Have you ever thought of creating your own social network like Facebook, but with personalized features and its own identity? A network where you can define the design, overall organization, and even privacy policy.Currently, Facebook rules the social media world. According to the 2017 survey, about 68% of U.S adults use Facebook, and more than 65 million businesses are owners of a Facebook fan page.

However, Facebook cannot satisfy the needs of everyone on the market, that’s why various social media channels exist. Here are some curious facts to back this up:

• In 2017, about 88% of businesses used Twitter for marketing purposes;
• YouTube reaches more adults than any other cable network in the U.S.;
• Instagram became the most popular social media channel among 32% of teenagers.

The market needs more options for personalization. Your target audience craves for a personal approach. Something more specific, something more exciting.

Let's Create 

There are several methods that you can use to create a social website. But most of the methods are old, difficult & outdated. Below, I’ve used the latest & easiest method.

There are many web applications and software options like WordPress, BuddyPress, Peepso Plugin, Ning, Socialgo, Kickapps, SocialEngines and so many tools. But today, I am going to guide you to the best method. With this method, you get all of the social network website ready-made web functions available in a single dashboard..!

Yes. All Facebook features, from user’s profile to chat to groups to ads and 200+ more! You may get surprised!

You can also start to monetize to generate revenue. You can get Google Adsense, buy/sell marketplace within the social website, offer subscriptions, ads, etc. You can make money, but first, you need good traffic.

So, how to create a Facebook-like website? Just follow the 4 steps below.

Step -1:

1. Get A Bluehost Package

Go to Bluehost.com

Once you have clicked the above Bluehost link, you will see this page.

Bluhost shared hosting

Next, click the “hosting” menu, then click “shared hosting”. Choose the Basic plan. In the beginning, the $2.95 plan is enough.

(If you buy for 1 month, then the cost will increases. $2.95/month if you buy for a year)

If you assume that your website gets less than 50,000 visits per month, then order the basic plan.  If you assume you get high traffic suddenly, then I recommend the $6.95 choice plan even your website gets fewer visitors per month. If you get more or fewer visitors, you can upgrade or downgrade the plan at any time. 

After Purchasing Let's Move to Step no.2 

2. Install Any Social Networking Website Software From Softaculaous

Go to the Advanced menu that you can see on the bottom left side. Then, scroll down and find Softaculous.

go to Bluehost softaculous

Click Softaculous,  and then you will see lots of web applications.

Look at the left side of the menu. Click the Social Networking Tab & click “Open Source Social Network”

Install open source social networking website application

Under the social networking menu, you will see Dolphin, Oxwall, pH/CMS, Jcow, Elgg, Open source social network and more. “Open source social network” is completely free forever. Dolphin is a premium software and gives you a 15-day free trial only. In this example, I selected “Open Source Social Network” software because it is free as well as being a really great web application with all of the necessary Facebook-like features.

You can select any software. You can see the demo. Don’t worry; even if you choose a different software, the method is exactly the same as below. You can change any software or take backup & restore the original. (That I will explain later)

Main features of OSSN (Open Source Social Network)

• Realtime activity notifications, newsfeed, instant chat
• Photo, Video sharing
• Blogs, forums, wiki
• Groups, events, friends
• Comment, tag, rate any kind of content
• Privacy and profile customization
• Collaboration, file sharing, video-conference tools
• Ads (You can make money from this feature)
• Polls
• Site announcement
• Group Invitations
• Two Factor Authentication, Password Validation, GDPR
• First-time login custom functions – Redirecting first users with different pages to make them understand about the website.
• Feedback
• Audio, Video Call
• Halloween like effects
• Popular posts
• Site Moderations
• Custom user fields
• Verified Profile
• Link preview
• User points
• Hashtags & topics
• Flagging or reporting inappropriate content
• File Sharing
• Auto login
• Paid Access
• Share post
• Fan & Business page
• Forum
• Server Migration
• Events
• Access Code
• Private network
• Notification via email
• Login With Mobile number
• Site Offline
• Social login like Login with Facebook, Twitter, Google.
• Account list by gender search
• Blacklist word or bad word censorship
• User Categories
• Upcoming birthdays
• Ban users

Open source social network features

Once you’ve clicked on “Open Source Social Network” , then you will see this page.  Admin username & password are very important. Write down.

Follow the red arrows.

set up & install open souce social network application on your bluehost

Sometimes you may get the “A trusted SSL Certificate was not found” notification. In that case, just contact Bluehost support or you need to turn on SSL from your Bluehost dashboard – my sites – hover on your site box icon – then you see manage site option, click it – go to security tab – there you will find the SSL turn on the switch. Turn on SSL & come back to install OSSN. If you don’t understand, then just ask the Bluehost support. They will help you for free.

Next, click the install button. It may take up to 1 minute. You will see the progress bar. Once the installation has finished, then you will see your admin login URL. The username & password are the same as those which you typed above.

Social network website login URL

It may take up to a few minutes. Once the installation has finished then you will see your admin login URL. The username & password are the same – which you typed above. If your domain name is mysocialsite.com, then usually the login will be mysocialsite.com/administrator

Next, enter your username & password.

Login to your social network website

Next, you will see the dashboard. You are the admin of your website. You can change anything on your website.

You can click on the homepage to see the real version of your own Facebook website!  You will see something similar to like this.

social network website demo

You can change it like this also.

social network website like Facebook home page sign up

Step-3:

3. Get Started With Your Own Social Website That Exactly Looks Like Facebook

After you’ve signed up, you will see your own website that looks very similar to Facebook! (This is an onchatter.com website screenshot, which was created by Dave Caldwell by following this guide)

social network website like facebook

Here are the essential social profile features. You can control all users’ profiles or activity. You can ban or delete anyone’s account because you are the owner of the social website and you have 100% control over the website!

social profile, images, timeline and other settings

You can control all your users from the admin dashboard.

your social network website admin dashboard

Now you can share your own Facebook-like website with your friends..! 

Step 4:

Promote & Generate Revenue – You Can  Easily Make Money From Your Social Network Website

So, how can you make money from your version of Facebook?

Before thinking about it, you have to get good traffic.

Launch publicly in your college. Share it with your friends. Give credit points for sharing (using the OSSN user points program) and try to make the news on local newspapers. Attract kids by sharing funny videos on your website.

Contact celebrities & ask them to share it on their social media. You get a really big boost for your website by using the celebrity method marketing. You can easily get affordable pricings from Instagram models, TikTok stars, or YouTubers.

If you can get to 100k visitors, then you may become a millionaire before long!

Once you get good traffic, then you can make a profit from various ways:

1. Google Adsense (you can easily display ads all over your website in a single click & immediately you start to earn money if you get good traffic)
2. Your own Ad system (OSSN offers this ready-made ad function just like Facebook)
3. Paid Access for premium members
4. Selling stuff or integrating Amazon associate commission program
5. Premium community services
6. Selling games, Ebooks, etc.
7. Once you get good traffic, for example 1000 visitors/day, then your website valuation increases. Sell your entire website. (I did this one – How I Created a Social Network Website & Made A Profit In 26 Days)

If you build your website for a niche community, particularly for Musicians or Photographers or Business, then you can attract many people and generate a significant profit. Once you get enough traffic (atleast 1000 visitors /month) then you could try to apply for Google Adsense. Otherwise, Google may not approve. You can sell items for Musicians or any particular niche.

You can control your social site users here.

social website user manager

You can add many premium features. After you get some accounts then it will look like this screenshot. You can add sponsorship options and generate an income.

social network website example

Yup! Share your website with your friends and get traffic.

If you have any doubts, comment below & get a response within 24 hours. If you’ve got any problems while you are installing your social website then you can also get support from Bluehost. They provide you 24X7 live chat support & a ticket system. I suggest the ticket system because you can view it anytime. By contrast, in chat, once you close, everything will be deleted.

All the best for your social network website.