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“Follow the plan outlined here and you can create your own website from scratch without writing any code for less than $300.”
Facebook is one of the most successful websites of all time.
The popular social networking website has more than 2.2 billion active monthly users as of the beginning of 2018.
It makes sense that entrepreneurs and webmasters would want a slice of the pie. That’s just one reason you might be interested in creating a website that rivals the social media giant.
Luckily for you, it’s easier than ever before to make a social network website like Facebook. Thanks to the intuitiveness of WordPress and several high-performance themes, you can create your own social networking website in the blink of an eye.
Can you really make it on your own?
The answer to that question is a resounding yes! The best WordPress themes to make a website like Facebook are extraordinarily easy to use. Best of all, they have a team of support professionals on hand to help you with any issues you come up against.
How much does it cost? You can get all the tools you need to build the site for less than $200. Follow along with this guide to see exactly how it all fits together.
How your site will look
Facebook is notable for its simple, straightforward layout and design.
This minimalistic approach makes the user experience highly intuitive. Even those with very basic computer skills and hardware/software can use Facebook with ease.
Another highlight of the Facebook experience is the powerful features. It’s absolutely loaded with powerful sharing and engagement tools to boost the user experience.
Here’s a preview of how the site you’ll create will look:
WordPress can help you create a website experience that rivals this and the top social network WordPress themes aren’t just a rip-off of Facebook. Instead, they incorporate their own unique features and elements for a top-level user experience.
How to create a site like Facebook
All that it takes to create a website like Facebook is to:
- Buy a domain name
- Get web hosting
- Install WordPress
- Install and configure your theme
- Launch your website
Our comprehensive guide to how to make a website with WordPress breaks down the first three steps in more detail, but we’ll cover them briefly here too.
It’s possible to set up your new website in well under an hour following these steps.
What resources do you need?
You first need to pick out an available domain name. Then you can signup for hosting.
If you signup with Nexcess, they’ll automatically create a new WordPress site for you.
We have a more detailed guide on how to make a website using WordPress for all the steps.
It walks you through every single step of the process in detail. It discusses everything from buying a domain name to finding web hosting to installing WordPress and more.
That’s the greatest thing about WordPress, actually. It’s so intuitive to use that it greatly limits the amount of resources you need.
Case in point:
You can get the site online on your own without hiring a web designer or developer. And this is without even knowing anything about web design or coding.
Why you should use WordPress
The benefits of using WordPress for your Facebook website – or any website, for that matter – cannot be overstated.
It’s simply the easiest and most affordable platform to create the best-looking and most functional websites around. WordPress itself is free and will always remain free.
Due to its popularity, WordPress has attracted a massive developer community over the last 13 years it’s been around. There are literally dozens, sometimes even hundreds of premium plugins and themes available to help you create whatever type of site you want.
And then there’s the reliability. Thanks to its immense global popularity, WordPress is the most reliable web development software in the world.
It also features thorough support and helpful resources. Most themes have extensive video tutorials and FAQs to help new users conquer any problems they come up against.
To make a website like Facebook, you need two more things in addition to a basic WordPress website.
Aardvark WordPress theme
A theme will completely change the design of your site and add customization features.
The top WordPress themes use intuitive drag-and-drop builders so that you can quickly and easily visualize the changes that you make.
If you do run into questions, most WordPress themes typically have extensive customer support resources, including live support from experts.
For a social network, there are a few options, but Aardvark stands out as the top contender.
Why You Should Use Aardvark
When it comes to building a powerful social networking website with WordPress, there are quite a few themes available, but my first recommendation is the Aardvark theme.
This theme is highly customizable and includes tons of features. You probably have some sort of unique concept that will make your site different than Facebook. Here’s an example page of Aardvark being used for a niche community site.
And there are plenty more examples available from the Aardvark page.
Aardvark is perfect for those looking to build an online community. You can even choose to monetize your new social site with the paid membership feature.
This WordPress theme also enables you to easily develop an online store using WooCommerce, run a blog, and add social media sharing buttons.
Another highlight of the Aardvark theme are the pre-built demos that enable you to see what your new website will look like with just one click.
BuddyPress
While the Aardvark theme will completely redesign your site, it’s designed to be used with the most popular social network plugin for WordPress, BuddyPress.
BuddyPress is a free plugin that adds all of the actual social features to your site. For instance, it allows registered members to:
- Create profiles
- Message each other
- Create and join social groups
- and more
I have some alternative theme recommendations below and they all use BuddyPress as well.
Why you should use BuddyPress
BuddyPress is the premier social media plugin for WordPress. It was designed to be easy for developers to work with. That doesn’t mean you need to write any code – the Aardvark developers already took care of that for you.
With BuddyPress, you can create your website so that visitors can create profiles, communicate with others, create groups, and so much more.
The possibilities range from creating a very basic, forum-style social networking website to a complex, fully-loaded platform that rivals Facebook itself.
All of this is done with ease of use in mind. Despite the number of top-notch functions available, BuddyPress is extremely easy for anyone to use.
That said, it’s still powerful enough for expert designers. It has all the features and functions that experts need for the most fully-loaded social networking website this side of Facebook.
Alternatives to Aardvark
Those that are looking for a slightly different theme to create a Facebook-like website should strongly consider Kleo and BeSocial.
Kleo
Kleo is a WordPress theme that’s known for its community-focused approach to building a social networking site. It’s fully responsive, easily customizable, and comes loaded with all the most important tools and plugins.
Besocial is another WordPress theme noted for its social media uses. It features an intuitive user interface, several beautiful pre-made layouts, and a host of social engagement tools that make it easy for your visitors to create and engage in their new community.
You can find even more recommendations in our collection of the best BuddyPress WordPress themes.
Launch your new Facebook website
If you want to create your own social networking website that’s similar to Facebook, then you can’t go wrong with the BuddyPress plugin and Aardvark theme.
To summarize, you can create your site by choosing a domain, registering it for free when you signup with Nexcess for hosting, install WordPress, and then configure one of the recommended themes.
That’s all that it takes to get your new website up and running. Of course, you can play around with it for as long as you like to get exactly what you’re looking for.
Once your new Facebook website is launched using one of the best social media WordPress themes, you’re sure to attract plenty of users with the right marketing plan.
