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Website Costs!

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  • 16-01-2016 12:50am
    #1
    mcnamee
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭


    Hello everyone,

    I've had this notion the past while to create a website, more specifically a forum!
    I've done some research on it and from what I've read and looked at the main costs are buying a domain, hosting, forum software and advertising!

    I just wanted to know am I missing any other major things?

    Cheers!
    Tagged:


Comments

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    #2
    gouche
    Registered Users Posts: 416 ✭✭gouche


    Your time!
    If you haven't done anything like this before be prepared to put in a lot of hours and effort.


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    #3
    lynvoh
    Registered Users Posts: 65 ✭✭lynvoh


    You can use an old computer and your own internet connection instead of pay a hosting service to reduce cost at the beginning.


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    #4
    Happyman42
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,066 ✭✭✭✭Happyman42


    lynvoh wrote: »
    You can use an old computer and your own internet connection instead of pay a hosting service to reduce cost at the beginning.

    Any good links to doing this?


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    #5
    lynvoh
    Registered Users Posts: 65 ✭✭lynvoh


    Boards.ie Message
    You cannot post with images, URLs or attachments because you are a new user.


    Sorry, I can't post links yet.

    Just google "how to make a webserver"
    First result is good enough


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    #6
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    Hosting is cheap enough. It's certainly way better value than spending the time to set a home server up and the massive grief maintaining and keeping secure. And then there's email. It's a classic false economy when your own time is not valued/costed properly. Then there's ISP issues such as getting a fixed IP and also many ISPs simply don't allow it.

    Not worth it.


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    #7
    mcnamee
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭mcnamee


    Thanks for all the replies!

    So I'm not missing any other major costs? I'm just gonna use a hosting provider because there's probably more chance of things going bad if I do it myself lol


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    #8
    jmcc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,306 ✭✭✭jmcc


    lynvoh wrote: »
    You can use an old computer and your own internet connection instead of pay a hosting service to reduce cost at the beginning.
    It is not worth it.

    It takes time to make a home installation secure, keep it secure and up to date. It takes money to keep running such an operation. Computers also will have parts fail and will have to be replaced. The older computers will also fail faster as many of them may be approaching the end of their operational lives and components such as fans and power supplies will probably need to be replaced. CPU fans and cooling fans typically have to be replaced after a few years.

    Retail hosting is quite cheap and it if it is a small website, then the costs of shared hosting on a hosting service provider is lower than the overall costs in equipment and electricity and your time.

    One of the most important parts of building a website is learning what can be outsourced and delegated to others so that you can concentrate on building the website.

    Regards...jmcc


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    #9
    mneylon
    Registered Users Posts: 7,739 ✭✭✭mneylon


    lynvoh wrote: »
    You can use an old computer and your own internet connection instead of pay a hosting service to reduce cost at the beginning.

    Unless you happen to be a good sysadmin AND have a fixed IP AND use an ISP that lets you host on their broadband this is a terrible idea and will cost you a lot more than using a 3rd party hosting provider

    To the OP:
    - domain name - price will vary from around €10 upwards depending on which domain extension you choose
    - forum software - there are both paid and open source solutions out there. Depending on what you are doing you will probably want to customise the site's look and feel which will cost you money (unless you can do it yourself)
    - hosting - for a small site you can get something for around €5 / month
    - advertising / marketing - this is where you'll end up spending most of your time and energy (and money)

    HTH

    Michele

    Blog | Tweets



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    #10
    devildriver
    Registered Users Posts: 874 ✭✭✭devildriver


    mcnamee wrote: »
    Hello everyone,

    I've had this notion the past while to create a website, more specifically a forum!
    I've done some research on it and from what I've read and looked at the main costs are buying a domain, hosting, forum software and advertising!

    I just wanted to know am I missing any other major things?

    Cheers!

    It's kind a of a broad question but yes you are correct domains, hosting and software will cost you money.

    I think everybody is agreed that the suggestion to host it yourself is not really a good idea.

    As has been mentioned above you will require some technical knowledge to setup the software and hosting. And if you don't have that expertise then that's another cost to consider.

    Without knowing your target market and assuming that you are just dipping your toes in the water I would recommend going with an established hosted platform so that you can bypass the technical requirements and go straight to building, promoting and monetising your community.

    Muut is a very powerful system and very cheap to run:

    https://muut.com/

    This would allow you to test out your idea without breaking the bank.


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