Nowadays, we are so used to mobile phones that we tend to check them every second minute. Mobile apps are the core of a mobile. The increasing number of mobile apps has boosted the usage of mobile phones.
Mobile apps have been witnessing high revenue generation; therefore, more and more apps are launched in the app market.
Peeping into the eBook world, the advanced technologies have opened the doors wide for millennials to avail the books easily and read more. The eBook apps are emerging at a high pace, and readers are finding them a blessing and enjoying reading books on them anytime.
Per a report, by 2026, the eBook marketplace revenue will reach $23.12.
Whether it’s a small startup, giant publisher, or offline book retailer, everyone is devising going online and reaching enhanced customers.
In this write-up, we will talk about a reading app, how to develop one, must-have features, types of eBook apps, and a lot more.
What is a Reading App?
The app that enables users to read ebooks on their digital devices is a reading app. Some reading apps also support comics, ebooks, and audiobooks. A few even allow downloading books for later use.
Some eBook apps are free on the app stores, while some offer subscription plans to access premium features.
Why You Should Develop a Mobile eReader App?
Every digital device comes with a good-to-read screen, like Android tablets, smartphones, and iPads; these are just a few names, and we have various more on the market.
Book retailers and huge publishers create reading apps to let people read books, sell them, and earn revenue. There are more benefits of developing an eBook app:
a. Additional Customers’ Value
The customers will easily interact with your business and buy books instead of searching for them on the browser.
b. Improved Brand Loyalty
A reading app crafted per user expectation will make users repeat customers.
c. Increased Brand Awareness
Offering an easy way for the readers to access eBooks will help you increase your brand awareness online and offline.
d. Boost Sales
A reading app will be an additional source of revenue and allow the checkout process for online and offline sales.
Essential Features for Building an eBook Reading App
1. Library Management
This feature of a reading app will let users manage data of their read and unread books, downloaded and purchased books, etc.
2. Support Different Formats
Integrate this feature in your app that will allow readers to read ebooks in any format they want. The readers can choose any book they want to read, download it, and then convert it to the desired file format.
3. Store & Sync Your Favorite Books
An eBook app should hold the caliber to store an ebook locally on offline and quick access devices once users save their books to their library. After they do that, their saved data goes to a cloud backup. Post that even if the app users delete their device’s local cache, their liked eBooks will not get harmed. They would be available when needed.
4. Multiple Platform Support
An app should hold the caliber to get synced across platforms and devices and allows users to enjoy reading in different contexts on distinct form factors.
As increasingly devices are becoming amplified, they perform perfectly on various OS. It’s because of the ease it offers users, besides just reading, also continuing it with their changing preferences.
5. Reader-Friendly Interface
The success of the eBook Reader app relies on its easy-to-use, well-crafted interface meeting the expected user experience.
So, whichever your app’s niche, its interface needs to be designed so well that the users may find it reader-friendly.
One needs to follow many protocols to let their reading app lead to success, like placing a progress bar, offering different text-size settings, paging adjustments, various text color options, and more.
6. Reading Tools
Next, it’s time to enhance the readers’ reading experience using various tools and services. You can meet this job by appending standards and required tools, such as an in-built dictionary, bookmarking, and more.
Nowadays, most eBook reader apps have added advanced tools, like finding the passages quickly, cross-referencing a specific term, and like.
Moreover, by permitting text-to-speech, you may offer the readers ease to play an audiobook with a feature of read-aloud text in users’ preferred voice.
7. Gamification of Reading
Some apps have adopted the trend of including gamification; mobile reading apps also run on the same pathway by providing an integrated, gamified experience to the app users.
To enable this added functionality some standard and advanced features exist to enable this added functionality, like levels, stickers or badges, streaks, reading speed, etc.
You can expand this experience by putting some social aspects into gamification.
8. Social Integration
Earlier, people needed to lend books to recommend the readings, read together, or discuss them. But, with the innovation of such reading books, apps with social interaction have made this task simple worldwide.
Let’s pick a widely used label, Goodreads, which facilitates the readers’ communities to come together, and social networks to provide standard features, such as social declaration about varied things, such as reading challenges. This has made it simple for people to recommend books and discuss them among groups with similar mindsets.
9. Payment Gateway
An online book reading app should include an obvious feature, a payment gateway, for users to ease them with subscriptions or book payments.
For that, you would need to integrate a payment gateway to offer a secure online payment mode and top-level protection for their financial data.
10. Night Mode
Undoubtedly, most book-reading fans like reading before going to bed.
You can include a night mode feature on your mobile reading app to provide night reading mode to the users in which the UI will switch to darker users to avoid strong light that may affect their eyes.
11. Text Formatting
The ability of an eBook reading app to change text formats is one of the major reasons readers choose eBooks over paperbacks. Consequently, formatting has become an essential feature of a mobile book reading app.
When your app permits users to format text, they can customize text color, fonts, text size, and more per their reading choices.
12. Translation
Adding a translation feature to your app can increase its user retention rate. It allows users to translate every particular book section into their native language just by a single tap.
Adding an online dictionary API, you can again assist your app users with a better, user-friendly app that will ease them with words’ meanings without taking the help of any physical dictionary.
13. Push Notifications
You can have a grip on long-term customers through Push Notification. Regularly, sending push notifications to the app users will keep them updated with your eBook reader app’s latest listing, completed books, pending ones, and more. Besides, such notifications will let them remind about their subscription validity, payment reminders, and more.
14. Reviews and Feedback
Every user has his taste in reading. Thus, every book holds a dedicated user rating, and its basic detail relies on the readers’ choices. Other readers review this rating to know the worth of a particular book.
So, be sure you add the “reviews & feedback” feature to your eBook reading app, using which the readers can share their opinions regarding that specific book.
Types of Ebook Apps
Various mobile reading apps are available in the app market per the users’ needs and preferences. Readers may find it tough to pick any as per their taste and choice.
We have narrowed the options to just two to ease your pick.
1. Actual Reading App
Such apps depend on users’ choices but don’t offer any.
The readers would be required to pick their preferred format copy, like pdf, Mobi, fb2, and more, and next, they can stream it free of cost or even download it, maybe online or offline.
Example: EPUB Reader for all books you love.
It is a fantastic book reading app you need to download to enjoy reading.
Top Features
- Support various formats – MOBI, TXT, PDF, DOC, EPUB, DOCS, etc.
- Screen brightness adjustments.
- Allow adding notes and bookmarks.
- Different fonts and customization.
- Night mode.
- Text Translation
- Library organization.
There are more such apps, like Moon + Reader, etc.
2. Prevailing Ebook App
Such apps are quite popular in the market, namely Play Books, Wattpad, Amazon Kindle, etc.
These apps ease online book readers and writers, so they can read and write without challenges.
Example: Wattpad
You can use this app to read and write original stories, poems, novels, and more in your words anytime. It holds a global community of about 90+ million readers and writers.
Top Features
- Get alerts for new, latest updates.
- Connect with a large community.
- Vote and share comments.
- Share Your Stories with Others
There are more such apps, like Amazon Kindle; you can check them out to catch up with your favorite online book reading app.
Create a Best-Selling Reading App Using More Features
Here are some extra features to improve the aesthetics of your app.
1. Make It More Personalized
Research by Deloitte once said that about 36% of US clients pick customized products, and almost 48% are all set to walk on the same track.
So, through your app, you can allow users to choose their preferred topics, genres, books, and more that they would like to read.
2. Use a Captivating Design
The interface of your mobile reading app needs to be appealing, easy-to-use, and intuitive, which may make the users come back frequently.
3. Make Your App More Accessible
You can allow the users to access your app on different handsets using any OS. To make this possible, you must craft your app’s cloud or web version.
If you already have a web version of your app, you can scale it up.
4. Offer Reading Statistics
You can assist your app readers in staying motivated and tracking their progress with complete graphs and reports. Such reading stats let users know the books they are currently reading, the time spent on them, books or pages they have already completed, and more.
5. Make the App More Audible
Some users prefer listening to books despite reading them, like AudioBooks, while performing other jobs.
If your app doesn’t show such an AudioBook concept, you can append a text-to-speech functionality to your app to allow them to listen to books.
6. Update Your App Constantly
We can’t update a paper book, but considering a mobile app, yes, we can. So, never lose to increase and improve your app’s performance by updating it constantly.
7. Apply Offline Mode
Obviously, some places on the globe exist where the network signals are low or completely absent.
In such a case, your app with an offline mode will appear as a savior and blessing for the readers.
Allow the readers to access your mobile reading app without an internet connection also.
8. Add Automated Sorting
You may add a feature of automated sorting to your app to let users search and access their content faster. Your app should be capable of automatically finding and sorting downloaded content by author, format, series, and genre.
How To Monetize A Reading App?
Obviously, app owners roll out their apps in the market to make money.
You can also monetize your eBook reading app to earn money and generate revenue without funding.
1. In-app Advertisement Space
You can rent your app’s space to related advertisers to let them publish their advertisements and earn from there.
In this revenue model, you can make your eBooks available to readers totally free.
2. Paid App/Paid Content.
Also known as premium apps, the paid apps cost users a one-time fee to download from the app stores.
In a mobile reading app, you can witness income coming from users’ upfront payments. They will pay you for the app download from the app stores or individual book downloads.
You can choose any of these ways to earn money, but be sure you make the process streamlined.
3. Freemium
In such a business model, users are not charged any app downloading cost. But, they are offered an in-app purchase option to access premium features, digital goods, or additional content.
Considering the online book reading app, you can follow the “try before your buy” option to the users, where you can provide some basic services and books for free. But, ahead of that, you can offer them a premium subscription they need to buy to get exclusive features.
4. Subscription
App subscriptions are recurring payments users need to pay in exchange for access to premium features, content, or services.
In on-demand book reading apps, you can follow this monetization model by offering monthly or annual subscriptions despite charging for separate books or providing anything free.
5. Additional Services for Authors
You can provide cover design, marketing, and editing services to your app’s book authors to improve their books. It will ensure top-quality content while you control your eBooks’ quality.
6. Sponsors & Partner
You can make money from your app by partnering with the same client base. You can just add partner advertisements to your app and ask them to place your ads in their apps. Later, you can provide an integrated experience and bring a 3rd-party app’s features into yours’.
Convert Your App Idea Into Reality
Let’s Build A New App Together
How Much Does It Cost To Make An Ebook App?
You first need to hire a team of eBook reading app developers to estimate the development cost.
- Project Manager
- UX/UI Developer
- Developers for every platform (Android, iOS)
- Backend Developer
- QA Specialists
| Phases | Cost ($) |
|---|---|
| Ideation | 3600 – 4500 |
| Competitor Research | 1440 – 1800 |
| Prototyping and UI/UX Design | 7200 – 9000 |
| MVP Development | 55,000 (for one platform) |
Based on the specialists listed above, experience, and features you want to include, you can finalize the cost of on-demand book reading app development.
Best eBook Apps That Every Bookworm Should Download
1. NOOK by Barnes & Noble
Price: Free
You can get this app for free and enjoy your top-fav digital content. It offers a vast online library holding 4+ million eBooks, comics, graphic novels, magazines, and more. Besides, you will get 300,000 audiobooks. Multiple fonts, page styles, social sharing tools, and bookshelves will offer you a customized experience.
Top Features
- Purchased content will automatically appear in the app.
- 75,000+ free eBooks
- 10,000+ free audiobooks
- Customizable listening and reading.
- Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights.
- Sleep timer option to coordinate audiobooks listening to schedule.
- Store content in the cloud or on the device.
2. Scribd: Audiobooks & ebooks
Price: Free; Offers In-App Purchases
You may download Scribd to access its digital library and access magazine articles, audiobooks, sheet music, podcasts, and more. Its ad-free experience will let you access some best audiobooks and ebooks free of cost for new members.
Top Features
- Audiobooks and ebooks across various genres.
- Articles from various magazines.
- Narration speed customization
- A sleep timer
- Download eBooks for offline reading.
- Customize background color, font size, and type.
3. Apple Books
Available for: iOS
Price: Free
Apple Books is the only destination for bookworms, allowing users to browse the Book store and access the best book to read. They can track their reading and choices and even set their Reading Goals, all in a single app and across various Apple devices.
Top Features
- Library organization into collections.
- Find and add books.
- Automatically turn to auto-night when reading in the dark.
- Help authors in publishing books.
- Reading goals
- Search for books you want to read.
4. Google Play Books
Price: Free
Using this on-demand book reading app, you can buy and enjoy audiobooks, ebooks, manga, and comics.
You can pick from various best-selling books, textbooks, comics, audiobooks, and manga. You just need to download books you want to read and listen to them. After completing listening, you can pick the next recommendation personalized exclusively for you. With a subscription, you can buy ebooks and audiobooks.
Top Features
- Preview samples of millions of books for free.
- Offline access to books.
- Personalized recommendations.
- Automatic night mode setting
- Allow adding notes that sync with Google Drive with easy sharing.
5. Kobo Books – eBooks Audiobooks
Price: Free
With 5+ million titles to pick from, you can use Kobo Books to meet almost all your reading and listening requirements.
This eBook reading app allows users to browse the latest collection of the globe’s best audiobooks, eBooks, graphic novels, and more.
Top Features
- Customized experience of reading and listening to eBooks.
- Easy-to-use player
- Recommendations for users
- Allow the usage of different devices for accessing current tasks.
- Offers books with reviews and ratings.
- Read in different languages.
Conclusion
The eBooks reading apps market will not face a downfall because of the convenience it offers to the readers and, above all, the ease it offers to the publishers and authors to earn revenue.
While developing a mobile reading app, you need to consider various things, such as new sales channels, products, and more, to drive increased revenue.
Try developing an app that may offer a unique and expected reading experience to users that will resultantly craft a robust loyal user base.
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