29 replies
I'm sure the guys here thought I was talking about Alexa Smith, but no, I'm talking about some of the web sites I've seen created and for sale in the Sites for Sale section.

Some of you are great at putting together a site. Ok, some of you are great at installing templates too, but that's not what I mean. Your sites are great looking.

The thing is I've seen some ugly sites that were making lots and lots of money and some gorgeous sites that just sit there looking pretty. It still takes traffic and a good offer to get the cash flowing.

Hopefully none in this crowd, but sadly some think they can buy a great looking site and they are instantly in business. They pay $37 for a complete website and now can sit on the beach with a laptop and transfer money from PayPal to the bank all day. ( That only works for Frank Kern. Everything he touches magically turns into profit )
#dead #drop #gorgeous
  • Profile picture of the author Kitty Samuels
    LOL -- I was hoping you were talking about ME!
    Oh well... ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Marhelper
    I will take an ugly money making site any day of the week. I remember Allen showing a money making basic (the default blue and white header) WP blog site that was raking in the money. I am not impressed with flashy graphics, etc.. Give me a site that is ranking in the SERPS and making consistent money.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
    Graphics do help with conversions but they're not the only factor that determines if you'll make money or not.

    EDIT: Also, I can easily design my own graphics or hire someone to do it for me and that's not the reason I buy websites. I buy websites that have existing customers and Search engine rankings because that's the hard part.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    James Schramko put it best...

    "Its not about the website.."

    Sadly, as a developer I hear clients all the time ask "can we get rid of that bit of text there and put in a nice picture of a dwarf juggling kitchen knives"

    I just dont get it.

    Forget about making "pretty sites" that "look nice" and focus on the $$$.
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    • Profile picture of the author Thinker1
      Appearance is important too but it doesn't have to be "drop dead gorgeous". I don't think people hung around too long on an ugly site either. I guess balancing the two should work best.
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      • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
        I just found an article about this very thing:


        The Surprising Truth About Ugly Websites
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      • Profile picture of the author dbonline
        Originally Posted by Thinker1 View Post

        Appearance is important too but it doesn't have to be "drop dead gorgeous". I don't think people hung around too long on an ugly site either. I guess balancing the two should work best.
        I agree, it's all about finding the best balance. Overdone graphics can cause clutter, make your page(s) load slow but ugly/plain looking sites can sometimes look outdated and also result in low retention.
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    • Profile picture of the author Igor Pauer
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      Forget about making "pretty sites" that "look nice" and focus on the $$$.
      In some niches it is necessary to have nice site or at least nice product pictures, I think.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Offline business owners are going to be absolutely DESTROYED if they continue to ignore the marketing potential of the internet and begin leveraging it to their own benefits to help drive their businesses.

    Im in absolute disbelief of many business owners that I speak to that make comments like ...

    "Oh we just advertise in the yellow pages..."
    "I dont think the internet is for us..."
    "Yeah we've been meaning to get a website up, but havent gotten around to it...."
    "Theres no money to made online..."

    And it seems that its these types of business owners who are more worried about how their website "looks" as opposed to how it will HELP THEIR BUSINESS.
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      Offline business owners are going to be absolutely DESTROYED if they continue to ignore the marketing potential of the internet and begin leveraging it to their own benefits to help drive their businesses.

      Im in absolute disbelief of many business owners that I speak to that make comments like ...

      "Oh we just advertise in the yellow pages..."
      "I dont think the internet is for us..."
      "Yeah we've been meaning to get a website up, but havent gotten around to it...."
      "Theres no money to made online..."

      And it seems that its these types of business owners who are more worried about how their website "looks" as opposed to how it will HELP THEIR BUSINESS.
      So very true. Their competition will get ahead then and they will be the loser much like the buggy maker that thought they were in the buggy making business instead of the transportation business.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Scott Ames View Post

    I'm sure the guys here thought I was talking about Alexa Smith, but no, I'm talking about some of the web sites I've seen created and for sale in the Sites for Sale section.

    Some of you are great at putting together a site. Ok, some of you are great at installing templates too, but that's not what I mean. Your sites are great looking.

    The thing is I've seen some ugly sites that were making lots and lots of money and some gorgeous sites that just sit there looking pretty. It still takes traffic and a good offer to get the cash flowing.

    Hopefully none in this crowd, but sadly some think they can buy a great looking site and they are instantly in business. They pay $37 for a complete website and now can sit on the beach with a laptop and transfer money from PayPal to the bank all day. ( That only works for Frank Kern. Everything he touches magically turns into profit )

    Alexa is ok .. but seriously ... I thought you were talking about me.

    A beautiful site can rake in the bucks too. It's all what the new owner does with the site. If they let it languish on a host just looking beautiful, it's not likely that they will make any money.

    If they promote it just like they would an ugly site, it will make money. It's the same thing with info products ... they only work if you actually do something.
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    • Profile picture of the author DogScout
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      Alexa is ok .. but seriously ... I thought you were talking about me.

      A beautiful site can rake in the bucks too. It's all what the new owner does with the site. If they let it languish on a host just looking beautiful, it's not likely that they will make any money.

      If they promote it just like they would an ugly site, it will make money. It's the same thing with info products ... they only work if you actually do something.
      Yeah, I thought he was talking about your avatar.

      (Oh the dreams I've had...:rolleyes

      you do make drop dead gorgeous sites though!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mukul Verma
    This is very true....and I have heard it referred to the Wal-Mart approach.

    Would you rather on a Prada store or a Wal-Mart store.

    One looks nice and makes a bit of money
    The other relates to the masses and generates traffic.

    I am a fan of both looking nice, but has lots of traffic, SEO etc...

    Cheers,
    Mukul

    PS - If you build it,they will not come; If you market the h@ll out of it, they will
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
      Originally Posted by x3xsolxdierx3x View Post

      I never thought craigslist was that much to gawk at....but, apparently it's done pretty well...lol
      I know!! My first impression was "What 13 year old put this together?" and "When are they going to finish it?"
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Funny that they mention plenty of fish in that article Scott. As a developer myself, I feel that POF was so successful because it was built by an END USER - NOT a designer.

    That might confuse a lot of people, but have a browse around the site and you'll see what I mean.

    Professional web designers would never have in plain text on a website ..."click this button here ------>"

    Thats why it works, because its ridiculously fool proof.

    It does look like ass though :p

    But hey $10,000 a day is fine with me
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    I recently sold a real estate package and the agent asked me to customise it for him. He wanted to add "content" in a certain spot on the site and I agreed.

    I returned to the site a few days later to find he'd added a chicken satay RECIPE (witha nice photo of course) into that spot.

    As an agent, dont you think it would make much more sense to push content that would help you SELL PROPERTIES?????????

    Uurgh.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mukul Verma
    I suggested Craigslist and Kijiji to a real estate friend a year back, now thats his sole source for leads.

    Classified websites so work for generating constant traffic. It is one of the few traffic sources that are high on all my different website.

    Cheers,
    Mukul
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  • Profile picture of the author anthony2
    I will take a simple direct response website any day over
    one of those pretty not making any money websites.

    Those pretty sites can be a liabilty you pay and pay
    a graphics designer money over and over again to
    improve the look of the website. Soon you have spent
    5k and made nothing.

    I will take an simple direct response website that make
    money any day over the pretty websites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    Originally Posted by cjmo75 View Post

    I've noticed that the simplest sites that are easy on the eyes often do the best. For example, I'm sure most of you have heard of Grizzly Brears. He has a very simple make money online blog on Blogger that has 6500+ subscribers and he doesn't even write that many posts.

    Totally agree. Griz's site is a perfect example of how a super simple can produce great ranking and income. I love sharp design, but it never seems to be critical to the success of a site.
    _____
    Bruce
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  • Profile picture of the author Brenny76065
    LOL Scott. The first thing that popped into my head when I read the title was Alexa.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
      Originally Posted by Brenny76065 View Post

      LOL Scott. The first thing that popped into my head when I read the title was Alexa.
      SAME!!!!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Ben Bergmann
      Originally Posted by Brenny76065 View Post

      LOL Scott. The first thing that popped into my head when I read the title was Alexa.
      Snap! LOL...
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  • Profile picture of the author willyboy104
    Good point dude, many people get hypnotised by gorgeous looking websites and think just because aesthetically they may please you, converting them in to money making machines will be easy.

    However that is never the case, it takes as you said traffic and a good offer in the first place. For example take a plain white html template with a normal sales page, no fancy images or lingo, just a real image of the person selling the offer or video, an explanation as to why and what the offer is then a great price using a trustworthy payment process, they would sell much more than someone with a great looking website and a sleezy sales page and rubbish offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anoopchawla
    Alexa looks different in her present pic, is that her real pic?
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  • Profile picture of the author grafx77
    I would buy a terrible looking site with the traffic anytime. Improving the design should be easier than building the numbers. And if an ugly site has the traffic and some conversions, then the potential to do better should certainly be greater.

    What is the use of buying a cute looking site at thousands of dollars without the SERPS when you can spend a fraction of these dollars to improve an already proven but poorly designed site? It defies logic.
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