I have come across quite a few forum posts, blog posts and even newsletters where domainers are insisting that setting up a website for a domain name will make it much easier for a domain name to sell.
The argument is that by building a website, even if it is a mini site, the domain name will be indexed by search engines and, possibly obtain high rankings. This would result in increased traffic for the domain name, and as a result would increase the value of the domain name.
Now, let’s face it. A domain name is a domain name. A website is a website. If am selling domain names, then that’s my business. If am selling websites, then its a whole new ball game altogether.
Back in the late nineties, it was a symbol of status if you had an email address from the likes of Yahoo. If you had a website, you were elevated to a different class/status, even if the website was just a blue background with sky-blue text written all over it.
Today any idiot can have a website in minutes, without even writing the first line of html coding.
Websites are so easy to obtain or set-up these days that the only website designers making money are those who can do dynamic programming with PHP, ASP, .NET etc.
However, despite the fact that websites are so easy to build and maintain these days, there are too many website owners who are only concerned about having the site live, but not the quality and maintenance of the website.
A website is NEVER complete.
A website takes time to build if it is to be a hit with web surfers, and it does take even more time, effort and money to keep it fresh and interesting.
I would find it extremely hard to settle for some of the available ready-made site that comes with a domain name purchase, unless that site is a cash cow. But the question is, why would the seller offer the website for sale if it is making so much money?
If am going to have to build a website for a domain name in order to sell that domain name, the buyer would have to pay me for:
- the time I took to plan the site
- my creativity
- logos, and other artwork design
- any special coding
- all monies spent on hosting to-date
- any monies spent on advertising and promoting the website
- X times the revenue that the site is earning
- and the list goes on
And that is only in addition to what the domain name would be worth without a website.
A domain name is a domain name. A website is a website. If we can’t perfect the art of marketing domain names to end-users, I highly doubt end-users/buyers will want to pay for the cost of a domain name plus a website.
A domain name, a website, and an online business are all different things. Why waste time building websites if the end user/new domain name owner is going to design his own website anyway?
all that is required is a landing page which clearly indicates that the domain name is for sale. For what it is worth these days, try domain parking.
What do you think?
I haven’t ever found a website that came with a domain name that made me feel like it made it more valuable for me to purchase it…and yes you are right on, unless it was a ‘cash cow’, and if that were the case. I would question the seller, well then, why sell it?…Maybe I’m missing something? Does anybody have a good story of solid success doing it both ways and maximizing more on developing a ‘mini site’? Do you figure in the time you spent in development? What’s your time worth in the equation? hmmmm? Thanks for the story. : )
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David Carter made recently a post about experiment in making a website as a way to promote a domain name. Now this doesn’t mean that the site itself will add more value (it could) to the domain. It is solely done to promote the domain via search engines, since we know ppc pages don’t rank very well, if at all.
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