The rapidly expanding e-commerce market continues offering a broad range of opportunities, especially amid its explosive growth during the pandemic years. The projections were entailing a 20% growth rate for the market in 2020. In particular, these tendencies continue stimulating interest in developing various types of delivery apps. The development of food delivery apps became particularly relevant following the lockdown restrictions in most countries across the globe.

In this piece, we plan to shed light on how to develop a delivery app, namely developing a food delivery app. Furthermore, we plan to focus on specific components, such as food delivery app development cost, particular steps necessary, and possible benefits of outsourcing the process to professionals.

How to structure your solution?

In order to develop delivery app, it is essential to understand which parties will be interacting with it. For instance, the delivery app development focuses on the following elements:

• Client portal – the application that allows creating, editing, and tracking orders in real-time.
• Courier portal – the iOS, Android, and web applications for the couriers.
• Management app – supports logistics management, route construction and order management.

For instance, the ride-sharing apps commonly consist of a driver app, a passenger app, and an administrative panel, which may include a mobile or a web-based app. Each element of this structure offers the necessary functionality to its users while allowing them to exist in a single ecosystem.

What are the main features of a food delivery app?

The delivery app development process requires separating features into three groups based on the respective user types.

Client Portal Features:

• Authorization
• Order creation
• Order management
• Tracking
• Push notifications
• Payments
• Personal profile
• Management of personal data

Courier Portal Features:

• Authorization
• Order details
• Route details and optimization
• Invoice generation
• Proof of delivery
• Notifications
• Periodic earnings reports
• Personal profile and data management

Admin Portal Features:

• Customer management
• Order management
• Profile management
• Employee management
• Visibility
• Route planning
• Notifications
• Analytics and data management
• Setting and assigning privileges
• Pricing policy tools
• Verification tools

It is crucial to ensure the compatibility of the core elements. For instance, the courier delivery app development needs to match the features of the admin portal and the client app. App scalability should also be kept in mind. 

To ensure the smooth work of your app, use the services of a trusted food delivery app development company that can offer experience and expertise. 

Main steps of the product delivery app development

Knowing how to develop food delivery app means recognizing the existing and potential challenges while offering solutions that minimize the possibility of any issues. You can follow this step-by-step guide with clarifications for each step.

Step 1: Choosing a Company Offering on Demand Delivery App Development

This step sets up a foundation for the food delivery app development. It is crucial to conduct sufficient research into the available companies, analyze the selection, and proceed with a company that shows the best understanding of your needs while demonstrating adequate expertise. It is common to sign an Independent Contract Agreement during this step to guarantee the formality of the process.

Step 2: Product Discovery

Product discovery entails defining the solution, target audience, and reasons behind its creation. It may be useful to ask: “Has someone developed a food delivery app that displays best fees?” As a result of this step, you will have a vision, the definition of product goals, and end-users. It is essential to identify the most critical features of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), leading destination platforms, and monetization model. 

Step 3: UX/UI Design

This phase determines how the food delivery app would work and its general design. Specifically, you will get a User Journey Map with visual user interfaces, clickable wireframes, as well as motion design, such as screen transitions and animations.

Step 4: Launch and Setup

This step precedes the actual start of the food delivery app development. It is crucial for the Product Owner to know the development team and vice versa, build a solid yet flexible communication process, clearly define rules, assign team roles, and agree on the following steps. Make sure to configure the relevant tools, establish a project environment with the best available project management and development operations practices in this stage. The combination of these elements guarantees timely delivery and smoothness of the finished product. 

Step 5: Development with Quality Assurance

Producing a food delivery app requires continuous integration through planning, coding, building, and testing. This repetitive circular process allows delivering quality products. In this regard, Quality Assurance is necessary at every stage through automated and manual tests. The Scrum framework commonly serves as a guide for the development team with the division of work into shorter iterations, each yielding a demo.

Step 6: Preparation and Publishing

The release involves uploading assets required by law, as well as promotional materials. It is vital to launch beta testing, optimize store experience and product page, and take steps necessary for seamless app approval within the respective marketplace. This process is crucial to differentiate the food delivery app from the competitors.

Step 7: Post-Development

The step incorporates maintenance and further development of the app. In particular, it involves monitoring the key app stats, spotting crashes, and supporting further growth. Such a process will allow the food delivery app to remain attractive, maintain flexibility in the changing market, and account for user feedback.

How long does it take to develop delivery app?

We usually approve a finalized deadline during the discovery phase (which ranges from 1-2 days for small projects to 1-2 weeks for larger ones). If you want a fast approximate estimate, use our free consultation, we’ll be as precise as possible.

How much would it cost to develop a food delivery app?

The cost of app development will range depending on various factors, including developers’ hourly rates within a particular geography. Use our free project calculation tool to get an estimated price for your project by email in 24 hours.