How much does it cost to build a Classified Advert Website?

gnr2206

I want to build a classified advert website (dont want to be too specific about it now)

What do I need and what does it cost?

How many servers do I need and how much does that cost?

Thanks

mneylon

You can get off the shelf software to get you started.
Cost - there's open source and there's commercial solutions, so from 0 - several thousand depending on which features you want

Number of servers? You could probably start on a shared hosting account for less than 100 euro / year and then move from that to dedicated / cloud

Your main issue will be marketing it, as it's very crowded market

jmcc

gnr2206 wrote: »

I want to build a classified advert website (dont want to be too specific about it now)

What do I need and what does it cost?

Without being sarcastic, the most expensive thing you will need is a clue.

The software is cheap or free as Blacknight has pointed out.

Getting users is not. Marketing is expensive and takes time and money.

Dealing with the adverts and removing the crap and the illegal stuff takes time and money.

Keeping the site up to date and functioning takes time and money.

Promoting it takes time and money.

How many servers do I need and how much does that cost?

I've a view of the Irish webscape that most people do not have - I've built a search engine covering Irish websites. The startling thing when you come to advertising type sites is the very high rate of abandonment. Many of the sites are derelict and have not been touched in years. In any country's webscape, there will be a split between the big players (Donedeal/Adverts/Buyandsell etc) and everyone else.

Right now, the equivalent of your question is this: "how long is a piece of string?"

Regards...jmcc

tricky D

To make a plain old off-the-shelf kind of one doesn't cost much, but you are pretty much guaranteed to fail. There have been dozens of classifieds websites reviewed here and in the web design/reviews forum every other week and just about every one of them, as jmcc says, has failed. I know of only one that has survived satisfactorily but only as a labour of love.

The ones that have made it were either early to market (Donedeal, ads), had an existing audience ready to go (adverts), crossed over from print with their established market or got 7-figure funding in a lucrative niche (whatclinic). There's a few more mainly in niches like weddings or motors which survive.

Jmcc also raises the matter of having a clue. There's been people like Ben Dunne having a go and failing spectacularly, despite throwing at least a 6-figure sum at advertising. He failed as he had no clue how to do it properly.

To be very honest, from the questions you are asking, you have a hell of a lot more research to do before even thinking of embarking on this venture.

Kersh

jmcc wrote: »

Right now, the equivalent of your question is this: "how long is a piece of string?"

Regards...jmcc

Its twice as long, as it is from the middle to one end

Sorry, couldnt resist

gnr2206

Blacknight wrote: »

You can get off the shelf software to get you started.
Cost - there's open source and there's commercial solutions, so from 0 - several thousand depending on which features you want

Number of servers? You could probably start on a shared hosting account for less than 100 euro / year and then move from that to dedicated / cloud

Your main issue will be marketing it, as it's very crowded market

thank you all for the responses. very helpful.

I have one more question tho and it is this; how do classified ad websites make money/generate revenue? Im assuming advertising?

Thanks

jmcc

gnr2206 wrote: »

I have one more question tho and it is this; how do classified ad websites make money/generate revenue? Im assuming advertising?

So you want to set up a classified adverts site and you don't know how a classified adverts site makes money?

The whole principle of classified advertising is, generally, that the advertiser pays to have their advert included. And if they don't pay then the site may monetise the content in other ways such as PPC or run of site advertising.

It has to be worth it for the advertiser to pay and that generally means paying for an advert on a high traffic site with a lot of users (purchasers). When there is a sufficient audience, the site might be able to include external advertising. But it is a delicate balance between including external advertising and upsetting those who pay for classified adverts.

Regards...jmcc

jmcc

Kersh wrote: »

Its twice as long, as it is from the middle to one end

Sorry, couldnt resist

Great thing about Boards.ie - someone always knows the answer.

Regards...jmcc

Glenalla

gnr2206 wrote: »

I want to build a classified advert website (dont want to be too specific about it now)

What do I need and what does it cost?

How many servers do I need and how much does that cost?

Thanks

Might be of interest

http://www.donedeal.ie/wanted/businessopportunities/3281435

enviro

Glenalla wrote: »

Might be of interest

http://www.donedeal.ie/wanted/businessopportunities/3281435

I don't like it, poorly designed imo and €700 would be better spent on marketing a niche website. My advice would be to focus in on one sector and then narrow it down further, for example, motors is the sector; track day cars is the niche.

No doubt, it is going to be really tough and really expensive to get a project like this profitable. Instead of all that, you need to come at this from an angle, show some innovation, stand out from the rest of the competitors, conduct market research and see what consumers want and what they feel is lacking from the current providers like donedeal ect...

Have a look at Fiverr.com, they went at the market with a new idea and a new way of doing things, instead of just starting another classified site. That's the mind set you need in developing your idea into a viable and hopefully profitable reality.