This argument comes up every now and then and it drives me a little crazy. Someone posts about building out one of their domains and the gatekeepers show up: "Real domainers don't develop, they invest." As if the two things can't coexist.
I don't get this mentality at all. When I'm looking at a domain to buy, I'm already thinking about what could go there. What kind of site makes sense? Who's the audience? How would it make money? That's literally part of my decision process on whether to pull the trigger on a purchase. If I can't see a viable end user business, something I would develop or be interested in partnering in, I probably shouldn't be buying it anyway.
The anti-development crowd acts like building a site somehow makes you less of a domainer. Like you've betrayed the cause or something. It's weird tribal stuff that doesn't make sense when you actually think about it.
Their main argument is focus. Stick to domains, let end users handle the development. And sure, there's logic there if you're doing high-volume flipping. Buy a hundred domains, park them, field offers, sell when the price is right. It's clean. It's simple. No complications. Good for you.
But the domain market in 2025 isn't the wild west anymore. All the obvious stuff is registered. You're competing with AI-generated domains, NFT domains, and a million other alternatives. Standing out requires more than a parked page and a BIN price.
I've got domains that sat dead for three, four, 10 years. Nothing but junk offers from people trying to steal them for $200. Then I'd build something simple - doesn't even have to be fancy, just a basic site showing the use case - and suddenly I'm getting real inquiries or making a few bucks on affiliate sales. They get offers because I removed the guesswork. I showed them what's possible instead of making them use their imagination.
Here's what nobody talks about: development gives you leverage. A domain doesn't sell for what you want? Fine. Build it into an affiliate site or lead gen business. Now it's covering its own renewal and maybe throwing off a few bucks a month. You're not stuck fire-selling it when you need to trim the portfolio.
Some of my best exits came from developed domains. Not because the buyer wanted my exact site, but because I had traffic data and revenue numbers. That changes the entire conversation. You're not selling a speculative asset anymore - you're selling a business with metrics. That doesn't have to be approach, but it is an option.
I hand registered CoolBars.com many years ago. I had a vision of developing it. I never popped up the actual business model I wanted, but tried a few different low effort approaches. At one point, I had a handful of articles about the nightclub industry and signed up to be an affiliate of a bar supply company with a 25% commission. That lasted a few years and paid for a lifetime of renewals for the name.
The "stay in your lane" people also ignore that the lanes don't really exist anymore. SaaS companies need domains. App developers need domains. E-commerce stores need domains. We're all playing in the same space. Why would I handicap myself by refusing to learn what these buyers actually need?
And honestly? Pure domain flipping gets boring sometimes. Always challenging but sometimes boring. I didn't get into this business to be a digital warehouse manager. Each domain is a possibility, a what-if. Exploring that through actual development is fun. It scratches a creative itch that looking at sale comparables never will. It makes me an active participant.
The skills overlap anyway. If you're good at domains, you already understand keywords, search intent, market demand. That's half of what you need to build something successful. Learning basic WordPress or how to commission decent content isn't rocket science. These are natural extensions of what we already do.
I'm not saying everyone should become a developer. If you hate building sites, don't build sites. But let's stop pretending development is somehow beneath domainers or outside our scope. It's a tool. Use it when it makes sense.
The focus argument isn't completely wrong - you can spread yourself thin. Trying to actively develop 50 sites while managing a portfolio of thousands? Yeah, that's not going to work. But that's true of anything. The answer is being strategic, not avoiding development entirely.
Maybe you develop your five best domains. Maybe you focus on one niche where you actually know something. Maybe you partner with someone who handles the technical stuff. There are ways to do this without abandoning domain investing.
I also think the industry needs domainers who develop. We bring a different angle than typical startups. We're not swinging for billion-dollar exits. We're building sustainable businesses that start generating revenue fairly quickly. We understand the domain itself has value as an asset, not just as a URL for our app.
Plus, when you develop sites, you learn what end users actually want. Which features matter, which don't. What converts, what bounces. This intelligence feeds back into your acquisition strategy. You start seeing opportunities others miss because you're thinking in complete business models, not just keywords.
Some of my domains that I thought would be instant hits went nowhere. By some I mean many. Others I bought on a whim turned into solid little businesses. You don't really know until you try. And trying means building something, even if it's basic.
The truth is, a developed domain with even modest traffic is easier to sell than an undeveloped one. Period. Buyers can see the potential realized instead of imagining it. That's valuable, even if you're not planning to run the business long-term.
Should domainers be developers? I think domainers should do whatever makes sense for their portfolio and skills. For me, that includes development. For someone else, maybe not. But this idea that the two are mutually exclusive or that development somehow makes you "not a real domainer" is ridiculous.
Try developing one domain. See what happens. If you hate it, you learned something and you've got better screenshots for your listing. If you like it, you just opened up a whole new dimension to your business.
Either way, let's retire this gatekeeping nonsense about what domainers should or shouldn't do. Do what you want. Do what you like. Do what works for you.
I don't get this mentality at all. When I'm looking at a domain to buy, I'm already thinking about what could go there. What kind of site makes sense? Who's the audience? How would it make money? That's literally part of my decision process on whether to pull the trigger on a purchase. If I can't see a viable end user business, something I would develop or be interested in partnering in, I probably shouldn't be buying it anyway.
The anti-development crowd acts like building a site somehow makes you less of a domainer. Like you've betrayed the cause or something. It's weird tribal stuff that doesn't make sense when you actually think about it.
Their main argument is focus. Stick to domains, let end users handle the development. And sure, there's logic there if you're doing high-volume flipping. Buy a hundred domains, park them, field offers, sell when the price is right. It's clean. It's simple. No complications. Good for you.
But the domain market in 2025 isn't the wild west anymore. All the obvious stuff is registered. You're competing with AI-generated domains, NFT domains, and a million other alternatives. Standing out requires more than a parked page and a BIN price.
I've got domains that sat dead for three, four, 10 years. Nothing but junk offers from people trying to steal them for $200. Then I'd build something simple - doesn't even have to be fancy, just a basic site showing the use case - and suddenly I'm getting real inquiries or making a few bucks on affiliate sales. They get offers because I removed the guesswork. I showed them what's possible instead of making them use their imagination.
Here's what nobody talks about: development gives you leverage. A domain doesn't sell for what you want? Fine. Build it into an affiliate site or lead gen business. Now it's covering its own renewal and maybe throwing off a few bucks a month. You're not stuck fire-selling it when you need to trim the portfolio.
Some of my best exits came from developed domains. Not because the buyer wanted my exact site, but because I had traffic data and revenue numbers. That changes the entire conversation. You're not selling a speculative asset anymore - you're selling a business with metrics. That doesn't have to be approach, but it is an option.
I hand registered CoolBars.com many years ago. I had a vision of developing it. I never popped up the actual business model I wanted, but tried a few different low effort approaches. At one point, I had a handful of articles about the nightclub industry and signed up to be an affiliate of a bar supply company with a 25% commission. That lasted a few years and paid for a lifetime of renewals for the name.
The "stay in your lane" people also ignore that the lanes don't really exist anymore. SaaS companies need domains. App developers need domains. E-commerce stores need domains. We're all playing in the same space. Why would I handicap myself by refusing to learn what these buyers actually need?
And honestly? Pure domain flipping gets boring sometimes. Always challenging but sometimes boring. I didn't get into this business to be a digital warehouse manager. Each domain is a possibility, a what-if. Exploring that through actual development is fun. It scratches a creative itch that looking at sale comparables never will. It makes me an active participant.
The skills overlap anyway. If you're good at domains, you already understand keywords, search intent, market demand. That's half of what you need to build something successful. Learning basic WordPress or how to commission decent content isn't rocket science. These are natural extensions of what we already do.
I'm not saying everyone should become a developer. If you hate building sites, don't build sites. But let's stop pretending development is somehow beneath domainers or outside our scope. It's a tool. Use it when it makes sense.
The focus argument isn't completely wrong - you can spread yourself thin. Trying to actively develop 50 sites while managing a portfolio of thousands? Yeah, that's not going to work. But that's true of anything. The answer is being strategic, not avoiding development entirely.
Maybe you develop your five best domains. Maybe you focus on one niche where you actually know something. Maybe you partner with someone who handles the technical stuff. There are ways to do this without abandoning domain investing.
I also think the industry needs domainers who develop. We bring a different angle than typical startups. We're not swinging for billion-dollar exits. We're building sustainable businesses that start generating revenue fairly quickly. We understand the domain itself has value as an asset, not just as a URL for our app.
Plus, when you develop sites, you learn what end users actually want. Which features matter, which don't. What converts, what bounces. This intelligence feeds back into your acquisition strategy. You start seeing opportunities others miss because you're thinking in complete business models, not just keywords.
Some of my domains that I thought would be instant hits went nowhere. By some I mean many. Others I bought on a whim turned into solid little businesses. You don't really know until you try. And trying means building something, even if it's basic.
The truth is, a developed domain with even modest traffic is easier to sell than an undeveloped one. Period. Buyers can see the potential realized instead of imagining it. That's valuable, even if you're not planning to run the business long-term.
Should domainers be developers? I think domainers should do whatever makes sense for their portfolio and skills. For me, that includes development. For someone else, maybe not. But this idea that the two are mutually exclusive or that development somehow makes you "not a real domainer" is ridiculous.
Try developing one domain. See what happens. If you hate it, you learned something and you've got better screenshots for your listing. If you like it, you just opened up a whole new dimension to your business.
Either way, let's retire this gatekeeping nonsense about what domainers should or shouldn't do. Do what you want. Do what you like. Do what works for you.
