How to implement a mobile app subscription model

In recent years, since 2010, the mobile app subscription model has gained all the attention and significant recognition from users and developers, generating attractive and lucrative revenue. In 2011, Apple introduced the world’s 1st mobile app subscription model on the app store, which completely thrilled and shocked the digital world. This model has revolutionized the whole digital world completely.

The application subscription model is the strategy of changing the application into a revenue-generating site where a user can access premium content or unlock new features, services, or options for a monthly or annual subscription fee, implementing a mobile app.

Implementing a mobile app subscription model requires extreme critical planning, strategy execution, and optimization. By understanding some core steps and their benefits and getting a grip on different types of subscription models in the guide below, a developer can perform app subscription integration, creating a successful subscription-based app that can generate healthy revenue.

Guide to implementing a mobile app subscription model

There are several steps to implement a mobile app subscription model, and we’ll go through them individually.

Step 1: Finalizing a subscription platform

The first step for app subscription integration is to select a subscription platform. This platform allows users to conveniently pay for iOS or Android app subscription fees by interacting with this platform. This option indicates that either it is an Android app subscription integration or an iOS app, you need a subscription platform.

The most popular is the Google Pay billing platform, providing an in-app billing feature for Android users, the Apple app store with an in-app purchase option for iOS users, and other third-party platforms like Stripe or Braintree.

Step 2: Prepare your subscription plan

The first is to identify and determine the prices and billing type. Prices can start from low to high, with discounted prices for several occasions; billing type includes monthly, annually, or every six months. Creating proper subscription tiers with different benefits and features, offering special discounts for long-term commitments. Finalizing the features, such as a trial period for a week or a month and a grace period.

Step 3: Integration of subscription model with SDK

Select and download the software development kit (SDK), a set of tools to create an application for specific platforms. Developers configure and customize the SDK settings, like API keys and product IDs, using the application programming interface and another user interface. It allows developers to exchange data or services from a system and allow app subscription integration. Another task is implementing subscription-related APIs and analytics and handling subscription statuses like expiration, cancellation, defaulter, etc.

Step 4: Designing an interactive user interface

The user interface is the basic platform for users to interact with the mobile app and all subscription details. All the plans, pricing, options, and categories should be visible to viewers at the user interface. Users must be able to view and select the subscription plan and convenient subscription management options like upgrades or cancellations and payment options. Billing and payment processes must be transparent and secured to win the user’s trust with his confidential data.

Step 5: Implement Subscription Logic and Content Strategy

Implementation of subscription-related settings and features like user status of active, dormant, canceled, defaulter, etc, comes under this step. I maintain and update the application, categorize and update the content regularly based on subscription status, send subscription-related notifications and reminders, offer discounts and incentives to subscribers, and create exclusive content for premium users. All such tasks come under this step to keep the subscribers stuck and intrigued.

Step 6: Optimize User Experience by Debugging and Testing

Once the mobile app subscription model is ready, run and test it to check the payment flow and billing processes. By testing, one can debug all the errors and obstacles to maintain a seamless user experience. To enhance user experience, personalize the user recommendations, conduct beta testing with real users, give push notifications for new content, upcoming offers, and updates, and keep the ad count minimal.

Step 7: Launch and Marketing

Launch your app subscription integration in the market with attractive marketing and promotions. Announce economical and efficient subscription plans for a limited time through marketing channels. Once users start to join, monitor their activities and analyze their feedback. You can keep track of metrics like revenue and subscription rate and change subscription plans and content accordingly.

Customized Applications Development

There are several types of applications like Flutter, react native apps, SaaS apps for various platforms like Android or iOS, and different Software development kits (SDK) that allow the developers to build different customized apps.

Customized Android Applications development

For custom Android app development, here are different services and consultants crafting a better and more successful application for the Android platform. The Android operating system is ruling the whole digital world, powering billions of electronic devices globally. Such a vast base and diversity give an unparalleled opportunity for businesses to expand and improve customer and user experiences, which leads to better growth.

The Custom Android development consultancies provide passionate Android app designers, developers, and strategies to transform and build a beautiful Android platform application. These companies also provide creative designs and user interfaces for developers and users to get a better experience.

Customized iOS Applications development

For customized iOS apps, yet again, different software development kits and companies ensure a unique and best-customized app for the iOS platform. Such companies provide custom iOS app development services with different innovative ideas and transform them into intuitive and engaging iOS platform apps that improve the true ecosystem of Apple. Coding expertise and different design planning and development tools are required to create a perfect iOS platform customized application.

Not only iOS app development but also consultants cater to the needs of your customized iOS apps, such as app development and maintenance services, game development services, and iOS push services.

React Native Mobile Applications

A React native mobile app development company provides various services to developers to help develop an interesting React native mobile app. React applications such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter are currently trending and very popular worldwide. Such applications are developed by React native app development services offered by many companies and consultants. A powerful feature of cross-platform makes the framework of react native very strong and flexible, modified with a single codebase.

Flutter Mobile Applications

A good Flutter mobile app development company and firm can assist you with different cross-platform mobile applications. Flutter is an open-source network developed by Google to create cross-platform mobile applications. This means that developers can target various platforms by using one code base running on several platforms, including Android, iOS, web, and desktop. This specific feature minimizes the effort they need to maintain different code bases.

SaaS Mobile Applications

SaaS mobile app development that is creating an app for software as a service product. SaaS mobile app is a software distribution model where the users get access to the software through the internet through a Ma subscription model. Saas mobile app development is a complex task for developers in the company to build a mobile-friendly application that allows users to access the software’s services by paying a monthly fee from their smart electronic devices. Saas apps are also cross-platform, with cloud integration, authentication, good security, offline functionality, scalability, and many other features.

Types of SaaS Mobile Applications

• Enterprise SaaS App: These apps are designed for businesses to streamline processes like project management, customer relationship management (CRM), or human resources management. It includes Hubspot, salesforce, and Zoho CRM.
• Communication SaaS App: These mobile apps are for communication and collaboration. They sometimes provide the free version with limited features, and the premium version, for which consumers pay a subscription fee, gives full access to its users. e.g., Zoom, Slack, Tello, etc.
• Consumer SaaS App: These apps focus on providing services, like storage or space for the data, directly to the consumers in exchange for a monthly or annual subscription fee. Some apps also provide fitness tracking data, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Shopify, Fitbit, etc.

Let’s discuss some key features of the Consumer SaaS Shopify Subscription app.

Shopify Subscription App

Shopify is a cloud-based e-commerce platform allowing merchants, entrepreneurs, and shopkeepers to expand their businesses. It allows users to build their own online store and sell their products there.

Access to the premium Features and options it gives users after subscribing to the shopify subscription app are managing online store orders, customized designs for the store and inventory, creation and management of online product listings; users can set the prices, payment, and shipping options too. Shopify analyzes the sales and customer data to provide users with a sales overview.

More importantly, Shopify works on both iOS and Android platforms. For those who want to know how to implement a mobile app subscription model on iOS, there are some high-level steps to develop an app with a subscription model on the iOS platform.

Mobile App Subscription Model on iOS Platform

A few of the steps will be discussed here, which includes

To implement a mobile app subscription model on iOS, follow these high-level steps:

• Step 1: Create in-app purchases (IAP) in the App Store, connect, and configure your app’s settings before performing app subscription integration. Sign up for a paid Apple developer account, set up your app in the app store, and build subscription products. Your subscription options, duration, price, etc, must be clear and vivid.
• Step 2: Set up in-app purchases in Xcode and incorporate the in-app purchase logic into your iOS app. You can get a storekit framework to handle subscriptions. Create a subscription manager to handle purchasing and transaction management.
• Step 3: Exhibit available subscription packages in the app List the subscription prices, offers, and discounts with the last dates.
• Step 4: Subscription and Transactions Implement logic to manage different transaction possibilities like failed, canceled, or restored.
• Step 5: Validate and confirm the subscription status and keep updating the current content and status. The receipt validation is significant to ensure that the subscription is active and not expired.
• Step 6: Implementation of restore purchases. When users change their device or reinstall the app, the option to restore their subscription should be notified to maintain a seamless user experience.
• Step 7: Testing and debugging in-app purchases and checking for the purchases in the app. Sandbox test account for testing is a useful feature in App Store Connect. It ensures the app is working properly when handling the subscription lifecycle.
• Step 8: Submit the application to the App Store for review after all the testing and debugging. The app must be compliant with no errors and a smooth user experience. Following these steps, you can implement a subscription model on your iOS app efficiently and successfully.

Frequently Asked Questions