Messaging apps and platforms have been part of technology for decades and they have transformed the way that people communicate with each other. Instant messaging is a term that even predates the internet and has been a useful tool in the hands of friends, co-workers, businesses and more over the last few years. Today, nearly 3.21 billion users around the world actively use over the top messaging apps to communicate every day, with this figure set to rise to over 3.51 billion in the next few years. Evidently, the future is in intelligent chat solutions rather than the more traditional methods of communication and to remain relevant and successful, businesses need to make the change.
With this trend on increase, as a developer you will likely face many more requests to build messaging applications, or in app messaging features. It’s important you understand all there is to know about them so that you can provide the best service for your clients.
What is a Chat SDK?
An SDK, or software development kit, is like a handy toolbox of implements that can be used by developers to build applications for various platforms. There are many different examples of SDKs, and a chat SDK is a programming toolbox that gives developers all the tools and programs they need to build chat applications. This useful software kit gives you everything you need to make instant messaging a whole lot easier. It also comes with Giphy Integrations, message attachments, and powerful slash commands to enhance the engagement of the chat experience. Users have the freedom to communicate instantly and creatively which in turn helps a business to build their community in a slow and steady way.
A chat SDK is unique from any other SDK and is giving many developers the upper hand in creating easy to use, business beneficial chat platforms. For example, Quickblox is one of the top companies offering an Android chat SKD which is a toolkit specifically designed to allow developers to build apps suitable for Android devices. These powerful software development kits allow real time communication features to be added into any app to make instant messaging, or even video calling, a quick and easy to add function.
Services of the Best Chat SKDs
There are excellent services that can be added to mobile app through the use of a chat SDK. The services can include:
- Private Chats. Only two parties are involved in the conversation, and it is one of the most common forms of chat that businesses want to implement. It helps them to provide a better customer experience and allows one to one direct communication.
- Public Chats. If there are 3 or more parties involved in the conversation, it is considered to be a public chat. Group chats are very popular today, connecting people with the same interests and goals, and it can be implemented within an app to achieve the same thing. Similarly, even though these chats are considered public, there may be criteria that participants need to be meet in order to join the conversation.
Features of the Best Chat SKDs
A good SKD will provide for a number of different capabilities within the app, boasting various features. Some of them are included below:
- Businesses grow, change, adapt and progress so a good chat SKD will need to keep up with that.
- There should be the feature to back up messages so that even if a phone or chat is lost, people can get to the information they need.
- As a developer you need to be able to have access to the data within the app, such as messages and user details. This will help you to monitor the application better and feel in control of it.
- You need to be able to easily make changes and control the application without being restricted by the chat SKD. You’re the developer and you need to be able to provide authentication in whatever procedure you prefer.
Besides these features, there are aspects that you as a develop need to look out for. Find a chat SDK that offers file encryption, moderation tools and APIs to export data and messages. Channels need to have auto-partitioning and there should be the ability to smart throttle messages. To make it even better for the client and their customer, there needs to be the capability to add an interface in which to plug chat bots into the conversation.
Choosing the Right Chat SKD for You
Now you know just how powerful a Chat SKD can be, you might feel the urge to jump in and start a Google search. Undoubtedly, you will be faced with a mountain of results so it can be hard to work out which chat SKD would be best for the Android app that you are set to develop. While it’s great to have options, it does mean you have a more likely chance of making the wrong choice.
There are number of resources available that will do the hard work for you in curating lists of the top performing Chat SDK tools available all over the globe. Each one will offer various features so it’s important to know exactly what you are looking for so that you can find a system that works best for you. From Twilio that offers voice and video calls and cross-channel messaging, to Cometchat that features white-label UI solutions and customisable auto-scaling, there is bound to be the perfect option for you. Quickblox is a leading white label chat solution, while Mesibo is rated as one of the most developer friendly platforms available. The key is to do your homework, research the options, and stick to your guns. With your goals clearly in mind, and your knowledge and expertise in the field of coding and developing behind you, you can be sure to be successful in your search for the best chat SDKs for Android.