Thread: Build or Buy Websites?

Hi,

I buy all my sites. Then pay someone for any changes that they need. I no very little about how to add or change stuff. When I do most of the time it is wrong. The time you spend on building a site is not worth it. Unless the revenue is high.

Example: Pay to have a theme made for WP, Pay for unique articles. Let say 50 articles. Right their you have $300 invested at a min. $10 for a new domain name $25 for hosting.
Now what is your time worth to put it all together?

Unless your revenue is high you will never see that money back on your investment. It is much easier to keep the site until you get your money back then try to sell unless you need a tax write-off.

I will continue to buy sites. But most of the time time I feel like a sleazy pawn shop owner That is only willing to give 10 cents on the dollar for a product. That is the burden I carry around, Doing business on the net.

Sami

Well I like to build my own websites as I get the complete freedom to choose everything. Also, I can keep a strict control on the content. Ready made sites often have lot of issues with them.

However, if the offer is too good, I won't mind buying a readymade site but will surely customize it as per my style making it a semi-built website in the end!

Excellent thread Bogart

I think both have their benefits and inconvenients, it depends of what you want to achieve.

There is two kinds of builders and two kinds of buyers in my opinion:

The builders are newbies who want to learn and experimented webmasters who want to customize their site.

The buyers who don't like the technical parts and want to start quickly and investors who want to make money right away.

I don't think one is better than the other, it is just a different approach.

Originally Posted by Sami4u

Hi,
The time you spend on building a site is not worth it. Unless the revenue is high.

Example: Pay to have a theme made for WP, Pay for unique articles. Let say 50 articles. Right their you have $300 invested at a min. $10 for a new domain name $25 for hosting.
Now what is your time worth to put it all together?

Unless your revenue is high you will never see that money back on your investment. It is much easier to keep the site until you get your money back then try to sell unless you need a tax write-off.

It's true that the parts cost more than the whole. But there's the chance that the site was not built in a way that will produce revenue. Building the site yourself it a way to build a plan into the site.

Originally Posted by Sami4u

I will continue to buy sites. But most of the time time I feel like a sleazy pawn shop owner That is only willing to give 10 cents on the dollar for a product. That is the burden I carry around, Doing business on the net.

The bargain basement sites are usually more trouble than they are worth. Not to say that you can't find a diamond in the rough.

Originally Posted by amol_cool

Well I like to build my own websites as I get the complete freedom to choose everything. Also, I can keep a strict control on the content. Ready made sites often have lot of issues with them.

That's what I'm finding. The time fixing the issues with the ready made cancels out the benefits.

Originally Posted by Natural Elements

Excellent thread Bogart

I think both have their benefits and inconvenients, it depends of what you want to achieve.

There is two kinds of builders and two kinds of buyers in my opinion:

The builders are newbies who want to learn and experimented webmasters who want to customize their site.

The buyers who don't like the technical parts and want to start quickly and investors who want to make money right away.

I don't think one is better than the other, it is just a different approach.

Some good food for thought in that a lot depends on what your motives are.

In my own opinion, building your own websites is far better that buying sites. If you have your own site, you can monitor it well. You'll learn how to effectively develop it and drive traffic into it..

Originally Posted by Will.Spencer

But on the flip side, most of the websites I've bought have been built strangely and I end up not wanting to work on them because their internals are so bizarre.

With building, you must have patience -- but you get to do things your way.

I think it all comes down to whether you have more available time or more available money--and your particular skills. I've built most of my sites, but have bought about a dozen sites. Almost every one of those dozen sites was so misconfigured that I had to spend a substantial amount of time fixing problems and re-working the sites so that the search engines would give them serious consideration. There is also the issue of poor quality content and has to be re-written. I frequently spend almost as much time fixing a site that I purchase as I would if I had simply built the site from scratch.

I've had the same experience with WordPress sites that I bought, even though it doesn't take much to get those right to begin with. There are a lot of people who do not have a clue when it comes to proper web site configuration.

I will continue to buy some sites, but only when the domain name is good, the price is right and the site is not loaded with useless duplicate content.

Originally Posted by TopDogger

I've built most of my sites, but have bought about a dozen sites. Almost every one of those dozen sites was so misconfigured that I had to spend a substantial amount of time fixing problems and re-working the sites so that the search engines would give them serious consideration. There is also the issue of poor quality content and has to be re-written. I frequently spend almost as much time fixing a site that I purchase as I would if I had simply built the site from scratch.

A large percentage of the sites for sale are handyman specials. With all the work that you need to put into the sites, it really isn't worth the time and money. Duplicate content is a big issue and even the sites that have "orginal" content in many cases are just rewrites of PLR articles.

I would only buy a website if I think it's worth buying. I won't go about spending my hard-earned money on a dead site and then trying to work my way bringing it up. It's better to build from scratch.

only buy site with traffic/IP, else hire some one or learn how to from basic

[QUOTE=TopDogger;111575]I think it all comes down to whether you have more available time or more available money--and your particular skills. QUOTE]

I'd say this is the key element - together with monetization / payback.

Sure, you can save a lot of money building your site instead of outsourcing it; but if you're going to get peanuts back, is it really worth spending your time?

On the other hand - if you can make thousands from a site through appropriate monetization / traffic building, wouldn't you be willing to pay a few hundred to speed up your activities?


Before you think I'm for buying sites, or anti building - I use both techniques, as long as it makes business sense.


There's no such thing as a "perfect" site. Almost any site needs tweaking and constant change. Real success comes when you can optimize your money and time. I've seen technically perfect sites that suck at revenue generation; and crude sites that excel...