Create a Streaming Platform – How It’s Done

These days, the internet is a constant companion that’s impossible to ignore. This is especially true for both industry and retail. Applications and web platforms allow companies to showcase projects and services to customers, enabling online shopping, payment processing, and managing invoices and liabilities. But the internet also plays an important role in private life and education. Tutorial videos replace lengthy instructions and allow you to learn online. Other platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo guarantee many hours of fun for users worldwide. Whether it’s listening to music, watching an event, or, for example, viewing series and movies, in this article we’ll show you what you should pay attention to when programming and using an online platform.

Create Your Own Streaming or Video Platform: The Key Points in Brief

Creating Your Own Video Platform: What Exactly Is a Streaming Platform?

Most people who use the internet know what an online video platform is, even without special knowledge. The best examples are sites like Dailymotion, YouTube, or Vimeo, which allow users to watch all kinds of videos. This can include movies and trailers as well as documentaries, musicals, or tracks from an album. Other portals are private or have restricted access—for example, for employees in a company for training or for students at a school. The possible uses are extensive and varied. What many users don’t know: The technology and code behind such portals is very complex and extensive. Some examples of streaming platforms include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Twitch. Twitch is the most well-known video platform and already an integral part of everyday life for new generations.

The Advantages and Goals of a Live Streaming Portal Like Twitch

The benefits of an online platform are obvious. They offer visitors, customers, employees, etc. the opportunity to watch videos. These could be tutorials or instructional videos, or even school classes, continuing education, and so on. A large part of video platforms like YouTube is also used for streaming and entertainment. You can watch trailers, movies, documentaries, and music videos. In addition, some platforms are used for monetization. Some successful YouTubers now earn a significant income from the platform that surpasses the average salary of many other jobs and is more than enough to live on.

The advantages are also apparent. A good online video platform is easy to use. It combines a variety of functions and is directly linked to the company and its database. Thus, the platform, for example, can send emails, notify certain responsible persons, etc. Just think of all the functions available to you when you’re on YouTube. There are a lot of them—from notifications, likes, and dislikes to watchlists, your own channels, and the ability to follow users and channels. And what you see as a user is just the frontend. The backend, with all its functions and tasks determining who is informed when and how, and how the platform interacts, is a whole different story.

Ten Tips for Programming Video Platforms or a Live Streaming App

Now that you know what an online video platform is, what advantages it offers, and what it’s used for, it’s time for you to learn how to implement such a complex project successfully. In this section, we’ll present ten expert tips that will help you make your project a success.

Tip 1: Thorough and Forward-Looking Planning Is a Must

As mentioned earlier, an online platform or web app is a complex piece of software. This cannot be compared to creating and programming a simple website. Therefore, you should start your venture with thorough and forward-looking planning. Consider what goals you want to achieve with the platform, what tasks it should take on, etc. Also keep in mind how many users will use the platform, which other software or systems need to be integrated, and so on. Planning and creating a concept is absolutely crucial for the success of a platform.

Tip 2: Sufficient Server Capacity Is Essential

An online platform consists of a series of subsystems. You need a database to store data and possibly other tools, such as framework integrations, APIs, payment providers, etc. This must be taken into account when procuring a server. Especially for larger and more complex platforms, there will quickly be a high volume of data and traffic. The server must not only be able to process this but also have enough database and hard drive capacity. Ample disk space and RAM are therefore important. Professional video platforms have huge server networks to handle traffic and data exchange.

Tip 3: Avoid Web Hosting or Shared Servers

When setting up an online platform, we recommend against using hosting providers and especially shared hosting servers. Firstly, an online platform is highly complex and requires significant traffic volume, good bandwidth, plenty of storage space, and robust security—all of which hosting services often cannot provide. Additionally, if you have your own server, you can upgrade it as needed. If you run out of disk space, you can simply install new hard drives and expand the RAM. Another problem with hosting providers is that an online platform typically has very complex requirements and requires extensive configuration. Often, you need direct access to the server, which most hosting providers do not allow or only permit in a very limited way.

Tip 4: Programming Skills Are Essential: In Most Cases, a CMS Is Not Suitable

When creating a website or an online shop, many webmasters and companies now use so-called shop and content management systems. This software is easy to install without prior knowledge and doesn’t require specialized expertise. So, it might seem logical to use a CMS or a shop system for an online platform as well. However, this is often not advisable because these systems aren’t flexible enough in their functions and capabilities to build a complex online platform. They also lack scalability, so while they may be cheaper, custom-coded platforms are usually the better choice.

Tip 5: Plan One Step at a Time

Implementing an online platform should be done step by step. You should implement one feature at a time rather than tackling everything simultaneously. This makes it easier to detect errors and ensures that the previous section functions correctly before you start working on the new section. This is important because it can be tempting during development to immediately implement an idea so it isn’t forgotten.

Tip 6: Hire a Professional Agency

The development of an online platform is a complex and extensive undertaking. Specialized knowledge, expertise, and excellent proficiency in various programming languages are a must. In addition, the scope of the task is usually too large for a single developer. If you don’t have your own IT department with developers and specialists, you should hand the project over to a professional, experienced agency. They will not only develop your platform but also manage maintenance and updates, etc.

Tip 7: Set a Capital Limit

Instead of just hiring an agency and diving into development, you should set a fixed budget as part of your project planning and preparation. This will serve as the basis for negotiations and the final platform. Exceeding the budget should be possible in emergencies but avoided if you can. If the budget isn’t sufficient for the platform you envision, you might consider rolling out features in stages and adding further functionalities gradually.

Tip 8: Plan Flexibly and with Scalability in Mind

While it’s good to start small and proceed cautiously, you still need to remain flexible and scalable. Your platform could become unexpectedly successful and need to grow quickly. It might need to integrate new payment providers or work with a new store, ERP, or accounting system. Perhaps another database should be used. All these steps and scenarios are conceivable and must be planned for. Vimeo changed its focus so that it wouldn’t directly compete with YouTube.

Tip 9: Ensure Adequate Service

Software doesn’t always run as planned. This affects both you as the administrator and your customers or visitors as regular users. In such a case, you need quick, reliable, and secure support from someone who knows the software. If you develop the platform yourself, make sure that new employees or future developers get up to speed. This way, even after an employee leaves your company, qualified support is still available. If the platform was developed by an agency, you should have some employees trained by them in the system and in providing support, even if the agency itself handles support. You never know what might happen—maybe the expert won’t be available at some point, or the agency might not be around in a few years. Be prepared!

Tip 10: Provide Updates and Patches for the Platform

Most software issues only appear once the system has been used in a live environment by users and administrators for some time. In this case, the developer—either you or possibly the agency—must fix these issues with a patch. Perhaps security gaps need to be closed or new features added. In that case, an update has to be developed. Make sure the software is easy to update and that you have a team with the necessary staff to handle these tasks.

Conclusion and Summary

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