Today, the digital world has made it impossible for people to function by only joining giant social platforms, like Facebook or Instagram. There is a huge demand for niche social media websites – spots people can go to connect around shared interests, local communities, businesses, or causes.
Among the many CMS available, SocialEngine has gained the reputation of being one of the best for building social network websites. Offering a self-hosted version, lots of plugin options, and near-endless customization potential, SocialEngine gives you full control of your platform, a privilege you cannot attain with mainstream social media sites.
What is the CMS for a Social Networking Websites?
A CMS (Content Management System) is software that assists you in the creation, management, and organization of content on a website without the need for any coding beyond the basics.
Using a CMS, you create pages, format pictures, add users, upload media, etc., instead of coding each little thing for the site from scratch. In other words, you essentially use the tools of the CMS to help you build the site’s functionality simply and easily.
On social networking sites, the CMS handles much more than just content; it forms the backbone of your community. Members can:
- Create and customize profiles
- Share photos, videos, and updates
- Like, comment, and chat with friends privately
- Join groups and events
- Take part in forums, discussions, or polls
The CMS for social networking will also have features that allow admins to easily control privacy, moderate users, and even implement monetization along the lines of ads or subscriptions.
The best part about a CMS is scaling community; you start with a few hundred members, your community grows into thousands, and then into millions of users-all this without compromising performance.
To see how features come together, read Key Components for Creating a Social Network: Profiles, Feeds, Groups & Pages.
Essential Features in a CMS for Social Networking Websites
Not all CMS solutions provide the same types of capabilities. Certain CMS solutions focus on blogs or eCommerce, but a CMS provided to build a site for the purpose of networking requires features to assist with interaction, engagement, and community building.
When looking for a CMS, here are the essential features you need to allow for:
1. User Profiles & Customization
Members should be able to build profiles with detail, including bios, profile pictures, and personalization tools. This makes your network feel more human and interactive.
2. Activity Feeds & Real-Time Updates
Every social network needs a central feed from which users can get access to posts, comments, likes, and updates. Real-time updates can also help keep users engaged with an active community.
3. Groups & Community Management
Community thrives when users can build or join smaller groups around shared interests. The CMS needs to provide the ability to create and manage groups, discuss groups, hold events, and organize content sharing.
4. Multimedia Sharing
Today’s users expect more than just typing text posts. This means the CMS needs to support photos, videos, music, polls, blogs, live streaming, and checking in to places for their friends to see.
5. Privacy & Security Controls
Communities touch on personal data, so privacy settings from your users and moderating tools, and GDPR compliance should be good in practice. Users need to feel safe and secure.
Learn why enterprises trust SocialEngine in our post Top 5 Reasons Why Enterprises Choose SocialEngine for Worker Communities.
Why SocialEngine is the Best CMS for Social Networking Websites?
When it comes to creating a professional, scalable, and engaging social networking site, SocialEngine is the best CMS you can look for. Unlike generic alternatives, SocialEngine was created to cater to the unique needs of online communities. Here’s why it is best:
1. Self-Hosted & Fully Own Your Platform
When you choose SocialEngine, you fully own your platform, including all the code. Unlike the big social media sites, you own the data, privacy settings, and community rules. There are no third-party decisions that override what you want to provide to your community.
2. Large Collection of Plugins
SocialEngine is built with a robust collection of powerful plugins. From Events, Groups, Classifieds, Videos, Business Listings, Blogs, Music Sharing, Forums, and more, other plugins offer the power to extend the functionality of your site and help you create a community relevant to you.
3. Extremely Customizable
With SocialEngine, you are not locked into a definite look or set of features, as there are a number of pre-built themes and plugin integrations that are ready-to-go without code knowledge. Developers have the option to easily extend features if needed.
4. Scalability for Any Type of Community
If you are only starting with a small group of a few hundred members or you want to create a social network for thousands of users, you can be assured in knowing that SocialEngine can manage it seamlessly. SocialEngine is built to grow with your community.
Essential SocialEngine Plugins for Networking
One of SocialEngine’s major advantages is its plugin ecosystem. Plugins allow SocialEngine to become a truly rich community that allows members to connect, network, and collaborate. Some of the most useful plugins for this include:
- Groups Plugin: Create a group around interests and enable members to join. Each group can include activity feed, media, and conversations.
- Events Plugin: Create online or offline events that allow members to RSVP and make updates, as well as create recurring events.
- Classifieds Plugin: Allows members to buy, sell, or advertise items and services that get tagged straight to your communities – this is a great plugin if you want to include a marketplace component.
- Business Listings Plugin: Enable local businesses, start-ups, or professionals to showcase their profiles. This is a very useful plugin to create opportunities for business networking and growth.
- Video & Music Sharing Plugins: Enable users to upload, share, and engage with user-generated multimedia to increase interaction, creativity, and community engagement.
- GDPR & Profile Lock Plugins: Provide solid privacy tools to ensure you stay compliant and also give your members complete control over their profiles.
- Push Notifications & Mobile Apps: Remind your community to stay engaged with their immediate need for connection, networking with your community members in real-time, and a mobile-friendly experience.
Conclusion
Starting with the right CMS is a critical step in building a successful social networking website. With the richness available to you with SocialEngine’s self-hosted CMS, plugins, control over your privacy features, and monetization options, you have everything you need to create, grow, and manage an online community!
If you want to build a specialized network around some personal hobby, a professional business community, or as a bigger social platform, and whatever community you choose, SocialEngine gives you the flexibility and strength to bring your idea to life! If you’re serious about launching a community that you securely own and control, SocialEngine is the ideal CMS for social networking websites.
🚀 Try SocialEngine CMS today – the most powerful platform to create your own custom community site.
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