How good is NING

[EDMOND BENJAMIN]

I have being thinking on ways to start a strong social network....Can some one help?

[Aaron]

Hi Edmond!

We have some helpful Member Engagement pages here that might serve as a good jumping-off point. That said, there's no better source of tips and best practices than your fellow Network Creators. So you've come to the right place! 

[SweetPotato]

Personally, I love it. Why?
It's easy to use.
It's reliable on up time
You don't have to be a webmaster in the true sense of the meaning, Ning host it so you don't have to worry about servers or heavy coding etc.
Fairly flexible price points for mini, plus and pro.
Great community support.

Cons? A few but what platform is perfect?

Good luck
SP

[Thiago Santos de Moraes]

Yes, I love too, especially for the easy to use

[John Petrowski]

Highly recommended. For any faults NING may have, the truth is they are far above their competitors. I'd also look at stability and NING is financially sound. I'm not too sure I'd want to spend the next 3 years building a thriving community only to find out that they're going out of business. 

[Garfield Creator]

Language Editor and ability to gather and manage member info.  Unbeatable.

[Thiago Santos de Moraes]

I totally agree, the language editor is one of the most incredible features in Ning. With this you can create a entire network in latin:

http://schola.ning.com/

[Bernard Lama]

I chose Ning because I liked the Layout and themes and its ability to help me get my site designed exactly how I wanted, even though I have no design experience. Creating a site like mine without Ning would have been much more expensive and taken much longer. I saved time and I saved money by using it. 

[Ceddy J]

You have had great tips though Bernard.

[Bernard Lama]

It's pleasure to share those tips..thanks for liking it.

[Ceddy J]

Edmond,

Without even mentioning none of the features, the main thing that is a deal breaker for NING is this site. How often do you find a company who interacts with its customers to help them grow along with fellow customers helping you grow as well. Not to mention 95% of the cases you don't pay any additional costs for this help.

I love my fellow NING Creators and without them I would dehydrate from the countless amount tears trying to get feedback to head in the right direction with my site The Dusk Spot.

[Riccardo Rossini]

Easy to use, stable and very versatile

[Robert Druse]

I have been a member (All Star Voices) of Ning for about a year or so and I am very happy so far. Before this I was using Word Press and my hosting was by Host Gator. I loved HG but did not like WP, despite all it has to offer. I understand it is open source and there is a bit of a "learning curve" but I found what I call all the "flowery talk" so unhelpful. The folks are HG were always great and told me that SEO loves Word Press.

After working with WP's Buddy Press and so many plug in's either crashing or not configuring corresctly, I decided to look into a social network that was much easier to use, and I decided on Ning. There are a few more things which Ning could offer and areas which they could improve but they are in the process of improving all the time. The people are also always very helpful and polite.

I have not used any other platforms so could not give an honest comparison. I can just tell you that I would and do recommend Ning.