strategy Developing your domain names

[heavend]

Good evening boys and girls,

It's great that everyone seem to have their favorite name they want / wish to develop in theory, some day. I have heard this over and over again in this business - that some day when there is time and when the situation is just right, and when the moon is blue - we all would develop our domains into great sites, which then would raise their values and can be sold for 100 X over. I have been guilty of this myself - as for the past 15 years I always had ideas about development, but never got anything solid of the ground.

In reality, 99.999% are registering the names and sitting on them hoping to magically get to 100 X their investment without lifting a finger. Some will be successful at just that (or lucky), but most would fail and will have to either drop their names or sell below the original purchase. This is fine, as we know in any business most would fail and hard work would separate those who achieve some mediocre success from those who really make it big.

Maybe someone would like to share the actual tools to be used to start developing. Since we all in the same boat (kind of), we may as well share some of the resources.

I understand it takes a long time and huge commitment - so my main question is

What are the fastest way to get into developing domains into websites? (outside of becoming web developer professionally or hiring pros)

I have seen a bunch of crappy websites (amazon and other affiliates, etc) being sold for a few dollars on ebay. Never really gave them a try, but was wondering if other people had success with them? My issue with amazon is - your buyer will come to you only once. Say, he will even find a product he wants, then would add it to the basket, then will see amazon checkout, and will never come to you again. (no reason to come to you if he can go directly to amazon) Maybe someone had a different experience with those and can recommend something specific?

I also have been using free html software, anyone can download and use - like NVU, for example. I like it for something simple, like informational pages, but anything which has to do with databases, shopping baskets, products for sale and we are back to either affiliate sites or professionals. Is there something in between?

I apologize in advance, if this has been discussed in the previous blogs, as I am fairy new to this community.

All best,
Alex

 

[itsmeyall]

Good evening boys and girls,

It's great that everyone seem to have their favorite name they want / wish to develop in theory, some day. I have heard this over and over again in this business - that some day when there is time and when the situation is just right, and when the moon is blue - we all would develop our domains into great sites, which then would raise their values and can be sold for 100 X over. I have been guilty of this myself - as for the past 15 years I always had ideas about development, but never got anything solid of the ground.

In reality, 99.999% are registering the names and sitting on them hoping to magically get to 100 X their investment without lifting a finger. Some will be successful at just that (or lucky), but most would fail and will have to either drop their names or sell below the original purchase. This is fine, as we know in any business most would fail and hard work would separate those who achieve some mediocre success from those who really make it big.

Maybe someone would like to share the actual tools to be used to start developing. Since we all in the same boat (kind of), we may as well share some of the resources.

I understand it takes a long time and huge commitment - so my main question is

What are the fastest way to get into developing domains into websites? (outside of becoming web developer professionally or hiring pros)

I have seen a bunch of crappy websites (amazon and other affiliates, etc) being sold for a few dollars on ebay. Never really gave them a try, but was wondering if other people had success with them? My issue with amazon is - your buyer will come to you only once. Say, he will even find a product he wants, then would add it to the basket, then will see amazon checkout, and will never come to you again. (no reason to come to you if he can go directly to amazon) Maybe someone had a different experience with those and can recommend something specific?

I also have been using free html software, anyone can download and use - like NVU, for example. I like it for something simple, like informational pages, but anything which has to do with databases, shopping baskets, products for sale and we are back to either affiliate sites or professionals. Is there something in between?

I apologize in advance, if this has been discussed in the previous blogs, as I am fairy new to this community.

All best,
Alex

If you have space on you computer you can get a feel for web development without publishing your learning process by doing everything mock locally. There are two prigram good for this the microsoft webmatrix is free you can build your site using different application wordpress or media wiki or drupel or majento etc the push later to your hosting and bitnami has local practice modilesbthat free and easy to set up you can try and erase as much as you like before goong live with your project

 

[TRY]

I recommend wordpress,.. to get an idea of whats possible with wordpress browse different paid themes and plugins in different marketplaces and you will get an idea of what you can do, Alot

For free you can play around with weebly, wix, and others.

 

[iAchilles]

Developing comes second nature to me however.... I simply don't have the time anymore... I outsource 80% of my development now. I also have a team of writers I keep a monthly retainer with that deliver original content per my request on a regular basis.....

In the day and age..... OG content is probably the most important aspect of developing.... Stay away from foreign writers and build you a team of writers...

Great advice. If you are going to go with foreign writers, Eastern Europeans have a great work ethic and probably a better grasp of English than many other countries that charge similar rates. Bit of a blanket statement but that's just based on my experience.

Something else to consider is SEO. If you go and build a profile of spammy backlinks or if you hire a cowboy to do it for you, you're going to kill the domain. Sure, any new owner can request link removals via webmaster tools but this is a lot of work. Potential buyers will be less interested in any name that has a crappy/spammy backlink profile.

Great content will naturally build backlinks for you. Ignore any unsolicited mail that may find its way to your inbox promising page 1 ranking. Basically don't cheap out on your development project, it will only hurt you in the long run.

 

[SirDrago]

A MUST read for those who are planning on developing on WordPress.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

Difference explained HERE

Always download the .Org version!
It gives you more control over editing and SEO.

NOTE**
You CANNOT install the .Org version over the .Com version!!!
You will lose everything and have to start from scratch!!!

 

[heavend]

A MUST read for those who are planning on developing on WordPress.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

Difference explained HERE

Always download the .Org version!
It give you more control over editing and SEO.

NOTE**
You CANNOT install the .Org version over the .Com version!!!
You will lose everything and have to start from scratch!!!

Great Advice, very timely - thank you!

 

[frank-germany]

for me developping domains
and selling domains
are 2 completely different business models

for me its better to focus on 1 strategy
and try to squeeze it

its not the point to have a good landing page
the point is that the visitor interested in your domain
must be able to reach out to you

make that easy

 

[heavend]

@frank-germany Thank you, yes I agree , of course - the main business model stays the same - selling domains. However, I am talking about collection of 1000s of domain names which sellers are trying to sell, and then maybe it's best to have a few developed, and then point your traffic which comes in for all the others to those few pages, and get some exposure this way as well. I, for example have over 3500 domain names, which at today's rate cost my company over $30,000 in renewal fees. If I can possibly cut this number in half by developing a few and possibly selling something with their help -it would be ideal.

The reason for this blog is to ask other domainers what do they use for their development, if they do not hire professionals, but yet want to start somewhere and essentially cut their renewal costs. Of course, if you own under 100 names it's probably not even needed / effective.

Also, as I mentioned before, there are some domain names, which are very hard to sell, and yet they are great domain names for a site.