In recent years, startups have been at the forefront of the digital revolution, driving innovation forward and generating an impressive return on investment in the meantime. However, by now the field of digital services has become so saturated that there’s seemingly no way to compete with industry giants. In reality, however, there’s still a considerable untapped potential – all it takes is coming up with a viable idea. What follows is an overview of opportunities that can be developed into a profitable web app and turn a bold startup into a successful industry leader.
Great Web Apps to Start in 2021
Chatbots
Now, a chatbot does not sound like something to be thrilled about. They have been around for years, and are rarely associated with service excellence. Yet, in fact, AI-driven solutions comprise a significant proportion of customer interactions in the digital-first segment. According to some predictions, up to 90% of customer interactions will be automated in the banking sector alone.
One reason for such popularity is the advancements made by AI in recent years. A modern AI-powered chatbot can handle most of the routine requests quite competently. Not only that, they operate with zero delay. In today’s customer-centric age, the expectations of users are as high as ever, and having a system that will not make your audience wait is critical for customer retention. A great example is Domino Pizza’s Dom, a chatbot that not only streamlines the order placement process but also spices it up with puns and jokes, adding a unique touch to the experience.
Health Assistant
Engaging patients in the treatment process has benefits for both patients as well as healthcare providers. Still, it’s easier said than done – the sheer amount of information is overwhelming, and the stream of misinformation doesn’t make it any easier. In this light, a virtual assistant can be a great way to put people back in control of their health. First, the power of machine learning allows sifting through massive volumes of information and aggregate relevant insights about health conditions and treatment methods.
Second, the app could serve as a convenient storage for health records, prescriptions, and reports. Once integrated with healthcare services, it can also support scheduling appointments, tracking follow-ups, managing insurance, and visualizing medical history. Not only will this create an exceptional experience, such an app can also alleviate the load from the healthcare system, so in the near future, the demand for such services will probably increase. For example, Symptomate’s health checkup offers a quick and easy way to diagnose the symptoms and guide the patient in the right direction.
Deals and Referrals Platform
The field of eCommerce has already established itself as a major industry with enormous potential. Despite rapidly overtaking traditional retail – with 21% of total sales compared to just 5% in 2007 and 16% in 2019 – its full capacity is far from being exhausted. A substantial part of this undiscovered value lies in the plethora of auxiliary services within the field. These niche segments are a great place for start-ups to get a foothold – on average, they are less risky than eCommerce yet can be as lucrative.
One such niche is a service that would aggregate information about deals and discounts on other platforms. Most online stores feature discount programs throughout the year to keep their user base engaged. However, to take advantage of those, users would need to sift through notifications and emails manually. Factor in limited-time offers, and it starts to feel more like a full-time job than a thrilling experience. A web app, on the other hand, will not only accomplish this routine task effortlessly but will also allow personalizing the process to meet customer expectations.
On-Demand Transportation
A transportation web app is not exactly something that will strike you like a fresh idea in 2021. Ride hailing services such as Uber and Lyft have already become both a go-to example of success brought in by digital transformation and a major force in the market that would be very difficult to topple. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of opportunities in this segment of the market.
For starters, existing services usually capitalize on larger cities, whereas numerous smaller towns remain a lucrative destination to explore. Second, transportation is a multifaceted concept that covers commute, vehicle rental, and even small-scale logistics. Each of these fields is in high demand and is ripe for disruption, and a startup with a unique take on the matter is all that is needed for it to happen.
e-Wallets
Digital payments is another field that isn’t exactly starved by the lack of solutions. Every major digital service uses this service in some form – in fact, it will be a challenge to find a phone that has no Google Pay or Apple Pay on board. They are quick, simple, convenient, and secure. They have become so ubiquitous we hardly notice them anymore. Still, they are far from the point where most users would think of them as a definitive payment method.
First, the majority of these apps are built with a mobile user base in mind. Which makes sense, of course – there’s no point in a digital wallet if you don’t have it on you. Unfortunately, this also means that anything beyond “one-tap on-the-go payment” will be short on features. Desktop functionality is the first thing that comes to mind, which is incidentally the thing web apps excel at. The support of desktop platforms opens up an entire field of possibilities for things like convenient bill payments, finance management, and fine-tuned bill splitting. In this light, web apps development for startups is a promising path to uncover untapped potential in plain sight.
Personal Assistant
Another area that is dominated by mobile-only solutions. Personal assistant apps are an excellent way to increase productivity, organize tasks, and even gain insights about behaviors and habits you might not even know about. Yet, all this information is often locked to a phone. Having a web app that can be accessed from a browser on any device will be appreciated by people who rely on desktops or just need their profile information synchronized across multiple devices.
AR-Based Try-On
The biggest downside of virtual shopping is the inability to try an item on before placing an order. With the popularization of augmented reality, this gap has quickly been filled with mobile apps that let you try on everything from glasses to shoes. Of course, most of them are good at one thing only – selling a specific product or a product line.
A great way to expand on this opportunity would be a web application that can work with an entire array of items, like comparing products from different brands or providing recommendations on optimal placement. The growing interest in AR and VR suggests that these solutions are very much in demand and will be met favorably by the audience.
Loan Lending
For the longest time, lending has been mostly handled by dedicated organizations – simply because arranging it on an individual level was too much of a hassle. The digital transformation brought the power back to the people with peer-to-peer loans. In such a system, the participants are in full control of the procedure, which creates an environment that is transparent, trustworthy, fair, and convenient
This opportunity has been quickly picked up by app developers. However, as is common with mobile-first solutions, these services lean on a simple side of things and may lack versatility. A web app that has both mobile and desktop mode will offer even more control over the process, multiplying the value of the concept.
Employee Orientation
The enterprise domain is saturated with apps that enhance operational capacity in every possible way. In this light, the employee orientation sector remains surprisingly vacant. This fact is especially baffling because a good web app can address most of the challenges associated with it.
On the one hand, it can serve as a single destination for documents, training materials, and scheduled events so that the onboarding process remains airtight. On the other hand, a smooth, intuitive user experience will create a good first impression about the company. Finally, having access to it from the browser aligns well with the dynamic nature of the process, making a web app a perfect candidate for the job.
E-Learning Platforms
While the demand for remote education soared in 2020, the transition was far from smooth. One of the main barriers was the lack of equipment that could handle class management. Many existing solutions were picky about the platform they can be used on, effectively excluding entire communities and organizations from the process.
With a web app, all that is needed is a browser and an Internet connection. All resource-heavy tasks are handled on the server side, so such a service will work even on older devices, making the education more inclusive. A great example is ClassDojo, which not only helps to bring education to the farthest corners of the globe but also makes it more engaging by encouraging creativity through gamification.
Wrapping Up
After years of widespread use, web apps still hold an enormous potential for users and businesses alike. True, they have arrived quite late to the party, which may seem an impediment to their success. However, like with mobile apps before them, they can build upon existing foundations to deliver better services and address the limitations of legacy technology. More importantly, web apps can become a great business opportunity and a springboard for startups with the right vision.
Content creator passionate about technology that changes our lives for the better. I aspire to create texts that inform, entertain, and help making good things happen.
