Create a website like IMDB

Hello All,

First of all thank you in advance for all your help.

I am trying to create a website very similar to imdb.com - please go and take a look at it if you are not familiar with it already.

It's basically "database-driven" website and has forums and allows users to subscribe and rate or review every movie in their database.

My question is.... how do I get started? I obviously need a domain and a hosting package, but then how can I gather all the information about past and present movies? How do I go as to create a site that's connected to that database and that can be updated anytime the database is updated?

I am a hard-working person and I am prepared to do some of the dirty work myself - if possible. I have created a few websites in the past but they were mainly static websites where only I could edit the content. I normally use one of those user-friendly applications such as Frontpage for my websites. This is one is different. Is there any application that would allow me to make it myself or do I need to pay someone for it? If so, how much do you think I should be prepared to pay?

Is there maybe an already made free database that I can use or do I have to buy one? If so, where would I buy something like that from?

Once again thanks for everything.

 

From what I know about the site...

1. Summaries, reviews, comments, etc. are submitted by users.

2. In order to add a public figure (actor, etc.) to the database... you have to pay.

3. They make big bucks so they have employees. You're going to be doing everything yourself.

4. Too many sites out there doing the same thing.

 

You will have to write most of the site that you describe in PHP. It wouldn't be dificult to write but as far as the db goes you will have to find lists and enter them into a SQL database. This would be the time consuming part.

 

For this type website you can also use Joomla and Wordpress CMS. There are also some components available for Joomla. Check out this website www.joomitaly.com.

Hope this will help...

 

You can use Joomla and Community Builder as a starter but this is just my opinion and it's based on a project I tried to launch. IMDB is a HUGE and WELL established website. When someone types in an Actors name in Google. The very first result is IMDB most of the time. Because it's so popular, most people will click on that link even if your so lucky to be number 2. I'm just saying this because Movies is a genre that would take forever to update in a database and are you really going to get your money's worth. Of course if you have an umbundant amount of cash and time to kill, go for it

 

While Wordpress and Joomla will do the job, I think something like Drupal would be MUCH better suited to large scale community sites like IMDB.

HOWEVER - unless you plan on bringing something TOTALLY fresh, revolutionary, and something that IMDB or Amazon can't duplicate or add to their existing site.

IMDB, Wikipedia and Amazin already 'own' the movie information, reviews and comment markets, simply creating a new site like these without offering something new will fail, no matter how hard you work at it.

 

if you do it yourself getting traffic will be the big headache. They have a huge database of movies, comments, reviews, movie mistakes, trivia etc.

I would take some of the work out of it and try to find a script but really if your going to do something different it will have to be custom written.

-you'll need

-php hosting and knoweldge of php or other scripting lang
-DB hosting - most linux host will provide both php and MySQL DB
-a lot of time
-HTML skills

 

you can use joomla with jmovies component ...

 

You can use rdf to bring in the Wikipedia articles to your site and then perhaps use one of the installation profiles to make it quickly into a media sharing site w/ users/forums/etc.

http://drupal.org/project/filmforge