How To Make Social Networking Website Like Facebook
Want to become the next social networking unicorn? In this guide I’m breaking down the key components of building a website like Facebook!
Facemash was launched in October, 2003 by a Harvard college student Mark Zuckerberg, along with a few friends. While it did not last long, Zuckerberg learned an important thing. Students couldn’t resist going to the site, surfing around and connecting with one another. That understanding led ultimately to Facebook as we know it today.
How to Make a Social Networking Website Like Facebook in 7 Steps
Step 1: Develop a Concept Based Upon Value to Users
One point to consider here. If you go after a general purpose focus and a very large demographic, you will be competing with the giants, and there are and used to be giants in many countries (e.g., Bebo in the UK, Hi5 in China, and Orkut in Brazil). Unless you have some uniqueness, growth will be much tougher.
Another point to consider is this: Are there other social networks already out there that claim the same niche that you want? You will need to do some research on the competition, just as you would when starting any business. Your own social network is not just for fun and games — it is for profit.
Step 2: Social Network Development– Initial Considerations
- Clear Conveyance of Audience and Purpose to Your Developers
If you have refined your purpose and your audience profile correctly, you have a clear picture of the “what, who, and why.” This is what you will have to convey clearly to the developers who will be working on your site.
- The Money
Development will next be all about the money, which can easily run as high as $300,000 for a site similar to Instagram and up to $500.000 to make a social media website of the Facebook size.
If you are looking for a smaller niche audience, however, you will be looking at less complex features, and you can whittle that cost down to somewhere between $25,000 — $125,000. Just be realistic with how much does it cost to develop social networking site.
- The Platform
The next decision is that of platform. Are you going for a website or a mobile app? Both of these platforms are highly successful today, and, actually, Instagram began as a mobile app and then scaled.
If you go for a mobile app, then do you want iPhone, Android or both? If your audience is in North America, Western Europe and Oceania, the iPhone is your choice. The rest of the world prefers Android. Again, you can choose a platform for your MVP based upon initial target audience and scale later.
- Traffic Estimation
This is a tough one. While you may have dreams of being the “high roller” in your niche, focus on the next one-two years. How many users can you reasonably expect within that time period?
If you’ve done some good market research, you should be able to give a rough estimate to your developers. This will determine your database and your cost.
Step 3: Social Networking Website Development 2.0. — The Features/UX Design
At a minimum, a social network site should include the following elements:
- Profiles
- Multiple methods to connect
- Interactive news/content feed/messaging/content sharing
- Search functions
- Some unique features that are cool and that make your site more appealing — this one’s on you to devise. But you might want something like anonymous messaging or photo filters.
- Database encryption (pretty costly)
- Admin panel — talk with your developers about analytics and other functions you might want — this can have an expensive pricing too
- Billing — may or may not need be needed
And here’s where UX design is most critical. Your site has to be easy to use and provide an enjoyable experience. A good development team will keep this in mind as all features are designed, so that layouts, architecture, and overall design standards are consistent and logical. They are built into the wireframing process and/or into each feature.
Interesting? The full article with next 4 important steps is here.
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