Advice

[comicsroulette]

Hi everyone!

I plan on developping a web directory, and I was wondering if you had any idea of the annual cost of such a website?

And where would you buy the domain name and host it? What kind of hosting is needed?

Thanks for your help!

 

[richrf]

Hi everyone!

I plan on developping a web directory, and I was wondering if you had any idea of the annual cost of such a website?

And where would you buy the domain name and host it? What kind of hosting is needed?

Thanks for your help!

Hi,

I did quite a bit of research into directories so I should be able to provide you with some useful information. Here is how I would break down the costs:

Implementation:

1) Hosting: if you don't already have shared hosting this will be about $8/mo.

2) Cost of directory script: you can get a free script depending upon what your goals may be. Otherwise you can spend anywhere from $30 - $200 (depending upon plugins you may want to use and themes you may want to purchase) for a reasonable setup. It could be much more for a highly customized setup.

3) Installation costs: most directories are pretty easy to set up but if you need assistance it will probably be less than $100 for total install.

5) Start-up: You can look at different options to seed the directory or you may want to start from scratch.

6) On-going: this is the really tough part to estimate. Everyone puts a different amount of effort into soliciting good content, keep content clean (spam free), promoting, etc. In general, it is extremely difficult to make a profit from a directory, but apparently some do.

Hope this helps.

 

[comicsroulette]

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

I didnt think it was that hard to make a profit from a directory... I was not thinking of making xxx/month obviously, but x-xx... If I know I can't reach that, then I may drop the project...

 

[richrf]

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

I didnt think it was that hard to make a profit from a directory... I was not thinking of making xxx/month obviously, but x-xx... If I know I can't reach that, then I may drop the project...

The challenge for a directory owner is how to bring value to visitors and therefore make it worthwhile enough for someone to pay for a submission.

Directories have for the most part been replaced by various types of search engines. You'll very rarely find a directory appearing high on a search engine page, though some do. The thing to do is to research your area of interest and see what the value add may be.

It is relatively easy to get free submissions but these will mostly be spam-like in nature. Getting good paid submissions is a challenge. I haven't been able to figure out a good way to do this yet.

 

[comicsroulette]

Would you say that directories are dead? :D (except for yours obviously, where the name could be use in many other ways)

I was thinking of a "generalist" web directory (classic, multiple categories, free submissions) to try to have some traffic to monetize (adsense? paid submissions?).

I have to say I'm really new to this...

 

[richrf]

Would you say that directories are dead? :D (except for yours obviously, where the name could be use in many other ways)

I was thinking of a "generalist" web directory (classic, multiple categories, free submissions) to try to have some traffic to monetize (adsense? paid submissions?).

I have to say I'm really new to this...

The short answer to your question is Yes. Local directories (e.g. Chamber of Commerce) still have a valuable purpose, but generalized search engines seem to have supplanted generalized directories, since search engines are automated and are therefore more current. I still have figured out how to make Links.com into a directory, even though the match is obvious. Link.com would be more successful as a search engine, but that market is closed.