In the life of the UAE’s tech-savvy population, traditional newspapers are slowly fading away. This is the result of the innovative adoption of news apps that keep audiences engaged with instant updates, live coverage, and on-the-go news stories.
Among the hundreds of news app options in the UAE, the Khaleej Times app is the leading name that blends credibility with convenience. The powerful combination of technology, design, and strategy lies behind the success of this digital news platform.
Do you want to make an app like Khaleej Times that became the next big name in the news app market of the UAE?
Then you must follow this blog till the end to know everything related to developing a similar app and more.
Let’s dig in.
About Khaleej Times: The News App
Khaleej Times App is the official app of the UAE’s first and leading English-language daily newspaper, Khaleej Times. The app keeps the UAE’s population updated about the latest news, articles, and multimedia content from around the world.
The app also has the feature of live notifications that ensures the users don’t miss any of the breaking news, major events, and real-time incidents. This app comes with many other attractive features that offer convenience to the users, like offline reading and others.
Market Overview of News Mobile Apps in UAE
The UAE has witnessed a sudden surge in engagement of readers for digital newspapers and magazines, which is driven by the high consumption of smartphones.
The number of news apps is increasing in the UAE to meet the increasing demand of readers. This creates a perfect opportunity for those who want to turn their news mobile app ideas into reality.
If you are still not convinced to create an app like Khaleej Times, then we have some excellent numbers from the news app market of the UAE that will support our above claim. We have pointed them out below.
- It was projected that in 2025, the revenue of the digital newspaper & magazines market of the UAE will reach $73.86 million.
- Now, it is expected that the digital newspaper & magazine market of the UAE will reach the value of $78.96 million by the year 2030.
- So, during the forecast period, i.e., between the years 2025 to 2030, the digital newspaper & magazine will grow at a CAGR of 1.35%.
- In the year 2024, 88% of the population of the UAE spent time reading newspapers on digital platforms.
- Also, it is expected that by the year 2030, the digital newspaper & magazine market of the UAE will reach 8 million users.
If these statistics are able to convince you to invest in creating your own mobile app, just like Khaleej Times, then we suggest partnering with a mobile app startup or company. This allows you to save your time and efforts and to enjoy the best outcomes.
Step to Build an App Like Khaleej Times- The News App
You must follow the dynamic steps to develop an app like Khaleej Times or any popular news app. To make it easy for you to create such apps without any confusion, we have created this guide, which covers the development steps.
To create a well-structured news app, you must focus on the core steps that we have explained below for you to learn. Let’s cover them.
Step 1: Competitor Analysis & Planning
The first step to developing a news app in Dubai should start with research and planning. So, in this step, you have to do competitor analysis and know about the audience.
Learn about the features and functionalities of competitor apps along with Khaleef Times to understand their drawbacks and uniqueness, plus know about the demands of the audience. This helps you to plan your app, which can fulfill the demand of the audience and cover the drawbacks.
Step 2: Unique Features to Choose
The second step to building one of the best news apps in the UAE is to choose unique features. The Khaleej Times app is a popular choice among the different news apps of the UAE because of its robust features.
So, be very mindful about the features you will integrate into your news app, which can keep the users engaged and informed. Here are the 10 key features mentioned below that you must choose while developing an app like Al Khaleej Times.
1] Seamless Onboarding
Onboarding of the users in the app should follow a seamless process that doesn’t feel overwhelming. Must provide several options of logins to the users, which include social media, email, contact number, and others. Two-step authentication for extra security.
2] User Profile
Users must create their profile with all the required information that makes it easy for the app to suggest content as per their interests. Having a profile in the news app will allow users to set their preferences, save news history, and access news from different devices.
3] Personalized Feed
There must be a feature that allows app users to customize their feed so that they can access news only that they are mostly interested in. This is one of the must-have features of the news app since it boosts user engagement and retention, creating a tailored experience.
4] Filter the Feed
This is the feature that helps users to filter their feed of the news app, which helps the app to decide what to show to users and what not to. Integrate a button to “don’t show this content” that can be used to filter the app feed. Optimizing the app allows users to spend more time.
5] Offline Reading
The Khaleej Times app offers an excellent feature that allows users to read news even when they are offline. If you are creating a similar app, then the offline reading feature should be integrated into the app. Users can even save news to read it offline.
6] Video & Audio Content
This is the feature that integrates into your news app to offer users a dynamic and inclusive multimedia experience. Users of your app can listen to the news, making it more convenient for them. Video integration can boost user engagement and make it more interesting.
7] Live News Streaming
Live streaming is a feature of the news app that helps boost its user retention rate. It streams live news in real time on the app. This is one of the excellent features that allows a news application to make money. However, this feature increases development time and costs.
8] Push Notifications
Now comes push notifications, which are also one of the crucial features of a news app like Khaleej Times. This will send important news updates to the users or personalized news alerts. Also, users can get the latest updates on Khaleej Times jobs from classifieds.
9] Social Media Integration
Now comes the feature, which is one of the must-haves because of the rise in social media usage. This feature will allow users to share important news articles with their social media community. This will increase the app’s reach and promote organic growth of the news app.
10] Text Customization
There must be a feature that allows users to fix the text size of the article so that users can read it as they prefer. Text customization must integrate into your news app, as it allows the app users to adjust the font size and other settings for a comfortable reading experience.
Step 3: Choose the Right Tech Stack
After you have chosen the correct and unique features to build your news app similar to Khaleej Times News, the next step is to choose the right tech stack. You need to choose a robust and scalable tech stack to build your news app that can handle every function seamlessly.
Functions include handling real-time content delivery to managing a large user base, and others. We have created the table below that tells you about the right tech stacks.
| Components | Required Tech Stack |
| Frontend | Flutter or React Native, Swift, and Kotlin |
| Backend | Node.js, Django, Spring Boot, Express.js |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Firebase |
| Cloud infrastructure | AWS, Google Cloud Platform, or Azure |
Step 4: UI/UX Design
Now that you are done with choosing the right tech stacks and features of the Khaleej Times newspaper Dubai app, it’s time to proceed with its UI/UX design.
Use a wireframe to create the prototype of the app, and create a unique UI/UX design for the app. Consider creating a feature-rich news app since you wish to stand out, Khaleej Times. The news app must have a smooth interface, choose the right color theme, layout, and format.
Step 5: App Development
After completing the UI/UX design of the Khaleej Times jobs, it’s time to proceed and complete its development. In this step, you have to carry out both backend and frontend development processes.
For frontend development, you have to turn the UI/UX design into a functional app interface with the right features and responsive layouts. Then comes the backend development, which makes sure every feature of the app works in the right state.
Step 6: Testing & QA
After completing the development of the app, you should start QA and testing of the app. It is one of the crucial steps of the development process, as it will make sure users get to use an excellent working news app.
In this step, you have to find the recurring issues and bugs of the app, and then address them in real time. You have to carry out various tests, such as performance testing, functional testing, security testing, compatibility testing, and others.
Step 7: Launch & Marketing
After you’re done with the test and QA of the app, it’s time to jump to the next step, where you can finally launch the app. You can launch your app on Google Play, Apple Store, and similar platforms for users to install.
However, before you launch the app, you must market it through various channels like social media platforms, email marketing, and others. This promotion will allow your app to create a buzz and attract more potential users to install it.
Step 8: Post-Launch Maintenance
After launching the app, the work doesn’t end there; you have to make sure that even after its launch, the app can perform in its optimum state. To make sure the app is working perfectly post-launch, maintenance plays a critical role in the app development process.
While using the app, users must not face any kind of issue, and make sure the bugs don’t slow down the app. Keep the features and security patches of the app updated as per the trends.
This was the whole development process of a news app like Khaleej Times. If you think it is difficult to follow, then the best option is to hire mobile app developers who have expertise in this niche and create it seamlessly.
Connect with Nimble AppGenie to Build the Next Big News App of the UAE like Khaleej Times!
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The Average Cost to Create a News App Like Khaleej Times
Whether you build a mobile app in Dubai like Khaleej Times or delegate the work to an app development company, you must know how much it will cost you. Knowing the cost is crucial for you to make a budget plan for the app development.
Thus, the average mobile app development cost, like Khaleej Times, typically ranges from $20,000 to $150,000 or even more. The cost is decided by the different factors of the app development. If you are creating a basic version of the Khaleej Times, then it will cost less, but if you create a full-stack news app with the latest features and advanced technologies, then it will cost you more than $150,000.
A few of the factors are briefly explained for your understanding below.
➢ Choice of Platforms
There are two types of platforms: native and cross-platform. The former is for Android devices or iOS devices, and the latter is for both iOS and Android. Creating an app for a native platform costs less than a cross-platform app.
➢ Feature Complexity
The choice of features decides the development costs of the Khaleej Times app. If you choose to add the advanced features like AI integration, ML, and others, along with its core features, then it will increase the development cost.
➢ Location of the Development Team
The location of the development team you have hired decides the development cost of the news app. There are offshore and onshore developers, the latter belong to the same country, and the former belong to other countries. The latter is the cost-effective option.
➢ Design of the App
An app’s design decides the cost to develop an app like Khaleej Times. If you are choosing a custom design for your app with complex animations and graphics, it will automatically enhance the development cost.
Choosing the Right Mobile App Development Company is the Key to Success
To develop an app like Khaleej Times, the most popular news app in the UAE, you need to focus on offering users a smoother experience. You must ensure that your news app can provide a real-time update for different categories of news. To achieve all these, you need an expert app development partner.
With hundreds and thousands of options, it can be difficult for you to select the best one. Follow the points below to learn how to choose a mobile app development company in UAE.
● Do your Research
Research about the potential companies available in the UAE. To do your research, you can use different professional platforms and find suitable companies. Prioritize companies that have offered app development services specifically for news apps.
● Evaluate the Management Process
Evaluate the management process of the company you are checking. Your preferred company must handle the full process of app development from ideation to deployment of the app. The company must establish transparent communications with its clients.
● Check Technical Expertise
The most important aspect of your research should be checking the technical expertise of the app development company. Verify that the company must have the perfect technical skills to build a high-performing news app in the UAE.
● Offers Post-Launch Support
Post-launch maintenance and support are one of the crucial steps of the app development process. This step ensures the correct state of the app even after the launch. So, consider the app that offers bug fixes, feature updates, security patch updates, and 24/7 monitoring.
Looking into all the factors of choosing the best app development company in the UAE, we suggest that you partner with Nimble AppGenie. We are the leading mobile app development company in Dubai, which comes with strong expertise in creating robust news apps.
Our expert team of developers is familiar with the local market of the UAE, which takes care of the regional regulations and supports both Arabic & English audiences. The best thing about us is that we have expertise in app development for a vast range of industries, from news to fitness and more.
Conclusion
The most important factor that you have to remember while developing an app like Khaleej Times News is that you must deliver trust, speed, and relevance. Your app must have the capabilities to offer users personalized news updates pop-ups on their smartphones.
You have learned how you can achieve this from the blog. The most important part is that you have to partner with the right app development company that can seamlessly achieve all the requirements of your news app.
Build your news app with the right technology & execution to be the next leading voice of local and international breaking news in the UAE.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much would I need to spend to create an app like Khaleej Times?
The average cost that you have to spend to create a news app like Khaleej Times is between $20,000 and $150,000, and can be more. There are various factors that decide how much you have to spend, like feature complexity, choice of tech stack, developers' location, and others. Basic apps will cost less than a full-stack app.
Can a news app like Khaleej Times earn revenue for me?
Yes, absolutely, if you have developed a news app like Khaleej Times, it can earn good revenue for you. There are several strategies that you have to apply correctly to let your news app earn revenue.
The strategies include a mix of advertisements, subscription models, affiliate marketing, rewarded video ads, direct sales, and others.
What are the challenges I may face while building a news app like Khaleej Times?
Several challenges arise while creating a news app, like Khaleej Times, and you must know about them. The challenges include quality of content, content creation, handling different types of content, data security, monetisation, authenticity, and more. You can overcome these challenges by following a careful app development approach.
