Upload sites like imageshack. You just need to write the script and thats it really. However if it becomes very big you will need to maintain the servers.
I think generally forums have little maintence, if you have enough moderators to moderate the content.
See thats interesting. Im intersted in the image uploading option, but im also interested in forums. (i have an unused forum) I luckily also have an interst in photography. Im thinking of a forum based around photography but there is the option to upload your own photo's? Do i need good hosting for an image uploading website?
image hosting takes alot of effort and it's not low maintenance at all. Forums requires alot of advertising and word-of-mouth. Further, you have to have that unique look plus content . And ask yourself, Why would i go to the website than the other one. hope this helps
I personally think that every kind of site need maintenance. Some require less and some require a lot so it depends from site to site. Just make a site that you want to have and then see what level of maintenance it will require.
websites that pulls data from other websites needs nothing. Just inastall the script and it start running up.
This right here is about the best advice you are going to get. Regardless of the site, or niche, it's going to require some work. Link building, submissions, spreading the word, and if you get big, moderation or maintenance. There is no free lunch.
I can think of websites about information that (most likely) doesn't change (Washington's Bio), rss feed based sites (if the feeds stay up), archive sites, where definite info is archived, historical events (unless something new is discovered). But there is no such thing as a website which earns money with no effort, even with a big one at the start, to set it up, I think.
sites with static html pages require no maintenance. be careful that sites allowing comments from users (like in blog) require lot of moderatioon against spam.
Thanks for all replies. I do know they all contain work im just thinking on the basis of having a blog (writing everyday + promoting) whereas compared to a proxy you only promote.
You always need to promote your site one way or the other, but you can start with a site full of news, rss, youtube videos... type of content about one particular subject, plus some kind of interactivity to get some user-generated content (ala digg, or with comments forms). Of course, if you don't push it hard, you'll need a huge number of pages, say at least 10.000 pages to get some visibility, but you can always multiply this number by adding some other languages. Rotating banners programs are a must too if you want it to live its life on its own.