Website startup help!

[kool katz]

I am working on an idea for a new website. It is a community/forum type website with what I believe to be a unique format. I would hope eventually to attract a large number of registered users and site income would then hopefully be generated by advertising. I have registered prospective domain names and have drafted basic designs for logos, site appearance and format.
However, I am not a web designer and my skills in this area go no further than publishing basic personal websites. However, I am a design engineer by trade so have a design background.
The bottom line is I do not know how to progress this further. The obvious answer I suppose is to approach a web design company. What type/size of company should I approach and what support do these companies provide? Should I approach an individual developer who would be interested in becoming part of a team? Who moderates what appears on the site? Who effectively runs the site?
Any advice would be welcome as I would like to get this off the ground fairly soon.
Apologies for the length of this question.

 

[KPaul]

Good evening KK,

I think you're right to get consultancy from someone. To build a simple forum site is easy: install some third party software, sort out the branding and you're away. But to develop a "community", which to my mind encompasses a lot more than simply a forum may well require extensive development, and if you're unfamiliar with the likes of PHP, .NET or Ruby then it could well be time consuming.

One other thing - I'm not sure what you mean by unique format, but if you think it's worth protecting, then make sure any contributors sign some sort of NDA.

I can't offer any advice as to who would be best suited to help you develop this project, but you've definitely asked in the right place!

 

[Esk247]

i ran a community/business directory website from 2005 to 2007 but it was never profitable! make sure there are no others at all working in your area as they are very common! especially in tourist city's and towns.

if you need a website then there are several website designers on here who make very very good websites and they'll no doubt offer there services but make sure that you know exactly what you're getting in to before you start. You won't be able to charge £2000 per advert on your website when you first start out...its very hard to get people to sign up to local forums/advertising they prefer national.

 

[altyfc]

I agree. Forums tend not to make money. Well, they can make some, but rarely enough to make a living in its own right (or anything remotely like).

 

[kool katz]

Thanks for the replies, I know exactly how I am going to progress this now.
The word "unique" was probably a bit over the top, novel may be a better word.
The site will be national, not local so hopefully this will attract advertising more readily in the future.
If there is anyone in the Cumbria/South Lakes area who would be interested in this project then please let me know.

 

[webworxindia]

I think apart from design you will have to work hard on the substance part I mean the community/forum should be happening place and a lot of good content should be there like this forum. To earn from this forum you will have to walk extra miles that's for sure.

 

[fisicx]

If it's not unique and not niche then you are going to struggle even more. Just because it is novel doesn't mean it will be popular. Getting people to sign up to forums is really difficult unless the forum looks busy. But it won't be busy until you have lots of members.

Advertising will just about cover your hosting costs so unless this is a labour or love you need to really question whether or not this is worth the effort.

 

[kt66se]

I run a community website but the difference with mine is that I do not allow advertising for money, instead anyone who wants content on the site to promote their cause has to pay a small fee. (And I mean small)

I have used open source software on the site to keep costs down and have found that the open source community can provide everything needed to keep a community site going. The site now runs itself with users having access to various parts. I have just started using PHPBB3 for the forum which is free and very good. Please feel free to have a look around the place to get some ideas if it helps. I am not selling anything or trying to promote myself but I applaud and will help where I can people willing to give up time for the benefit of local communities.

To create such a site does require knowledge of web design techniques though, so if using open source, expect to embark on a journey of self teach. :redface:

I am new to this forum, so hope this post is in keeping?:redface:

I can't add the domain name so here it is in text. :|

Montgomery-Wales dot co dot uk

Cheers

Adam

 

[emonkey]

Kool Katz, what market are you aiming to get using the community aspect?

Success depends mainly on your target audience when it comes to a community forum.

 

[wagster]

Designing such a site (or having one designed for you) is likely to be both a long (at least 2-3 months) and expensive process that I undertook myself between Jan-Jun 2008. In addition to which, it was a very steep learning curve when it came to learning to manage all aspects of the site.

I found that it was very difficult to engage the membership as the vast majority seemed to sign up and not come back back, so be very sure that you have a unique offering.

Having said all of this, it could be worth checking out the following list of customisable "white label" social netwroking platforms, some of which are free and most of which offer add ons for a price, which are compared side by side at w w w dot techcrunch dot com / wp-content / wlsn_comparison_chart dot html