EV Charging Station Finder App Development Cost and Features

The application development industry provides the best example of the first-mover advantage. Building the right application at the right time has become the key to success in this domain.

From Whatsapp to Uber and many others, we have seen these businesses turn into a billion-dollar entities because of their right approach and timely execution. Another application that can leverage the first-mover advantage and create a big business in the future is an EV charging station finder app.

We are still at the nascent stage of an era where electric vehicles will dominate the automotive industry. And this is the right time to build on services and products that help people with electronic vehicles access the required services.

So, we have created this guide to help you understand how to build an EV charging station finder app, along with explainings its workings, main features, and costs.

Understanding EV Charging Station Finder App

Using an EV charging station, finder application users can locate the nearest charging station while on the road. Charging stations are like gas stations where people can charge their cars, and because these are super-fast charging stations, the business model is quite impressive.

An electric vehicle can tread for a limited distance with a fully charged battery. While the vehicle owners ensure to charge their cars before leaving, they might need to charge it again, especially when traveling for long distances.

Hence, they need assistance with finding charging stations while traveling. A charging station finder application can help car owners know the next or nearest charging station. The electric vehicle they are driving will provide information on the distance their car can travel with the given battery.

On top of this, the application you will build will also share the distance to the nearest charging station. With this information, the users can decide where to charge their vehicle. Moreover, these applications also tell you about the charging stations’ real-time availability, the waiting time, and booking the spot in advance.

As an EV charging station application is meant to provide the users with all these services, you must build a plan to integrate them within the app.

Why To Build an EV Charging Station Application?

The electric vehicle market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.2% between 2021 to 2030. In these nine years, the market is expected to perform exceptionally well, enter new markets, and further explore new possibilities. With the information and market status, we have access to today, there is a huge potential in this industry.

From all the talks around saving the environment to finding an alternative source of running vehicles across the globe, the EV segment can come out as a pivotal industry. Hence, for an industry with huge potential, building an application around its services will be a great investment.

How to Create an EV Charging Station App?

To build an application, you need to follow a structured approach beginning with the ideation and discovery phase. Then move ahead to the designing stage, followed by the development, testing, and then deployment. With everything considered, we can then decide upon the number of hours required to build the application and then its cost.

Ideation and Discovery Phase

Every application development process must begin with ideating and discovery. Here the business analyst identifies the motive for building the application and conducts detailed research.

Even though we know that the application is about helping users locate an EV charging station, it still needs research. Mostly the research part will focus on validating the application idea.

Yes, validation is necessary because there might be several applications offering the same service in the market. And validation will help you identify the key aspects of the application and create a unique value proposition for your users.

Along with identifying the ideas behind the same, you will also have to create a proof of concept. This means testing the idea and the application structure before heading into the designing phase.

While conducting the market research, identify the following aspects;

1. Create a user profile for identifying your audience.
2. What is the one problem you are trying to solve for your customers?
3. How will the application you will build solve the customer’s problem?
4. List out the key components of your application and create a unique value proposition.
5. What is the earning model of your application?

With these answers, you can build a draft of your potential application and create buyer personas.

Designing the Application Interface

With the idea clear and validated, move on to the designing phase. Here the designers must adhere to the best designing practices to create low-fidelity and high-fidelity application designs.

For designing a great application, you must be clear about the goal of building. Your goal will help set a clear path to designing the application and appeal to the users.

Start the designing process by building wireframes, which are basically a broad application layout. Wireframes suggest different interface blocks highlighting their placement and the material to be added on the interface.

Next, create mockups, which are high-fidelity simulations of the potential application. They will showcase how the application will look and feel once it is built. You need to add the UI/UX elements here.

The purpose of the designing phase is to reduce the coding work. Today we have access to tools that will let you build app-like interfaces without writing any type of code. Plus, they provide accurate handoff information, eliminating the process of editing the code repeatedly until you have the perfect design.

Among the best designing practices, integrating the principles of color psychology in the application is essential.

Programming and Development

In the next phase of building an EV charging station app, work on the coding part. This is the segment that is going to take most of the time and resources to develop the desired application.

To begin with, decide the tech stack required to build the application. For an EV charging station application, the ideal tech stack is;

• Frontend: React, Xamarin, and Vue.Js
• Backend: Laravel
• Server: NGINX
• Location Services: Google Places API, Google Maps
• Prototype and Mockups: Balsamiq
• Finalizing Design: Figma
• Project Management: Jira
• Testing: Selenium and Appium
• Cloud Services: Azure

For a native mobile application development system, you can work with Objective-C and Swift for iOS application development. For Android application development, Java and Kotlin are the best development technologies.

Testing and Quality Assurance

With the development part complete, you must move on to testing the application and making it bug-free for a quality output. You can either take the manual testing approach or go for automatic testing.

The key is to regulate the test process by creating a plan according to the application requirements. For better results, testing professionals can create manual test cases by using code scripts. In total, every application must go through five types of tests.

1. Functional testing
2. Automation testing
3. Integration testing
4. Unit testing
5. Accessibility testing

Deployment and Launch

The last step in the application creation process is launching the application on the web or on the mobile platform. Whether you want to deploy the application on iOS, Android, or both types of devices, it requires following the right process.

This includes optimizing the solution for the application store, be it App Store or Play Store. From the point an application is prepared, and to the point it is delivered to the users, prepare a workflow and abide by it to ensure a successful launch.

Key Features for EV Charging Station Finder App Development

Identifying the key features of the EV charging station finder application must be done with prior research. Here is the list of features to add in the application. 

• Registration: Allow the users to register on the application with the basic information along with the details of their car. You can use this information to suggest suitable charging stations with machine learning integration.

To accelerate the registration process, add sign-up and sign-in options with the social media accounts. 

• Geolocation: This is an important feature of the EV charging station app allowing the users to locate the nearest charging station according to their location. With this feature, the users can either search for a charging station according to their preferences or get recommendations of one according to their current location.
• Charging Station Details: With this feature, the users will know the details of different charging stations. Plus, they should also access detailed information about the charging stations. You can allow the managers of the charging stations to add the charging station types, number of stations (updated in real-time), features, ratings, and costs.
• Reserve Slots: To enhance the user experience, you can add a booking feature. This will allow the users to book a charging station in advance and reduce their waiting time after reaching the station.
• Give Reviews and Ratings: Another important feature of the charging station application is ratings and reviews. Allow the users to give ratings and reviews to charging stations according to their experience. This will help the potential customers access user-generated information and decide whether they want to visit the charging station.
• Payment Options: Adding multiple payment options is a good way to enhance the customer experience. Plus, it also allows more potential customers to engage with the application.
• Push Notifications: Users must receive in-app notifications about different types of information that can be supplied through the app. This includes notifications about the nearest charging station, receiving different offers, discounts, reminders about the bookings, etc.
• Filter and Search: Allow the users to search for their preferable charging stations from the application. You can also allow them to locate their preferred charging station by adding different filters and search options. This is required to help users narrow their search and give them specific recommendations.
• Bill Transactions History: With this feature, the users can get a hold of their previous bills and transactions. This will help them understand the energy consumption and relate it to the expenses.

These are the nine vital features you must add to the MVP version of the application. With these features, you can launch the application and get the customer’s response and feedback. Then use their feedback to make the required changes in the application and deploy updates accordingly.

What is the Cost of Building an EV Charging Station Finder App?

The cost of an EV charging station finder app depends on several factors;

• Application complexity (in terms of design and types of features)
• Number of professionals working on the solution
• Hours required to build and launch the application
• Location of the development team

For the application complexity aspect, it will depend on the type of application you want and the features that must be added to the same. Naturally, more complex applications will take more time than a less complex applications.

Secondly, a mobile app development company will charge you by the hour in an hourly contract system. So the total amount of the application will depend on the number of hours put into the development work.

More hours means higher the cost. And to decide the number of hours, any developer or development company would want to get into an initial discussion to identify the scope.

According to the initial information, we or any other development agency can provide an estimate. Coming to the most important aspect, the location of the development team you choose has a big impact on the total cost.

The average per hour cost of developing an application in countries like India, China, Bangladesh, Ukraine, etc., is $50. And the same in a country like the USA is $150. So, this makes a big difference.

However, if the developers in the USA are charging high, it is because they can also have an equally spectacular application, and they follow transparent development processes. For other locations, where the per hour cost is relatively lesser, you must put in some extra work to identify the right developer or development team.

Hence, for an application that required 1000+ hours to be built, a development team from China will charge $60,000. For the same amount of work to be done by a team in the USA, the cost will be $150,000. This is where you have the biggest opportunity to save on development costs.

Conclusion

To build an EV charging station finder app, it is essential to discover your target audience, find the gap in the market, and build a solution to solve the problems users face. With Mobmaxime working on your solution, you can be assured of building the perfect application that fits into the market gap and addresses the user’s issues.

An EV charging station app must include all the required features to ease the user’s experience and provide an efficient service. Follow our guide to understand the ins and outs of building an EV charging station finder app.

Let’s connect today and discuss your requirements.