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How much maintenance is required to run a social networking site?

by Catman
4 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
    • |
So, I have been reading the posts on the topic of "social networking sites" here in WF.

I have also done a lot of research outside of WF on this topic.

But, I can't find any clear answers as to how much maintenance is required to run these type of sites.

I need to know for a couple reasons.

One, I want to create a site like this for my own use.

and...

Two, I have customers that want me to create these sites for them.

I'm not too worried about the first reason. I'll be able to maintain a site like this no matter what needs to be done. If I don't know how to do something, then I figure it out.

The second reason is another issue though.

Will someone with little Web master knowledge be able to own and maintain one of these sites?

This will also help me decide if I should charge a monthly maintenance fee.

Yes, I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but I'm just putting this out there in hopes getting a more clear picture of what's going on.

I would go ahead and build one of these sites for my own use, figure out all the required maintenance, THEN build them for other people...but, this is not an option because my customers want these sites RIGHT NOW....

So, I have to figure things out before I start.

Oh yea...

I'm probably going to go with one of these two scripts:

SocialEngine PHP Social Network Script - Build your own social network community!

Social Site Generator - Social Networking Software

Thanks!
#maintenance #networking #required #run #site #social
  • Profile picture of the author n7 Studios
    Social networks are a lot more work than you might think.

    Your first task is getting users to the site - whether it be through SEO, PPC etc. That takes time and money.

    Your next task is to then make sure you provide continued functionality and new features. Otherwise, unless the content and community are particularly compelling, you'll start to see people trail off. Users of social networking sites are fickle; they'll be there one minute, and onto the next one the next.

    If you're doing this for a client, expect the client to either have lots of input or none at all. There's never an in-between; your client will either want your direction, or tell you to make it like Facebook.

    Once the community is built, yes, you can certainly push for a maintenance contract in terms of having someone (possibly even full time) to keep things running.

    All of this is just from my experience of building /maintaining these sites - others may have different opinions.

    Tim.
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    THE Web Development Guru - Bespoke WordPress Theme, Plugin + iPhone Apps [HTML5, CSS3, PHP, MySQL].
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  • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
    I've worked on a social type network with approximately 200,000 registered users, and it took 4-5 developers working pretty much full time to keep up with it. Of course, we were continually adding to it and developing new ideas (though I was pretty green at the time and didn't have a huge role). It wasn't actually a pure social network, it was a music community that allowed artists to connect with music fans, so there were some layers of complexity added.

    I wouldn't make one of these sites without recommending to clients that they employ at least one full-time, or close to full-time webmaster taking care of the site.
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    I build web things, server things. I help build the startup Veenome. | Remote Programming Jobs
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    • Profile picture of the author Catman
      Thank you for the replies. It really helps to hear from people that are experienced with these type of sites.

      For now, I'm going to create a social networking site of my own just to get the experience...test some things out, then see what happens.

      Right now I can't take on the Webmaster duties to run one of these sites for someone else...maybe build it, but not run it...
      Because of what I have going on now I might be stretching myself too thin.

      With that said, I still think these sites are great for leveraging a niche.

      What I'm thinking to do is either create a social networking section within my Web site builder site, or a completely separate social networking site on a different topic.

      Either way I think these sites would be a lot of fun.

      Amir
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  • Profile picture of the author Bigdadda
    Amir, did you decide on SSG or SocialEngine?
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