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Let's dissect Alibaba

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by hahahehehaha, Jan 21, 2016.

  1. #1
    So, I was wondering how can I make a B2B website like Alibaba.com. Maybe with lot less features. I have visited from forum to forum, google search and was looking for many technical questions related to alibaba.com website building and design, like:

    1. which programming language they use?
    2. built on which platform?
    3. which framework they use?
    4. which database they use?
    5. you name any other technical question, that's my question too...

    can you guys dissect alibaba and others B2B site like this and gather all info about those sites?
     
    hahahehehaha, Jan 21, 2016 IP
  2. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #2
    What they use on the server is irrelevant. They're using standard html, css and javascript on the client
    It's probably custom, no giveaway hints on the source that I could see
    how does this differ from #2?
    It'll be MySQL but even if they use something else you'll probably have to start with MySQL so don't sweat it
    Like how much money did they sink into the project?
    How many people did they have knocking on doors to get their initial suppliers on the site?
    How many technical, customer support, admin and sales people did they employ?
     
    sarahk, Jan 21, 2016 IP
  3. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #3
    There are alibaba clone scripts. Just purchase one of them and get it all "dissected". The scripts run at about $700.
     
    qwikad.com, Jan 21, 2016 IP
  4. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #4
    Problem is, you'll never know how well they clone the back end processes.
     
    sarahk, Jan 21, 2016 IP
    COBOLdinosaur likes this.
  5. COBOLdinosaur

    COBOLdinosaur Active Member

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    #5
    Why is it that those who have to ask questions like this think they need to duplicate instead of actually doing something creative like their own design? Why do they think we would be interested in dissecting any site for them? Why is it that they think they can duplicate when they need to ask how it is done? Do they have any clue what it costs to actually do a site like that?

    Just wannabe delusions of grandeur I guess. So the short answer is: If you need help to figure out how a site is built then you do not have the skill to duplicate it; you do not know enough on a technical level to do requirements for a clone; and you are from another planet if you think you are going to come close to recovering development costs by copying and trying to compete against the original. Creative, original design is what leads to success on the internet. If you cannot do something unique then you should look to doing something more productive like driving a taxi or flipping burgers.
     
    COBOLdinosaur, Jan 22, 2016 IP
    sarahk likes this.
  6. PoPSiCLe

    PoPSiCLe Illustrious Member

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    #6
    Well... while I do agree with @COBOLdinosaur, that statement isn't necessarily true when it comes to shops. For shops, the design is mostly irrelevant (as long as it functions for most users). What is important is the content of the store - what are you selling, and at what price. Hence a one-to-one copy of Alibaba could probably be successful, IF, and only if, you can compete on price, availability and so on. And THAT is probably not gonna happen. Alibaba is one of the highest valued sites / companies online - surpassing even Amazon in revenue, IIRC. That means that they have VERY deep pockets, and competing with them in the current market is probably not gonna be a viable strategy.

    However, if you are selling / creating smaller stores, copying functioning stores are a good way to go. Remember, as long as the solution works, what's important is what you're selling. The product(s) is the important bit, not what it's running on.
     
    PoPSiCLe, Jan 23, 2016 IP
    ketting00 and sarahk like this.