Create a Social Networking Site

Why not, is really the question here! Social networking is the wave of web 2.0, and it will continue to be in web 3.0. Niche social networking sites are popping up all over the place, as people are growing tired of broad solutions like Myspace. Why not create your own local social networking site? Or a fan site, or a product owner's site? The possibilities are endless. Best yet - your visitors create the content...all you have to do is moderate it!

What's in this resource?
This page will point you toward the resources you can research for your own personal needs and budget. Creating your own social networking site can involve time and money, depending on the route you take. Be sure to consider all of your options before selecting a software package that will be the engine for your social site.

Free vs. Premium vs. Enterprise Social Networking Solutions
As with any kind of website CMS these days, you can find some great solutions that are totally free: free plugins, themes, and great community support. This is always a viable solution for any small start-up. If you're looking to set the foundation for a large social networking site in the future, you may want to consider a premium solution for future expansion and better piece of mind - nothing would be more devastating to hear that your free software platform has been abandoned, and updates will no longer be available. Enterprise solutions are for those with huge budgets: mid to large size companies who can afford to budget a more expensive site for their purposes.

Perhaps one of the most popular "free" (note the quotes) social networking programs around: Dolphin was created for setting up social network sites right out of the box. You'll have to pay to get their copyright removed. Many complain of scripting bugs and other issues, but it seems to keep improving.

» Get Boonex Dolphin here

It's the stability of Wordpress MU with the expandability of BuddyPress: an add-on that transforms Wordpress MU until a full fledged social networking site, complete with user profiles, individual blogs, groups, RSS and a lot more.

» Get Wordpress here
» Get Buddypress here

Despite the strange name, Elgg is a popular and free social networking platform that continues to evolve and improve upon itself since its earliest inception. It continues to be a favorite in the open source world for its stability, features and friendly community.

» Get Elgg Here

The Joomla content management system is awaiting the release of JomSocial: an addon under development by a programming team based in Malaysia, who is working on this amazing modification. JomSocial will turn Joomla into a very feature-intensive social networking site, which will allow for unlimited custom fields and overall customization for the specific community you're looking to create.

» Get Joomla Here
» Read up on JomSocial Here

The first social networking modification for Joomla. Joomunity sets up a social community from the framework of Joomla, complete with user profiles and a myriad of downloads and applications to extend the life of your site.

» Get Joomla Here
» Get Joomunity Here

Open-source social networking software PHPizabi is a free solution for creating your social network. Although it gets mostly negative reviews for sloppy scripting and numerous issues, it is usually a final contender in the category of free social networking solutions. While it isn't much to look at, you'll be able to find other templates on the web to improve its look, somewhat.

» Get PHPizabi Here

DZOIC Handshakes is typically one of the final choices that webmasters consider before starting a serious social networking site: it's one of the most celebrated social networking platforms around as it has an attractive interface and tons of features. It comes at a standard price comparable to that of other packages, and several major plugins are available separately if needed. DZOIC Handshakes has a price tag of $299.

» See Official Demo of DZOIC Handshakes

An attractive premium social networking package that creates sites similar to Facebook. With a neat and orderly look, you can have all of the features of an enterprise social networking site with very intricate settings. Includes many separate add-ons for specific social networking features. SocialEngine has a one-time price tag of $250, and a huge assortment of plugins.

» See Official Demo of SocialEngine

Joovili is a very web 2.0 fashioned social networking system, featuring detailed user profiles, pictures, music, videos, groups, forums and more - a good choice for your typical MySpace clone. Beyond being a featured-packed and stable social networking platform, it is extremely popular for one simple reason: it has a low $158 price tag, with lifetime support and upgrades!

» See Official Demo of Joovili Here

PHPfox is amongst the most popular premium social networking packages available. Creating sites very similar to that of MySpace, this package is not for those on tight budgets, as it has a hefty annual upkeep fee. However, it has every option you can imagine, and then some: video sharing, commenting, friending, groups, polls, social bookmarking, and a laundry list of many others. PHPfox has a one time $300 price.

» See Official Demo of PHPfox

Rayzz is a social networking platform that gives you everything in one package: video display and sharing, community article posting, photo gallery with rating features, blogging, social gaming, field-packed, customizable user profiles & more. Rayzz has a one-time fee of $397, making it one of the more expensive options.

» See Official Demo of Rayzz

Community Server has an extremely impressive portfolio: from building sites like MySpace Forums, Microsoft AdCenter, Visa.com, Reader's Digest, Betty Crocker and many other Fortune-caliber companies, it is an enterprise solution that mixes traditional website building with social networking, blogging and other interactivity.

» More Info on Community Server

Pringo is an enterprise social networking solution that mainly tends to the needs of larger corporations and their desire to enter the world of social networking. One of their showcase sites is advice.eharmony.com - which was built entirely through their software. There are several "tiers" of the software, each with different sets of features. Pringo has a starting price tag of about $15,000.

» More Info on Pringo