How to Create a Social Media Application Like Facebook?
The social media category is one of the most thriving markets in commerce terms. The area is already full of influential participants, but the chance to cave out your niche rises with the emergence of new technologies.
In 2004 Facebook created online video-conference meetings — groundbreaking social media trends. Then Twitter and Instagram followed the same example.
Facebook keeps its mobile app unchanged for a long time, which makes other businessmen wonder how they can achieve the same level of success as Facebook.
If you happen to be an entrepreneur who is longing for expert knowledge on building a social media mobile application like Facebook, this website is exactly what you need. This post will tell you how to create an app like Facebook, by acquainting you with the development process and its expenses.
Types of Social Media Apps
First, let’s outline what types of social media applications exist. Knowing this, you’ll comprehend what field you’re about to get in and who are the other players on the market you’re going to deal with.
There are several common groups of mass media to know about:
• Social networks
Made to connect people to interact throughout the Internet and to promote socialization. They are used for casual conversations or business communication (Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn).
• File exchangers
The software of this group allows members to swap all multimedia (pictures, videos, GIFs, and so on). The first examples that come to mind are Instagram, Snapchat, Imgur, and Vimeo.
• Discussion forums
A community app is suitable for asking questions, getting answers and pieces of advice, taking information, expressing yourself, and telling about your experience. The ones from this category are Reddit and Quora.
• Bookmarking places
Account owners upload digital art or pictures, then send, save or discover masterpieces from others. Pinterest, Mix, and Flipboard make great Examples of social media apps.
• Blogs
These tools inspire everyone to write or record videos on hot topics. Nowadays, Tumblr, Medium, and YouTube do it, and influencers go viral each day.
New digital tendencies are a huge inspiration to create an app like Facebook. These concepts could be a reference to look at. Once you’ve chosen the desired direction as a social media company, analyze it carefully and watch out for future competitors.
Now, let’s review some specifics of creating a social media app like Facebook. In this compilation, we’ll list 9 steps to success.
9 Steps to Creating Social Media Apps like Facebook
How to make social media app like Facebook? There are no universal concepts that guarantee 100% success. But we have some tips on making the process much quicker. Just check out our compilation and follow the advice.
1. Coding is not in the first place
This important point is an ultimate money saver — don’t put coding at the beginning of your plan. This makes sense because coding is too high-priced for impulsive decisions.
Recruiting knowledgeable programmers can be a catastrophe to the financial plan. Costs may vary from $25/hour for freelance specialists. If you want to hire Silicon Valley’s experts get ready to shell out about $200/h.
Get to the technical tasks only with clear and realistic expectations. Ask yourself: what do you want to see as an outcome? Without any vision, you may run out of money in vain. Use this “how to develop an app like Facebook” guide to cut down on the software, and avoid mistakes prevalent among novice startups.
2. Select the necessary features
The first thing you should know about how to make an app like Facebook is listing some main functions. What we mean is points like UI design, quick notifications, a customizable news feed, file sharing, messages (like Facebook Messenger), security, and proper storytelling.
3. Select between Android or iOS
Pitch on the item’s destination. It is possible to complete Android and iOS versions simultaneously by cross-platform programming language. That’s a decent solution, though it complicates the MVP — a sample made for hypothesis testing. As a result, users may not validate this variant, and that’s worth too much. By contrast, concentrating on a single OS is cheaper in price, and easier to operate.
StatCounter, the web traffic analyzing service, stated: Android has an almost 73% share of all mobile owners' audience, as iOS covers only 26,5%, as reported by their recent survey. A reason to pick iOS is their customers’ engagement and high payability.
4. Wireframe, mockup, and prototype are a must
We must mention that terms are different from each other.
- A wireframe works as an outline of the in-app interface.
- A mock-up includes an overall color palette and animations.
- A prototype shows how user interactions work, including clickable or tappable buttons and all basic application functions.
When building a social network app, keep this point in mind. It enables fine-tuning features so that you’re sure your product will get market validation.
5. Build the backend
Now it’s the time for coding. Aim to make it work inside and out.
It may seem strange, but programs and ocean icebergs have something in common: visible sequence (frontend) is noticeably tinier than the underwater one (backend). Every visitor sees the picture without complicated algorithms behind it.
A large proportion of social networking app development clings to this process. It handles long-winded operations like APIs generation, business guidelines, and receiving or containing information.
Add the backend, as a whole-packed service (BaaS) or set it up from scratch. The first option means the insertion of configured building blocks and code generation tools. With this option, the fruits of your labor will be released in a short time, but it provides less flexibility and more standardized architecture.
The second variant takes more effort, but there is more space for creativity and bringing something new to the table.
6. Set up the frontend
A significant aspect that determines the usability of the application — airy, aesthetical, high-functional visuals.
Nevertheless, pick from making a Native, Web, or cross-platform freeware.
Native ones are designed for one specific OS platform. They use platform hardware for the best user experience. The pros are high working pace and quality, no dependency on the internet connection, and delightful visuals as well.
Web alternatives don’t dive that deep into OS, that’s why they are limited in capability. Pros of desktop analogs — the affordable price and swift production pace. As a result, you get a site that is accessible from the phone, laptop, or tablet.
7. Design the Landing Page
LP represents a small advertisement that covers the pluses of the product. If a person wants to become a user, he or she needs to know what is it about. It also helps to spread the word about your company. That means anyone can do research and make sure that your campaign is trustworthy. It also mentions the developer and the aim of creative solutions.
8. Initialize a KPI system
Analytical metrics play a great role in the social networking app development process. They measure how efficient a current campaign is. For better management, set achievable KPIs for the number of downloads and active personal accounts to calculate the final revenue. This is a must-do to improve technical performance and maintain a top position in the digital charts.
From an App Analytics Dashboard, find out if users are interested in interacting. If you analyze, how they act, you may enhance your UX design. These insights are of great help to work on your conception and to decide which features should be improved, attached, or eliminated.
9. Publish and promote
The finish line of the journey is uploading the result online. But before that, please note all the legal components of production. Come up with the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Trust experts with that — buy a completed document sample, change it for your case, or ask someone qualified to do this job.
The algorithms of Google play are not that complicated. Visit the homepage to sign in, read the rules, attach your bank details and an APK file with the program. Write an interesting description and put some screenshots of the interface. It takes several days for a search robot to identify a new item, so try to be patient.
On the contrary, App Store has some complications on its side. The registration process lasts up to 2–4 weeks for a legal person. A natural person may pass immediately.
Consider Celadon Your Trusted Partner in Mobile App Development
We’ve already discussed how to make social networking app like Facebook, but the process still has a lot of nuances. Famous mass media like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter weren’t built in one shot, so have some patience to take small, but certain steps.
Our team is experienced in working with such projects. We’ve already assisted in making a dating service and a sports network. The last-mentioned case is a service for amateur soccer players that schedule matches, take part in local tournaments, and maintain public relationships with a built-in chat and gamification system. Check the Sports Social Network case study here.
We’ve also described the dating app case study in a series of articles. Here we tell everything about the development process:
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Dating App?
How You Can Make Money on a Dating App (With Live Examples)
How to Make a Dating App Like Tinder?
Final Thoughts
Facebook’s community permanently grows. The founder company is impactful enough to change the digital industry and even the stock market. This example inspires developers and IT specialists to come up with innovative notions. Supported by experienced professionals, you’ll have a chance to become CEO of a promising startup and cooperate with advertisers.
Answering how to create a social media app like Facebook, we’ve pointed out a bunch of points. The creation task is pretty difficult: it acquires precise planning with a lot of self-responsibility.
Consistency is key: first, you create a specified plan, and then you get to realization with top designers and developers. Once you’ve done the research and ensured that your concept is in demand, select a suitable OS, and work on your MVP.
What’s your take on it? Do you wish to create an app like Facebook? If you have any other suggestions, feel free to contact us below.
Wanna create a new social media?
Our team is here to bring your ideas to life. Just contact us to begin our discussion.