- City Portal Script -

[FSNet]

There is a script that contains all of the features you are requesting:

- Business Directory
- Forums
- Classifieds
- News/Chatter

Check it out at www.ProClones.com/review-website-clone.html

 

[Jilo]

$600 for that!

 

[Sterling]

There is a script that contains all of the features you are requesting:

- Business Directory
- Forums
- Classifieds
- News/Chatter

Check it out at www.ProClones.com/review-website-clone.html

That script is not worth $600. This is not an option.


EDIT: I am still laughing.

 

[Jilo]

I didn't have time to post properly earlier, but that script is definitely not worth $600. I've come to the conclusion that although pricey, it looks like edirectory is the best option.

@sterling I like your reason for editing!

 

[Fearless]

A common theme I'm seeing is that no one appears to be making any money from their efforts to create a city portal. I'd guess 95% never recover the hard dollars they put into it and the other 5% get back the dollars but don't come close to being compensated for their time.

 

[Jilo]

I think it is very easy to get a good regular income from a city portal. In my first month (last month) I made about $110 and ok traffic (400 visitors).

If you put a bit of hard work in, and you have a good revenue model, you'll be making an income from the site, AND be compensated for your time.

 

[Sterling]

A common theme I'm seeing is that no one appears to be making any money from their efforts to create a city portal. I'd guess 95% never recover the hard dollars they put into it and the other 5% get back the dollars but don't come close to being compensated for their time.

You my friend have an opinion. Unless you are running these sites, you have no clue what anyone is making.

 

[Premiumhosted]

A common theme I'm seeing is that no one appears to be making any money from their efforts to create a city portal. I'd guess 95% never recover the hard dollars they put into it and the other 5% get back the dollars but don't come close to being compensated for their time.

I have been working on a city portal for about 5 months now. No, we haven't earned back what we have put into it yet (not even close), but the leads we are receiving are quite encouraging. Local businesses are ready to advertise and we have had a lot of interest with only a small amount of traffic.

Once we have a finished product, I'm positive we can increase revenues substantially.

 

[copper]

That script is not worth $600. This is not an option.


EDIT: I am still laughing.

It's $800 now.

 

[Jilo]

I've used edirectory and phpcityportal. I would recommend phpcityportal. Their setup has a better community feel (keeps visitors returning) and a better revenue model. There are more ways to make money on a phpcityportal script.

That's my opinion after using both. In fact, I changed one site from edirectory to phpcityportal, and traffic, and more importantly, revenue has increased.

And the script is only $149.

 

[JamesDavid]

A common theme I'm seeing is that no one appears to be making any money from their efforts to create a city portal. I'd guess 95% never recover the hard dollars they put into it and the other 5% get back the dollars but don't come close to being compensated for their time.

Fearless,

City Portals have made millionaires... City Portals area HUGE niche market. People make money.

Now I am guessing you are referring to the people who think they can hand reg a junky domain, buy $150 script and then sit back and watch the money come in, THOSE are the people who don't make any money.

Put Time, Energy, Legwork, and Money behind a local website and it will succeed. Before you begin do your homework, if you cant offer a superior/cheaper product than what the area currently has then move on to another area. Also I have seen people too many times go out and buy ChicagoLocalWebsiteOnline.com (example). You need a domain that shows you are legit, spend a few bucks and make an investment in a good geo name, even if you portal falls you still have the domain investment.

I have used PHPCityPortal and for the dollar I have never seen anything else close. I able still customizing it to my needs which is important, NO ONE SINGLE SCRIPT is going to serve your community perfectly, you need to cater your site to the needs/wants of the local economy, businesses, and citizens. Anways in less than a year I am averaging over 30,000 pageviews a month and I am still not even closed to finished. My site is generating income and above all is growing rapidly at a local level.

In Summary most people won't make a living off of a geo site, but that is BECAUSE most people arent willing to put the time/energy/commitment that it takes to make a local portal or any website for the matter successful.

JamesDavid

 

[copper]

Fearless,

City Portals have made millionaires... City Portals area HUGE niche market. People make money.

Now I am guessing you are referring to the people who think they can hand reg a junky domain, buy $150 script and then sit back and watch the money come in, THOSE are the people who don't make any money.

Put Time, Energy, Legwork, and Money behind a local website and it will succeed. Before you begin do your homework, if you cant offer a superior/cheaper product than what the area currently has then move on to another area. Also I have seen people too many times go out and buy ChicagoLocalWebsiteOnline.com (example). You need a domain that shows you are legit, spend a few bucks and make an investment in a good geo name, even if you portal falls you still have the domain investment.

I have used PHPCityPortal and for the dollar I have never seen anything else close. I able still customizing it to my needs which is important, NO ONE SINGLE SCRIPT is going to serve your community perfectly, you need to cater your site to the needs/wants of the local economy, businesses, and citizens. Anways in less than a year I am averaging over 30,000 pageviews a month and I am still not even closed to finished. My site is generating income and above all is growing rapidly at a local level.

In Summary most people won't make a living off of a geo site, but that is BECAUSE most people arent willing to put the time/energy/commitment that it takes to make a local portal or any website for the matter successful.

JamesDavid

Very well said
Everything you said apply to any other businesses.

 

[AustinWeb]

Now I am guessing you are referring to the people who think they can hand reg a junky domain, buy $150 script and then sit back and watch the money come in, THOSE are the people who don't make any money...Put Time, Energy, Legwork, and Money behind a local website and it will succeed.

This is worth reading a couple times. JamesDavid has shown us how much effort he puts into just one of his websites to make sure he is successful.
Looking at that Kankakee site, I have a lot of respect for JD's work ethic and attention to detail. It made me start picking apart some of my sites & revamping them.

One of the reasons I have always liked being a part of DNForum, the members are honest about having to work on their sites to succeed. I see far too many people in other forums (and at webmaster & marketing conferences) who think they can find a magic script or website template that will change their lives. Each website project is a small business that requires planning, attention and EFFORT in order to succeed.

 

[Ulysses]

Is there a valid coupon code still available, i have tried Johnn.

 

[Johnn]

They have new owner. I contacted them but they don't seem to be interested.

 

[JamesDavid]

Is there a valid coupon code still available, i have tried Johnn.

I know if you purchase a hostgator.com account THROUGH them you get $50 off.

Also, if anybody is hestiting becuase of the price then in my opinion don't do it. If someone can't jump in and commit $150 to their site then the odds of them committing hours for advertisement, customizing, outreach and walking businesses for sales isnt that good.

 

[Vinnee]

Thought I would share a couple of scripts in use. The features that work best are the ability to import, google maps and maintenance. Oh, one of the most important is how to monetize the site with PPC and business listing submissions.

http://www.tolranet.co.uk/software/directoryscript/

and

http://easysearchdirectory.com/demo/

 

[Fearless]

Fearless,

City Portals have made millionaires... City Portals area HUGE niche market. People make money.

Now I am guessing you are referring to the people who think they can hand reg a junky domain, buy $150 script and then sit back and watch the money come in, THOSE are the people who don't make any money.

Put Time, Energy, Legwork, and Money behind a local website and it will succeed. Before you begin do your homework, if you cant offer a superior/cheaper product than what the area currently has then move on to another area. Also I have seen people too many times go out and buy ChicagoLocalWebsiteOnline.com (example). You need a domain that shows you are legit, spend a few bucks and make an investment in a good geo name, even if you portal falls you still have the domain investment.

I have used PHPCityPortal and for the dollar I have never seen anything else close. I able still customizing it to my needs which is important, NO ONE SINGLE SCRIPT is going to serve your community perfectly, you need to cater your site to the needs/wants of the local economy, businesses, and citizens. Anways in less than a year I am averaging over 30,000 pageviews a month and I am still not even closed to finished. My site is generating income and above all is growing rapidly at a local level.

In Summary most people won't make a living off of a geo site, but that is BECAUSE most people arent willing to put the time/energy/commitment that it takes to make a local portal or any website for the matter successful.

JamesDavid

Your site is the reason I added "5% get back the dollars but don't come close to being compensated for their time". I didn't see any other example sites in this thread that had much user or advertiser generated content.

I want to hear success geo site stories. Maybe they will motivate me to create some geo sites.

 

[Gerry]

Also, if anybody is hestiting becuase of the price then in my opinion don't do it.

Is this a onetime price or is this per site?

 

[JamesDavid]

Your site is the reason I added "5% get back the dollars but don't come close to being compensated for their time". I didn't see any other example sites in this thread that had much user or advertiser generated content.

I want to hear success geo site stories. Maybe they will motivate me to create some geo sites.

MyrtleBeach.com website earns about $2 million a year. Enough Motivation?

Here are a few stories: Story of owner of NewYork.com
Here is another story of a multi million dollar business built of geo names/city portals: http://dnjournal.com/cover/2008/july.htm

Then you have companies that are pretty much founded, funded and ran becuase fo Geo Sites: http://www.associatedcities.com/ or this site http://www.geodomainer.com/

So as you can see the money is out there and available, granted it is not the window that was there 8 years ago BUT with the costs of development down, the internet connected people up and the sense of local commitment the chance is there for people to take advantage of geo sites, GOOD ONES. You may never have the multi million dollar grossing NewYork.com but would you be happy with say 5 local sites earning $80,000 each per year? thats a nice $400,000/year a lifechanger for anyone spending time on this forum.

Is this a onetime price or is this per site?

It is a per site fee, I believe there is a multi site discount but I dont have an affiliation with PHpCityPortal so check with them. Also I know the $149 prices comes with a year of updates...

Compared to eDirectory.com pricing: $299 initial setup plus about $150/month for license fees, portal option and unbranded version... which works out to over $2000 for the first year... add another $600 for any customization...