The Ultimate Feature Checklist for Building a Social Networking + Event App

Everyone is on social media! Everyone is on social media, and with this shift, many opportunities have been created in terms of anything social. One of them is events. Event platforms have become a part of social networking sites. Both of these platforms need real people to curate real connections with each other and build a community. Any social networking app can seamlessly build a successful event ecosystem with some specific features.

If you are also thinking about building a social networking + event app, make sure you have the right features stacked up in the right sequence. Each layer should support the next step in the process of event discovery. It should start with identity, followed by discovery, interaction, engagement, and scale. Take a look at the Thing blog to understand the right checklist to build a robust and scalable social networking app that supports event discovery.

Checklist #1

Start With the User: Identity, Intent & Trust

Users are the main element for events. It is critical to understand who the user is. Start by knowing their basic details, likes, dislikes, and help them build a profile in simple steps. To make a strong user foundation, follow this checklist:

• Simple onboarding via email, phone, or social login
• User profiles that capture interests, preferences, and intent
• Interest selection to personalize discovery from day one
• Privacy and notification controls
• Optional profile verification to build trust

This checklist is not only for profile registration, it also feels intentional and well-curated to the user. Eventually, it gives a solid start to users on the platform.

Checklist #2

Discovery Comes Next: Helping Users Find What Matters

Once the users are all set to explore the platform, the first and fundamental task is discovery. The discovery should be relevant and meaningful. You don't want the users to scroll endlessly and barely find good events to join. Modern discovery is all about relevance, not randomness.

Key discovery capabilities include:

• Personalized event feeds based on interests and behavior
• Location-aware recommendations
• Smart filters (category, timing, pricing, format)
• Search with intelligent suggestions
• Trending or popular events to surface social proof
• Save or bookmark options for later

The discovery should feel effortless which turns curiosity into action. An intuitive discovery process reduces drop-offs and improves active participation of the users.

Checklist #3

Empower the Creators: Event Creation & Hosting Tools

An event platform cannot function without top-notch creators, organizers, and hosts. A platform can help them to create value without friction. Here are some elements that can make event creation and promotion lightweight but impactful:

• Support for online, offline, and hybrid events
• Simple event setup with descriptions, media, and schedules
• Ticketing and RSVP management
• Capacity limits and waitlists
• Free, paid, or tiered pricing options
• Easy editing, rescheduling, or cancellation
• Dedicated host profiles and dashboards

Hosts should be able to seamlessly handle events on the platform. It encourages them to host more events on the platform as well as tells other event organizers to try out the platform, too.

Checklist #4

Turn Attendees Into a Network: The Social Layer

A platform should not only be able to successfully organize and promote events. One of the significant long-term goals should be to create a community. Events can bring like-minded people together. Adding a social feature can help them stick together even after the event is over. The social layer typically includes:

• Follow or connect functionality
• Interest-based communities or groups
• Event-based micro-communities
• Lightweight activity feeds for updates and interactions
• User discovery and recommendations

This layer can turn one-time attendees into consistent and active members on the platform. They stop being the visitors and start becoming members of a community.

Checklist #5

Real-Time Communication: The Heart of the Platform

Conversations are at the core of any event or socializing gig. Without some real and warm conversations, even the best-designed platform feels incomplete. If the chat is real-time, it can keep the community alive, events exciting, and discovery relatable. Communication features include things like:

• One-to-one messaging
• Group chats for events
• Interest-based or community chatrooms
• Media sharing (images, videos, reactions)
• Typing indicators and read receipts
• AI-powered moderation and spam filtering

When people talk with each other, it connects them in a true sense. All the other checklists can work if real-time communication between users is seamless.

Checklist #6

Personalization & AI: Making the Platform Feel Alive

Personalization is everywhere in today’s AI-powered platforms. You can’t compete with other platforms with manual discovery and static feeds. To really stand out, leverage AI and personalization to help users feel relatable and included. AI can enhance the whole platform experience with features like:

• Interest-based user matchmaking
• Event compatibility scoring
• Dynamic feed ranking
• Smart push notifications
• Behavior-based recommendations

With the right use of AI, the platform can feel intuitive, where the right people meet at the right time. 

Read Also: AI Matchmaking in Social Platforms: How Shared Interests Create Stronger Real-World Connections

Checklist #7

Engagement Loops: Keeping Users Coming Back

Giving that first boost to a platform is great, but keeping the users in the loop is the hard part. Because growth doesn’t come from a few successful events. It comes with building a strong community where users have multiple reasons to come back to the platform. Here are some Nyusoft-approved ways to keep users engaged:

• Event reminders and alerts
• Post-event follow-up suggestions
• Recommended next events
• Community activity notifications
• Optional lightweight gamification (streaks, badges)

The end goal is not addiction; it's a feeling of familiarity, connection, and relevance. Users should feel naturally engaged.

Checklist #8

Monetization: Building a Sustainable Business Model

Monetization is important. It keeps the platform running. Hence, any social platform should scale financially. Monetization should work in alignment of providing value.  Here are some important monetization features to include:

• Paid events and ticket sales
• Subscription plans
• Premium or private communities
• Platform commissions
• Creator payouts
• Discount codes and promotional tools

Monetization should support creators and communities. For a strong event and social platform ecosystem, monetization should feel like a non-negotiable checklist, not a forced feature.

Checklist #9

Safety, Trust & Compliance: Non-Negotiables

When people connect on a social platform, oftentimes they have to share personal details, either on the platform or during a chat with others. Users must feel safe enough to share anything on the platform. Safety is a fundamental element, and to ensure that, the platform should cover:

• Profile verification
• Report and block mechanisms
• AI-based content moderation
• Secure payment handling
• Data privacy and user consent

Any event or social platform can grow faster if the users feel safe. Win their trust with a top-notch safety checklist. Users will automatically feel confident to be an active member of the community, and eventually to attend more events.

Checklist #10

Admin Control & Analytics: Managing Growth at Scale

As the platform grows, admins should be able to have control over various activities happening on the platform. An effective admin layer must have:

• User and event moderation
• Community management tools
• Engagement and retention metrics
• Revenue dashboards
• Platform performance monitoring

This may work in the background, but admin control and analytics can ensure a sustainable and scalable event platform.

Bonus Checklist

The Tech Backbone That Makes Everything Work

All of these features can work without a glitch if the right technologies are combined in your social networking + event platform. Users won’t see this layer, but it can determine the overall performance, reliability, and scalability of the platform. At a high level, this includes:

• Mobile apps (iOS & Android) and web dashboards
• A real-time communication layer
• Secure backend APIs
• Cloud scalability
• Monitoring and logging systems

The goal isn’t complexity, it’s resilience.

Conclusion: Build Smart, Not Bloated

You want to build a smart social and event platform. The right way to achieve this is not to rush to include every feature on day one. Build smartly, grow slowly. Keep this checklist saved for the future and build a social and event platform with clarity and purpose. 

Nyusoft helps founders and companies develop scalable and impactful software and platforms. Our expertise in developing social networking + event platforms has helped many founders globally. 

Let’s make another engaging, scalable, and trustworthy social app for you. Shoot us a DM to get started.