What features or modules does your Social Network really need?

Social Network Web Design

When coming up with the ideas for your social network are you left wondering what modules and features you actually need?  If you have too few will the user be bored but on the other hand too many and you may swamp the website.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when choosing the features for your social network.

  1. Do you need a profile page?  Not all social networks have a profile page but simply have an image with your name.
  2. Do you want your users to communicate easily?  If this is the case then you definitely want a private mail.
  3. Do you want open discussions?  If this is the case then a forum is the best bet.
  4. Will your users be uploading content like photos and images?  Most social networks allow lots of different media but you must be careful when choosing is media can swallow a lot of disc space.
  5. Chat rooms?  They can be great if people use them but there’s nothing worse than an empty chat room.
  6. Do you want to sell things?  You could have a classifieds section or maybe even an online shop.
  7. Will your user base want problems solved?  If so then a question and answers module will do the trick.
  8. Anyone up for blogging?  Do you want your users to blog?  Blog modules come in various guises most up to the task.

So as you can see there is much to consider when choosing your Social Network Web Design Solution.