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c h a p t e r8 :Customized experienCes via FaCebook appliCations■When taking into account user experience as it relates to the design of your
Facebook application, you must think about the needs of your user, any constraints
your company has from a business or brand point of view, and any limitations or needs
technically related to the application and your goals.
Generally you should always consider ease of use, information design (intuitive-
ness), the structure of the elements on your page, aesthetics, and overall functionality.
When designing a Facebook application, there are several specific elements to ponder:
• make sure your application doesn’t require users to install third-party applica-
tions to use your application.
• don’t force users into logic loops if they opt out of performing a task that you
deem valuable.
• don’t force users to spam their friends in order to enjoy the features of your
application.
• engage with your users.
• allow users to engage with each other.
• keep your application fresh by fixing ui issues that inevitably arise, and update
the app on a regular basis to encourage repeated use.Terms
lastly, you need to make sure Facebook is happy with what you’re doing with its plat-
form. after all, we must remember that we are all guests in their house, so to speak,
when we use the Facebook platform. as such, it’s just good manners to understand the
house rules and abide by them. after you’ve come up with a concept for your appli-
cation, it is well advised that you read through the developer principles and policies
(http://developers.facebook.com/policy), including the statement of rights and respon-
sibilities listed at the top.
on a very high level, you need to know that Facebook takes user privacy,
spamming, lying, cheating, copyright, pornography, hate speech, and intellectual
property very seriously. stray from any of these areas in a manner that is counter to
Facebook’s guidelines for acceptable use, and you should expect swift, unapologetic
action from Facebook to correct the situation for their users and remove your applica-
tion from Facebook altogether.Hire a Programmer
now that you have some understanding about what you need to be considering when
designing and deploying your shiny-new Facebook application, let’s talk about getting
someone to build it for you. Hiring a really good programmer who specializes in any
language is difficult process. We don’t want to overwhelm you, but at the same time,
this process needs to be taken seriously. there’s a very high price to be paid for hiring