How to Create Facebook Applications

Facebook was started as a way for college students to communicate with each other. Over time the site grew rapidly and now anyone with an email address can join. Facebook ranks very high in search engines and has a high rating on Alexa. Facebook also has the highest number of photo uploads a day than any other website, including Flickr. Facebook Platform was launched in May of 2007. Since then over 9,000 applications have been made and new ones are created daily.

Facebook applications are becoming extremely profitable. Small applications, such as the one that allows you to mark which country you are from on a map, are now worth an estimated 2 million dollars. Some developers include advertisements to their blogs, websites and other products in their applications and use it as a marketing tool. The possibilities are endless and Facebook encourages new, unusual ideas.

I've written a short guide to help you get started with your own Facebook Application. I recommend that you go to all the links I've listed as well. One guide probably won't be enough to teach all that you need to know. After you've made your application remember to test it with Facebook's free tools to prevent any errors.

Before you begin to make your own check out this page to see applications other people have made. You will need to create a Facebook account or log into the one you already have.

1. To start off with go to http://developers.facebook.com/

2. Click on Get Started

3. Click on Add Developer

4, You are now taken to another page asking you to click Add Developer again

5. You should now see a page that says "Congratulations! You have successfully installed the Developer App!" A link that says Developer should now appear in the menu under the search bar. Click on that link.

Currently you should have no installed applications so you need to create one. Click on Add New Application. After choosing a name for your application Facebook takes you through a step by step wizard to help you complete it. There are literally tons of applications for you to play with. You can download the client library here: http://developers.facebook.com/clientlibs/facebook-platform.tar.gz

For further help on creating a Facebook Application go here:

Developers.Facebook.Com

Merchantos.com

Sitepoint.com

Apprate

Tip
Make good use of the free debugging tools they give you. Once the application is running the user will be able to see the edited page in the source code.