Choose Your Path

Recommended guide sequences for 8 app types — pick your closest match and follow the build order.

Not sure where to start? Pick the app type closest to what you’re building. Each path is an ordered sequence of guides — follow them in order for the smoothest build, or jump to any step directly.

Social

Instagram, BeReal, Strava

Community

Reddit, Discord, Facebook Groups

Gaming

Clans, streams, presence

Marketplace

Depop, Etsy, social commerce

Livestream

Twitch, YouTube Live

Direct Messages

Dating, support, DMs

Group Chat

Discord, Slack, team rooms

Live Chat

Twitch chat, events, Q&A

---

Social

Instagram, BeReal, Strava — content sharing with profiles, stories, and a social graph.

Build

Core platform — users, content, and social graph.

1. User Onboarding & Visitor Mode

   Let users explore content before signing up, then transition to authenticated sessions with profile setup.

   → Open guide · Beginner

2. Build a Social Feed

   The core loop — home timeline, community feeds, and a global discovery feed with real-time updates.

   → Open guide · Beginner

3. Rich Content Creation

   Text, image, video, and poll posts with @mentions, hashtags, and media uploads.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

4. Comments & Reactions

   Threaded comments and emoji reactions on posts — the engagement layer.

   → Open guide · Beginner

5. Stories & Ephemeral Content

   24-hour stories with story rings, view counts, and impression analytics.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

6. User Profiles & Social Graph

   Follow/unfollow, connection requests, profile pages, and follower lists.

   → Open guide · Beginner

Engage & Grow

Retention, safety, and private messaging.

1. Notifications & Engagement

   In-app notification tray and push notifications to drive retention.

   → Open guide · Advanced

2. Content Moderation Pipeline

   User flagging → admin review → AI moderation → webhook automation.

   → Open guide · Advanced

3. 1:1 Chat & DMs

   Private direct messaging between users.

   → See Direct Messages path · All levels

Monetize

Turn engagement into revenue.

1. Product Tagging & Social Commerce

   Turn posts into shoppable content — tag products from your catalogue so followers can browse and buy.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

2. Advertising & Monetization

   Native ads in feeds — console-driven placement, frequency, and impression tracking.

   → Open guide · Beginner

---

Community

Reddit, Discord, Facebook Groups — discussions, moderation, and discovery.

Build

Community spaces, governance, and content.

1. Community Platform

   Create public and private communities with categories, membership, and governance settings.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

2. Roles, Permissions & Governance

   Moderator roles, post review queues, and ban management.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

3. Rich Content Creation

   Posts and polls inside community feeds.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

4. Comments & Reactions

   Threaded discussions and emoji reactions.

   → Open guide · Beginner

Engage & Grow

Discovery, safety, and communication.

1. Search & Discovery

   Find communities, trending topics, and category browsing.

   → Open guide · Beginner

2. Content Moderation Pipeline

   Rules enforcement — flagging, AI screening, webhook automation.

   → Open guide · Advanced

3. Group Chat

   Persistent chat rooms for community members.

   → See Group Chat path · All levels

Monetize

Turn community activity into revenue.

1. Product Tagging & Social Commerce

   Let members tag products in community posts — marketplace boards, group buys, and curated recommendations.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

2. Advertising & Monetization

   Sponsored posts and native ads in community feeds.

   → Open guide · Beginner

---

Gaming

Discord, Twitch — clans, livestreams, and real-time presence.

Build

Clans, governance, and streaming.

1. Community Platform

   Clan and team spaces with membership and privacy settings.

   → Open guide · Advanced

2. Roles, Permissions & Governance

   Clan leadership roles, mod tools, and member management.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

3. Livestream & Video Posts

   In-game streams, co-hosting, VOD playback, and live chat.

   → Open guide · Advanced

Engage & Grow

Presence, chat, and push alerts.

1. Real-time Presence & Activity

   “Online now” indicators and channel presence tracking.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

2. Group Chat

   Text channels for clans and teams.

   → See Group Chat path · All levels

3. Notifications & Engagement

   Match alerts, tournament updates, and push notifications.

   → Open guide · Advanced

Monetize

Merch, sponsorships, and partner revenue.

1. Product Tagging & Social Commerce

   Tag merch, in-game items, and partner products in clan posts and stream content.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

2. Advertising & Monetization

   In-feed ads for tournament sponsorships and partner promotions.

   → Open guide · Beginner

---

Marketplace

Depop, Etsy — social commerce with buyer-seller messaging and shoppable content.

Build

Storefront, discovery, and shoppable content.

1. User Onboarding & Visitor Mode

   Let browsers explore listings before signing up.

   → Open guide · Beginner

2. User Search & People Discovery

   Find sellers, creators, and shops.

   → Open guide · Beginner

3. Content Sharing & Deep Links

   Shareable product pages and deep-link routing.

   → Open guide · Beginner

4. Product Tagging & Social Commerce

   Turn posts and livestreams into shoppable storefronts with product tagging, catalogues, and engagement analytics.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

Engage & Grow

Buyer-seller communication and trust & safety.

1. 1:1 Chat

   Buyer-seller messaging with read receipts.

   → See Direct Messages path · All levels

2. Content Moderation Pipeline

   Keep listings safe — flagging, AI screening, and admin review.

   → Open guide · Advanced

Monetize

Promoted listings and native ads.

1. Advertising & Monetization

   Native ads in feeds with console-driven config and impression tracking.

   → Open guide · Beginner

---

Livestream

Twitch, YouTube Live — broadcast with interactive chat, streamer profiles, and shoppable streams.

Build

Broadcasting and community spaces.

1. Livestream & Video Posts

   Broadcast rooms, co-hosting, live chat overlay, and recorded playback.

   → Open guide · Advanced

2. Community Platform

   Stream communities where followers gather and discover content.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

Engage & Grow

Chat, audience building, and notifications.

1. Live Chat

   Real-time stream chat with high-volume message handling.

   → See Live Chat path · All levels

2. User Profiles & Social Graph

   Follow streamers, view streamer profiles, and build an audience.

   → Open guide · Beginner

3. Notifications & Engagement

   “X just went live” push alerts and activity notifications.

   → Open guide · Advanced

Monetize

Shoppable streams and ad revenue.

1. Product Tagging & Social Commerce

   Pin products during a stream, let viewers browse and buy — turn broadcasts into revenue.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

2. Advertising & Monetization

   Native ads alongside streams and in the VOD feed.

   → Open guide · Beginner

---

Direct Messages

Dating apps, customer support, marketplace DMs — private 1:1 messaging with read receipts and rich media.

1. Channels & Conversations

   Create a private Conversation channel between two users and display a chat list.

   → Open guide · Beginner

2. Sending Messages

   Build the message thread — send, receive, and load history.

   → Open guide · Beginner

3. Unread Counts & Read Receipts

   Show the sender when their message was delivered and read.

   → Open guide · Beginner

4. Rich Media Messages

   Photos, voice notes, files, and custom content types.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

---

Group Chat

Discord, Slack, team rooms — persistent channels with roles, media, threaded replies, and moderation.

1. Channels & Conversations

   Create a Community channel, invite members, and display a real-time channel list.

   → Open guide · Beginner

2. Channel Roles & Permissions

   Establish who can do what before the first message is sent.

   → Open guide · Intermediate

3. Messaging & Rich Media

   Text, images, audio, files, and custom message types.

   → Open guide · Beginner

4. Threads & Reactions

   Threaded replies and emoji reactions to keep the main chat clean.

   → Open guide · Beginner

5. Chat Moderation

   Muting, banning, AI content screening, and webhook automation.

   → Open guide · Advanced

---

Live Chat

Twitch chat, sports events, live Q&A — high-volume, many-to-many commentary alongside live content.

1. Channels & Conversations

   Create a Live-type channel that persists across broadcast sessions.

   → Open guide · Beginner

2. Sending Messages

   Real-time message sending and querying with automatic rate limiting.

   → Open guide · Beginner

3. Message Reactions

   Emoji reactions without flooding the chat with text messages.

   → Open guide · Beginner

4. Chat Moderation

   Automated and manual tools for high-volume chat — mute, ban, AI screening.

   → Open guide · Advanced