We spend a considerable amount of time on social media sites every day. Social media sites have become an integral part of life. Certainly, these sites offer unlimited entertainment, you can find business partners, make new friends, and a lot more. Apart from entertainment and online exposure, these networking platforms help the social media site owners earn profits.
According to statistics, the total revenue generated through popular social media sites is around billions of dollars.
Interesting statistics isn’t it? If these statistics excite you to build your own social media website like FaceBook, then spare some time to read this article to know more information on social network website development.
Why Opt For Social Network Development?
Well, if you are planning to develop a build a social network website right from the scratch, but not sure how if social media business is worth investing in or not, then read on to find the reasons why you should opt for social mediaweb design and development.
Here is what you get from your social media site
- Connect with a wider audience
- Help users access the network from their PC/Laptop
- Scale networking website with the increasing count of user
- Offer amazing user experience and let the users get more entertainment from anywhere and everywhere
After learning the benefits, of social network web design and development, let us move on to know the different types of sites that you can invest in
Types of Social Networking Websites
The primary social network types that you can choose from are
- Media sharing platforms
- Scientific & academic communities
- Corporate resources
- Social networks
- Information websites
- Educational platforms
- Professional platforms
- Dating resources
- Entertaining websites
What Should Be The Criteria For An Ideal Social Networking Platform?
Well, every social network needs to meet specific criteria. So, your social networking website should meet the following criteria
1. It Should Be Responsive
A responsive UI/UX is necessary as users access your social networking website through smartphones.
2. Authenticated
Authenticity is one of the most vital aspects of social network web developmentand the social networks should authenticate the profile of each user to validate a user is a real person with phone numbers and other documents.
3. Decentralized
While building a social media website, make sure it doesn’t rely on central infrastructure and rather opt for a p2p model
4. Secured
The social media site you want to create should be secured against fraudsters or fake accounts. So, pay attention to the security of the site. Focus on security methods like blockchain data storage, signature keys or encryption, etc
Top Features To Be Included In Social Network Website
Looking at the users’ preferences and behavior today, your site should be able to cater to their needs to excel. So, while planning social network website development,consider the following features to be included in your website.
- Profile
- Registration
- Posts
- Advanced search for brands, groups, people
- Friendship
- Chat
- News Feed
- File Transfer
- Deferred Reading
- The Wall
- Notifications
- Analytics
- User Status
- Admin Access
Now, after knowing about the features to be integrated into your social networking site, let us move further to understand the social network web development.
Steps To Follow To Build A Social Networking Site From Scratch
1. Create An Idea
Make sure you come up with a fresh idea to build a website. To help you create a brilliant idea, check out the below-listed questions and find the answer to these questions
What would you provide to reach a wider user base?
It includes features, loyalty programs, bonuses, etc
What type of social network you are looking at?
Choose a niche you want to go ahead with (check out the types of sites above to pick from)
What is the name you want to assign to your site?
Try to pick an impressive name, easy to remember and the one that reflects your idea
2. Research
Once you get an idea, you need to engage in detailed market research which comprises of
- Market research
- Competitive analysis
- Sketch of your target audience
3. Know Your Target Audience
Once you are done with market research, move on to the vital step of social network web development, which is understanding your target audience. Gather the following information about your audience
- Age group
- Profession (for example are they office workers, students or freelancers, etc
- Interests and preferences
- Hobbies
- Count of users
4. Vital Requirements
After you have determined your audience, it is time to think about having an amazing social media website for which you need to identify the requirements. Make a list of the requirements like
- design of the main page
- Virtual Albums, Avatars, and dialogues
- How to store and secure user data
- Rules for using networking services, stringent measures for not abiding by the rules
5. Choose The Technology For Networking Services
Certainly, it is one of the important part of the social network web developmentprocess. You can choose from the two options
- Build a website using a ready-made template
- Build a website from scratch
6. Projecting & Creating A Social Network Design
Well, at this step you may have to seek help from experts in the field as the following tasks need to be performed.
Information Architecture
Planning a proper site structure to move ahead
Prototyping
Create the layout of the website- both on paper and by digital means to understand the details, goals, and complexity of the project
Technical Project
Here the technical team would help you suggest the right tools to be used to build a social media website.
Interface & Design Idea
Now, the approved layout would take the shape of a complete design which will help you get a better idea of how your website would look like post-launch
7. Development
This step involves site development which comprises 2 main steps
- Frontend development
- Backend development
- At this stage, you need to hire a website development company in USA or your city to build a social network website to code the idea into a live website.
8. Equalize Your Site
Once the project is completed, you need to equalize it. It means you need to ensure that the site is bug-free with no hassles and runs smoothly. So, you need to consider the following points
- Comprehensive project testing
- List down the required changes
- Engage in beta testing
- Finalize the project after you get the results of beta testing.
9. Commissioning
The commissioning phase involves
- Configuring the Hosting Platform
- Loading & configuring the project
- Configuring Analytics Tools
- Final testing
10. Project Support
At the initial stages, you would need the following staff to ensure the smooth functioning of your site
- Content expert
- Experienced person to monitor social media site
11. Social Media Marketing Plan
To increase the count of visitors to your site, you need a proper plan and an efficient social media marketing strategy.
12. Monetization
Consider the following points to monetize your site:
- Advertising
- Offer Paid features
Conclusion
The above blogs help you learn about vital steps to follow to build a social media site that works. Certainly, to implement these steps you would need the assistance of professionals. If you need professional help, WebFox can help you with social network web development.Get in touch with us to know the social media networking website development costsand we will revert with a free quote.