How to Create an App Like WeChat

WeChat is a super-popular social platform with mobile payment integration that has gained worldwide recognition and is an invaluable source of inspiration for developers. Suppose you're considering creating a similar app to excite your target audience. In that case, you need a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the technologies and strategies behind such apps. In this article, we'll dive into the development world and explore the key technologies, concepts, and tools to help you create a unique and functional social media app with impressive e-payment integration.

 WeChat: a brief review

WeChat is a versatile application. It was designed for sending instant messages, files, and media content to other users. Still, now it is a vast ecosystem for media, developers, and online stores, including instant messaging, business accounts, mini-games, corporate messaging app, and various mini-programs (plugins). These mini-programs cover all aspects of a user's daily life. They are easily integrated into WeChat, allowing one to order food, buy a train or plane ticket, register on the subway, provide account information, etc.

These plugins turn WeChat into an all-powerful app and open up many opportunities for tech startups. At the same time, WeChat, unlike many of its competitors, can be linked to bank accounts and credit cards, and payment for goods and services takes place via QR codes: you show a QR code of your "wallet" on the phone screen, which the store then scans to make payment from your account.

Among other advantages of WeChat, it is possible to highlight out such:

• An all-in-one system. WeChat can connect to 85,000 other apps. It creates a business ecosystem, allowing third-party companies to develop features and services within WeChat to expand their market base and find new audiences.


• Going beyond social media. WeChat isn't just a social network or messaging app. It's a huge hub that offers easy and convenient access to many products and services. With WeChat, you can order a cab, pay your utility bill, buy a plane ticket, split a dinner check, invest in new stock, and much more.


• Advertising integration. WeChat's social component, Moments, works similarly to Facebook's timeline. The app recently partnered with BMW and Coca-Cola to integrate ads into users' news feeds, joining many companies that already interact with their customers by sharing news and providing customer service directly through the app.

 How to develop a WeChat clone?

Developing a social platform is a complex but exciting process. This section covers all the stages of creating your own clone — from planning and design to programming and testing. You'll learn about the necessary technologies, development tools, integrations, and strategies to help you realize your idea and create a unique social platform with mobile payment support.

The niche and target audience

To create a successful app, you need to clearly understand what market segment you will focus on and your target audience's needs and expectations. Understanding these things will allow you to narrow your focus and develop your app to meet your audience's specific needs and expectations, improve the user experience, and develop a unique value proposition and effective marketing strategy.

Here are a few tips to help you choose the right niche:

• Research the market. Conduct market analysis and research WeChat and other potential competitors. Evaluate their pros and cons, and analyze their target audience and functionality. Use this information to identify niches that are not oversaturated with competition, but have the potential for growth in the medium and long term.


• Create a unique value proposition. Think about what special features and benefits you can offer in your WeChat clone. Pay attention to markets or areas where you have expertise and can provide unique features to your target audience. For example, you can create your app for a specific group of people (gamers, parents, tourists, or women in Africa).


• Consider your skills and resources. Assess your skills and resources needed to develop and scale an app in your chosen niche. Be realistic and select a niche where you can succeed and provide quality app development and support.


• Study your audience. Analyze your target audience's goals, pains, needs, and preferences. Break them into small segments and think about what problems or unmet needs you can solve with your app. Explain to them a reason why they would use your service rather than the original WeChat.


• Research trends. Explore innovations and new features that your target audience might want. For example, it could be integration with blockchain technology, improved security, communication through virtual reality, or "super encryption”.

Project monetization and business model

The WeChat business model is based on several income sources at once. The primary source of income are fees from all payments that go through WeChat (purchases, bill payments, money transfers, and other). The company also receives revenue from advertising and additional paid services, such as official business accounts, advertising campaigns, and privileges for users with a high activity level, such as extended support, exclusive offers (discounts, promotions, bonuses), and premium features.

WeChat essential functions

User registration. To begin using the app, users need to register. There are usually several ways to create an account. Still, you need to add your contact number and place the application in your contact book for applications such as WeChat.



Text messaging. If you plan to create your own app, you must add the ability to exchange text messages in real-time and implement a group chat feature. This feature is the basis for communication and interaction in the WeChat messaging app, providing a simple and convenient way to establish social connections and share information, ideas, questions, and answers with other people.



Messaging in private chat. When creating your own clone of WeChat, adding the ability to communicate through confidential chats is also recommended. In such a chat, all messages are encrypted and can be automatically self-destructed after a set time after reading. This allows users to exchange sensitive information, keeping it private and preventing third parties from accessing messages, multimedia files, and payments.

Voice calls (audio calls). WeChat's free calls feature allows you to make audio calls to each other and communicate in real-time through voice communication. This feature will enable you to communicate directly, especially when text messaging is ineffective or convenient.

Video calls and video conferencing. This feature lets you establish video connections with one or more users simultaneously, allowing for group video conferencing. It allows users to see interlocutors, exchange visual information, hold business meetings, organize virtual meetings, and maintain closer contact with other WeChat users regardless of distance.



Sharing multimedia files. Also, in developing the WeChat clone, the ability to share images, videos, audio files, and other media files will need to be implemented. This allows users to send and receive files directly in chats and share photos, video recordings, audio, and other media content. The media file-sharing feature provides a convenient way to send and share different media information as part of your WeChat communication.

User profile settings. Allow users to manage privacy settings, account settings, and profile settings. This includes uploading a profile picture, name, status, contact information, and other details the user wants to share with other members. The user's profile customization feature allows you to create a personalized identity, facilitating better communication and interaction with other network members.

Contact Information Sharing. This is a small feature, but it allows users to quickly and conveniently share their contact information with other platform members. Users can send and receive contact information such as phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts, and further contact details in one click. This simplifies exchanging contacts and allows you to save and add new contacts to your address book quickly.



End-to-end encryption (E2EE). When building your WeChat clone, you must provide a tunnel of end-to-end encryption throughout your platform. This is a pressing need because people now hear about online hacking all the time, and therefore they are more sensitive to data privacy and security in general. All it takes is one time for your app server to get hacked, and you lose customer loyalty and face lawsuits.

Location sharing. With this option, users can send the exact coordinates of their location or select a spot on the map to share this information with other platform members. A handy feature when planning meetings, giving directions, finding nearby attractions, stores, cinemas, etc., or just sharing location information with family, friends, and colleagues.

Synchronizing contacts. You may have encountered a window displaying automatic synchronization when using the app's chat. This option makes transferring contact data from one device to another simple and fast. Make sure your WeChat clone will have this option.

In-app camera. Camera integration is one of the most challenging tasks in app development. With this feature, users can activate the camera on their device using WeChat and take photos or record videos without leaving the app. They can then immediately send the photos to their chats, share them with friends or save them on their devices.

Payments and transactions. With this feature, users can link their bank cards or e-wallets to WeChat and make payments for goods and services, transfer money to other users, pay bills, buy tickets, and more. When creating your clone, you should implement a similar feature by integrating with banks, payment services, online wallets, and goods and services providers.

Official accounts. Enable brands and organizations to create their official WeChat profiles, offer their subscribers content, news, promotions, discounts, and other information, and sell them products and services directly through the app. Users can sign up for these accounts, receive updates, and interact with them in the app.

In-app Stores. Stores, or "Weidian," are the equivalent of an e-commerce website focused only on this social network. Creating WeChat stores gives your customers quick access to your products and, of course, the ability to buy them through WeChat.



Mini-programs. They are very similar to WeChat stores but work differently. A store is designed to sell goods and services within the WeChat app, while a mini-program is an app that works within the WeChat ecosystem.

Notifications. Make sure users will receive real-time chat notifications through the mobile app notification. They can even enable a feature to get a chat pop-up on their screen when their phone is locked. Also, allow users to pause these notifications for specific users.

Moments. This news feed allows users to share their photos, videos, text messages, and other content with friends and subscribers. Moments will enable you to create personalized posts, leave comments, like and share content with other users, and earn revenue from promotional posts

Games and entertainment. Games and entertainment apps are also available on WeChat. Users can play games with friends, participate in multiplayer competitions, share achievements, and use in-game currency.

Social features. WeChat offers social networking features such as searching for friends, adding contacts via scanning QR codes, the ability to comment and like other users' content, and geolocation and the ability to share the location.

E-wallet integrations

Several key factors should be considered when integrating mobile payments into your WeChat clone. First, you must integrate your payment system with external providers, such as banks, e-wallets, and payment gateways. This lets users link their financial accounts to financial service providers and make secure transactions.

Then, a user-friendly user interface for mobile payments should be created, where users can select a payment method, enter required data, confirm transactions, and receive notifications on the status of payments. Maximum attention should be paid to security. Encryption, two-factor authentication, and transaction monitoring mechanisms should be implemented to prevent fraud and ensure financial data privacy.

It is also essential to consider the various local regulatory requirements and payment regulations to ensure compliance with the law and obtain licenses, certificates, and other necessary approvals.

WeChat platform architecture

The WeChat platform is based on a microservice architecture, which divides functionality into small and independent services. These services interact with each other through special APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), providing the system's flexibility, security, and scalability.

The main components of the WeChat architecture are:

• Client application: WeChat mobile application that provides the user interface for interaction with various functions and services, services and goods providers.


• Server infrastructure. This is the set of servers and cloud resources that handle client requests and execute the application's core logic. Servers run in a cluster for high availability and scalability.


• Microservices. WeChat functionality is broken down into multiple microservices, each responsible for a specific function: messaging, payments, moments, and more. These services can be independently deployed, scaled, and updated.


• Database. Various databases, such as relational databases and NoSQL stores, store user data, messages, contacts, and other information.


• APIs and protocols. WeChat provides APIs and protocols that allow developers to integrate their services and applications with the WeChat platform. This includes feature interaction, data access, and payment processing capabilities.

To design the architecture of your WeChat clone, you need to research the original platform to identify key modules, secure and integrate third-party services, and conduct thorough testing and optimization. In addition, it is vital to choose appropriate technologies, such as programming languages (e.g., Java, Python, JavaScript), frameworks (e.g., Spring, Node.js, Django), databases (e.g., MySQL, MongoDB), and other development tools. Container technologies, such as Docker, and container orchestrators, such as Kubernetes, can be used to implement a microservice architecture.

Backend, frontend, and API

The application backend is responsible for processing business logic, storing data, and interacting with external services. It provides the functionality that the user sees in the frontend by processing queries, performing operations, and exchanging data with the database. In addition, the backend handles authorization, authentication, data security, and integration with other services, such as payment systems or cloud resources.

The technology stack for developing a WeChat clone backend:

• Server operating system: Linux, Windows Server.


• Web server: Apache, Nginx, or other web server for HTTP requests.


• Programming languages: Java, Python, Node.js


• Framework: Spring, Django, Express.js.


• Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle.


• Caching solution: Redis, Memcached.


• Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, TCP/IP, SMTP.


• Architectural style: RESTful, SOAP.


• Security: SSL, TLS, OAuth.

The frontend of your WeChat clone is responsible for the user interface (UI) and user interaction. It displays the content and functionality of the app, including chats, contacts, notifications, and other elements. The frontend also provides application navigation, animations, user input handling, and interaction with the backend to send and receive data.

The technology stack for developing a WeChat clone:

• Programming languages: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript.


• System design: Material UI, Ant Design, Bootstrap.


• Frameworks: React, Vue.js, Angular, Svelte.


• Libraries: Redux, MobX, Web3.js, Ethers.js.


• UI Components: Material-UI, Ant Design, Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS.


• Mobile application development: React Native, Flutter.


• Infrastructure: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud.

The API provides developers with methods, functions, and protocols to integrate their solutions with your platform. The API allows you to receive and send data, manage user accounts, handle messages, make payments, and perform other operations related to platform functionality.

Testing

Testing is an essential part of developing a platform with mobile payment integration like WeChat. It includes functional testing, checking compatibility with different platforms, ensuring security, and checking application performance. Testing helps to detect and solve problems, providing a high-quality app for users.