Getting a website is a popular method to gain online profits and a trendy way to become an e-businessperson. It may be tempting to take advantage of the benefits of a large website with little effort. However, it is slightly more complicated than it sounds. Before conducting any purchase regarding a website, you should consider several points. Find them listed below:
Get started with a “clean” site
Would you buy a house simply because you like how it looks? The same applies for websites. Do not make decisions based on the design of the site or the basic description.
Do your research on the assets, designer and history of the website. Look at the reviews collected during their activity. You can go about this step as a prospective customer of a product on the site.
If the designer and owner have a bad reputation with customers or regarding their previous activities, forget the investment. As a beginner, it would be best to start with a site that has a relatively good reputation, background included.
Visit the website
Browse the website and ask yourself the following questions:
- Does it offer an optimal user experience?
- What is the speed of the searches and commands?
- Is the site mobile-friendly?
- What does the domain look like: Is it short, attractive and modern?
Do not invest your savings in a website with a complicated URL, rough navigation and slow loading time. The SEO will probably not be great and the few users who will visit the site will leave it immediately.
Also, take a look at their sales history and see if it is consistent and sustainable. Analyse the marketing strategies put in place and see what you can keep or improve.
Analyse the SEO
What about the rating of the website on search engines? Is it well placed on relevant searches?
You can also check if the site has a blog. Nowadays, appearing on the first page is difficult without regularly publishing content.
You can, for example, use tools to know what keywords are used. Then, do not hesitate to make these searches on Google to check which page the site appears on. If it appears beyond the first page, you will have to invest in the SEO to get to the first page. The further away the site is, the more you will have to invest.
Analyse revenue sources
To make sure your investment will be profitable, see how the website earns its revenue. It can be through selling products/services, Google Adsense, affiliates, subscriptions, etc.
The e-business you are looking to buy should have as many revenue streams as possible. Otherwise, you may need to make other investments to create more reliable revenue streams. In case the income comes exclusively from products or services, make sure that the sales are regular. Above all, they should be in the growth phase.
Review the maintenance of the website
Depending on the platform hosting it, a website will be more or less easy to maintain, customize or optimize.
If you are a beginner, work alongside a professional or go to sites that rely on content management systems.
Also consider asking the seller for a maintenance report:
- How often are updates done?
- When was the last update?
- What are the recurring problems?
The price
There is no fixed price for a website. It will depend on the performance of this actual site.
However, be careful. If a seller asks for much less than the average, there must be a problem. If they ask for a strangely high price, either the site is very efficient or it is a scam.
To buy a good website, take the time to talk to the seller and ask for all the supporting documents. If he willingly accepts, you can erase a part of your doubts.
Following the above tips should help you if you are considering to buy a website. However, be sure to do thorough research and seek the help of professionals make a secure investment.
