Idea for a website, but where to start?

jamtart6

Hi folks,
Well I am basically competent in css and html for blogs and work website, but that is where my techy knowledge ends.

I have a good and original idea for a new website. It is a review site of specific products, and hasn't been done before. I have seen sites like QYPE and dooyoo obviously pay their members (vouchers or cash) for writing reviews, and my site would be the same.

However I have 2 issues before I proceed further.

1. I have no idea how these sites generate revenue to pay back to the members (and earn a tidy profit)

2. I don't have the technical capabilities to even know where to start building a site like this.

So...techy peeps, where the heck do I start with it? I don't even know what type of person to talk to really? A web developer?

Please help!

Marty_J

jamtart6 wrote: »

1. I have no idea how these sites generate revenue to pay back to the members (and earn a tidy profit)

Advertising.

2. I don't have the technical capabilities to even know where to start building a site like this.

So...techy peeps, where the heck do I start with it? I don't even know what type of person to talk to really? A web developer?

Sounds like a plan.

jamtart6

Any idea of costs of a web developer for such a big project? is it even a big project? it sounds big to me!

Thanks for advice Marty

PasturesNew

The easiest way to pay the members is to do it on an adsense revenue sharing system, there's an API to do that. This means people who do the reviews would join and type in their adsense publisher ID, you'd type in the revenue sharing amount in your admin panel, then for every 100 pageloads, X% would have their publisher ID and the remaining would have yours.

To implement it you'd need to hire a freelancer. You can use Wordpress or some CMS system to do it. Using a common CMS and the API, it wouldn't take a competent freelancer long to do the integration. Why not put it out for tender on a few freelancing sites, see what prices you get back.

Payments would be handled via the google adsense programme, so all you need to do is get it built, set your rates, advertise it.

But that's the biggie ... the marketing.

jamtart6

That first bit is like double dutch to me Pastures, but I'll take a look tomorrow on google as to what some of those things mean.

I figure if there is some incentive for people to come to the site (there is) and write reviews (for money) then the marketing to get people to the site should be pretty good.

I just don't know how to get advertisers to pay me!

Marty_J

jamtart6 wrote: »

I just don't know how to get advertisers to pay me!

Google AdSense might be a good place to start.

PasturesNew

jamtart6 wrote: »

That first bit is like double dutch to me Pastures, but I'll take a look tomorrow on google as to what some of those things mean.

http://code.google.com/apis/adsense/

jamtart6 wrote: »

I figure if there is some incentive for people to come to the site (there is) and write reviews (for money) then the marketing to get people to the site should be pretty good.

I just don't know how to get advertisers to pay me!

If you use google adsense on a revenue sharing basis, then you're paid through google, as are your reviewers, each directly through your google adsense account.

If you have other advertisers on your site, then at first I'd recommend you just use a popular ad network, or possibly even look at the ebay API, not sure if that has a revenue sharing API yet, or if that'd need a developer to write it into your site for you based on a rotation system.

As for the incentive for people to come to the site, you have a few limited models really:
- make it all some membership site, perhaps in a niche.
- get damned good at SEO and make sure you're top in Google.

Neither is easy to pull off, so then it's down to PR/marketing/advertising.

The easiest method is by having a really high revenue share, so your reviewers would rather write for you than anybody else.

It's not an easy market to enter into from your starting point, but everything's possible with a bit of brainstorming.

jamtart6

Thank you! I have heard of this, but also heard it pays peanuts?! I will take a better look at it though. I wish I knew what I was talking about!

PasturesNew

jamtart6 wrote: »

Thank you! I have heard of this, but also heard it pays peanuts?! I will take a better look at it though. I wish I knew what I was talking about!

Adsense doesn't pay peanuts.... being paid by adsense on the back of the work of hundreds of others certainly pays well.

How much adsense pays depends on a lot of things, such as advert placement, site build quality, whether your visitors are clicking anything or not ... and more.

I earn 80% of my income from adsense and make good money for not really doing a lot. I'd certainly run a site like you say ... and I'd try to build a template with my freelancer and then use/re-use that template to hit a dozen or so niche review markets over the next few years, roll them out one at a time, building on the success of the previous ones and implementing new technologies/lessons learnt.

faevilangel

I'm a web developer and building a site like this (but no payments to reviewers (yet)).

You will need someone competent in scripting languages, such as php or asp. There are a few others they could use but those two are the most common.

You would get paid by advertising, either using adsense, or set up an affiliate account with different merchants (based on your website target). With both, you get a peice of code to input into the website.

I would get the developer to build the advertising into the backend of the system, so you can add / delete advertising without changing code. You will also need a strong backend structure, to remove spam reviews, edit pages, make payments etc.

You would pay members via any method you wish, paypal is probably the best choice. This can be done automatically, using the paypal ipn. You would get the user to add their paypal email into their profile.

The website looks easy from the front end, but you need a backend that can do everything you will need. A lot of people forget that part.

Price wise, it would be minimum £4000 for a custom built system, you might get it cheaper from a foreign developer but remember if your system breaks, they may not be their to help you.

My recommendation is to use a uk freelancer near you, that you can meet face to face to talk, and see the site etc. You don't want to be sending thousands to an indian, and having to try and describe what you want etc.
Use google and search "web developer xxx" and see what that comes up. Ring around freelancers and see their portfolio's and talk to their previous clients.

Definitely find someone who has done something like this before, as you will need it done properly.

good luck

jamtart6

Thanks for the advice!

I do appreciate that the back end of the system is where the money comes into play - it does not look easy! I have enough fun just keeping the work website up to date with very basic html and css and realise how much work goes into that.

Hmm £4000 just isn't a consideration to put into this at the moment which is a huge shame as I think it could be fab. Maybe I should look for an investor (dragons den here we come).

Thanks for your help folks