?

The Khaleej-like app development cost can be somewhere between $20,000 to $40,000. These costs can be different based on complexity, UI/UX design, and more which we will discuss later.

Here is a quick breakdown of the cost to develop an app:

Note: Every Idea has different requirements. If you want to know about the cost of your idea, then it is best to consult an experienced mobile app development company.

Factors Affecting the Cost to Develop a News App like Khaleej Times

As we talked about several factors can affect your budget and increase or decrease the cost to make a news app like Khaleej Times.

Let’s get to know about it in detail:

• Features

News App with core functionalities like news feed, search, and categories will not cost that much.

However, news apps with advanced features like offline reading, push notifications, text-to-speech, or AR integration will be a costly affair.

This clearly indicates that the more complex or more features you will have in the app, the higher the cost to develop a news app like Khaleej Times will be.

• Development Approach

There are several ways you can get your app developed such as In-house, Staff Augmentation, Freelancers as well as outsourcing to a good app development company.

Although, In-house vs outsourcing is a decade-old discussion.

But, outsourcing offers a cost-effective way to access skilled developers, especially for businesses with limited in-house resources.

• UI/UX Design

It is important to know that a visually appealing and intuitive interface with custom animations or micro-interactions will increase the design cost than a simple design.

We suggest you go for a minimalistic approach; it will also keep your cost to create an app like Khaleej Times in control. Also, ensure that the design is aligned with a target audience.

• Maintenance and Support

You know the maintenance and support is where you win over users in the long run.

You can address the bugs, glitches, and performance issues over time to ensure that it offers a smooth experience to the user. On average, the maintenance and support services will cost around 15% to 20% of your overall budget.

But if you overlook this, then this might increase the cost to build an app like Khaleej Times and force you to spend more money down the road.

As we understood cost is definitely a factor. But on a more positive note, let’s delve into strategies to monetize your app and turn it into a success story.

Monetization Models for Your App Like Khaleej Times

What drives the urge to invest in app development? The potential of earning revenue. Right?

To help you with the revenue part, we will share some tried and tested app monetization models that can help you to make a subsequent amount of revenue through your app.

Let’s get to know about them:

► Advertising

This is a common model through which you can generate great revenue.

You can display ads within your app through which you can even earn from those users too who might not choose a subscription model.

Khaleej Times also uses in-app advertising giving you more reasons to opt for this app monetization strategy.

► Subscription Model

When it comes to offering a subscription model, you can provide them with different packages with amazing unexplored features.

This will motivate users to access restricted content as well as enjoy uninterrupted news consumption by paying a small fee.

With the increased subscription-based app, it is safe to say that it is a great way to make more money out of your news apps.

► Affiliate Marketing

You can execute the affiliate marketing model in your app.

Through this, you can take a step further to make your app more profitable by showcasing products and services that are relevant to your apps. For instance, any article about a new fitness tracker links to a popular fitness app.

► Sponsorship

Another top-notch model is sponsored content.

To spread news about any new launch of any brand, you can offer them your app for promotional activity. This way, you can earn great revenue, but also make sure to align the ad to the app’s content and audience.

► Donations

Yes, donations are a great way to increase your revenue.

Many apps offer basic content for free and look for donations to survive in the market. Although it’s an effective model, but only works if your app has good community support but may not be sustainable for all apps.

By carefully considering your app and strategically implementing revenue models, your news app can thrive in the market.

How Nimble AppGenie Can Help to Launch a News App Like Khaleej Times?

Are you curious to build an app like Khaleej Times? Then, take the guidance of the best news app development company, Nimble AppGenie.

Our team creates news apps that maximize your return on investment. We go beyond expectations to ensure your app drives user engagement and achieves your business goals.

So, if you have an app idea then hire mobile app developers and get started today!

Conclusion

The article outlines the steps and costs involved in building a news app like Khaleej Times. It highlights features like personalization and push notifications that contribute to user engagement.

However, the cost is a factor that depends on many other elements like features design complexity, etc. We hope you got all the necessary information that you need.

Now, with that, if you want to launch a news app, make sure to take the help of Nimble AppGenie, a reliable app development company.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.