Basic Features Every Social Media App Should Have
Published: 2019-11-18 09:39:53


In this age, social media is an essential part of the internet. Some people even view it as something that depicts the present state of the internet in general. Do you remember the last time you used your mobile phone or PC? There are high chances that you have visited one or several popular social media applications, for example, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, or Instagram.
When it comes to developing social media applications, the first thing you have to do is to understand the fundamental elements that make them up. What functionalities do users want? What aspects do social media giants share? While the answers to these questions are not that straightforward, the bottom line is that leading social media applications have some shared characteristics that each aspiring developer needs to adopt in his app. 

##Typical Features of Social Media Applications
![Social network app features](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/v3tgitzf7hzrd8l2cjaz.jpg)
Below are some of the features that are shared across various social media platforms. Most successful social media apps have a number of characteristics in common.

###Authorization
Making the authorization of users straightforward to ensure their smooth onboarding experience is one of the essential features that social media applications share. All told, the vital thing is to ensure that there are as minimal steps to authorization as possible. 
Creation and Editing of Profiles
Another feature that is typical for various social media apps is the possibility of not only creation but editing of user profiles. Such applications allow users to create and edit their profiles on the specific app so that others could find them there. 

###In-App Messages
Social media applications tend to have in-app messaging. This functionality is common practice for anyone who knows [how to create a social media app](https://theappsolutions.com/blog/development/how-to-develop-social-media-app/) and a vital step that developers must put into account as a way to satisfy the users’ requirements. 

###Photos and Videos Uploading
A feature that is highly on-demand in social media apps is image and video uploading. Regardless of the type of social media network you are looking at, there’s always the option for uploading a photo to one’s profile and, in some cases, editing as well.  

###Connecting with Other Social Media Networks
Users want to share their images, content, and videos across various platforms. As such, many social media applications offer users a way to link and share their content on multiple social media platforms. 

###Search Bar
Including a search button in the app helps users to look up for people, communities, pages, among other things. This functionality has become quite common for social media applications. 

###Push Alerts
Push notifications are not new to social media platforms. In fact, they are commonplace in the mobile app development world, no matter of the genre of the application.

The features mentioned above are the most common across different social media apps. However, as someone who’s looking to develop your own social media platform, you will need to think beyond these and, at the same time, about how your app will make an impact in the social media world. This foresight will help you to create an app that has all these features plus plenty of other functionalities.