If you are interested to look at my forums, check: http://devyourweb.com To the point.. I'm pretty new, feel free to correct me, I might not use the term "niche" as well as good I've been making new websites since I was 13 years old, now I know with 99% certainity that my current website will stay forever (if the "niche" is good). The website is mainly focusing on web development, such as: - Free scripts in ASP, PHP, Javascript, D-X/HTML, htaccess, xml & miscellanoeus - Free design: free graphic pieces for your websites, collecting all those "small-template-collection" sites. - Articles/guides/tutorials mostly regarding web development - We offer free help with a fast reply. All those stuff can be found in hundreds of website over the world, I know that. What's unique with this? - It's a forum (no blog/website actually). - Planning to stay very organized and an easy-navigation. - Source of everything regarding web development. There's many sites with everything above included, but I did not see a website with all-in-one yet. Right now I am only managing the forum, but I am also planning to make a really huge guide on how to create your website. These exists too, but I am going to make my very special: - In many languages. - Even my grandma will understand how to create a website after reading it. - Not overcrowded with ads & easy to locate the main content. - Every step will contain various of screenshots to make it very detailed and easy to understand Summary: index: little cake with the guide "How to create your website" (Small navigation with link to the forum) forums: rest of above-mentioned. Everything about web development. I am asking becouse I've read in a several threads that forums with wrong niche (or in general) do not bring in much cash, generally. If it turns out that everyone doesn't think my idea will work, I might consider to try something different. Is this is a good niche? Thank you.
Well, first of all to address your point of is niche the right term? The term means literally "a specialised market" (specialized for my American friends) It's a subjective term and depends on the experience of those making the judgement. When considered in terms of the whole world, web development is fairly specialised. But in terms of IT development, less so. And with the broad title of "web development" there are further sub-topics that would be more deserving of the word niche. So, a web development guide, aimed specifically at PHP programmers, to produce eCommerce sites - well that's more niche that "web development". Similarly, a web development guide, aimed at PHP developers, to produce eCommerce sites, using the osCommerce frame work, and binding to WorldPay... that's even more niche. See where I'm going? So, to get back to your idea - I don't think it's that niche because you appear to be saying a guide to web development. Which would be a massive undertaking. You could not possibly document, in one place, everything I might want to know to build a web site. For a start, it owuld be restricted to the technologies you know about, the languages you are familiar with, and the types of web sites you're comfortable building. If I come to your guide looking at how to build Facebook, will your guide tell me? Then you go on to say it's actually just a forum about web development? With a little basic guide on how to create web sites - much as you'd get from any e-book, with a forum like this one tacked on. So it's not actually unique either? I don't mean to douse your enthusiasm. I'm not criticising you. But when people say that "forums with wrong niche (or in general) do not bring in much cash" what they mean is if your forum is like a thousand and one others then you won't make any money because the cake is too widely cut. Type in "web development forum" and see how many hits you get. It's not niche and you won't persuade people to come to yours rather than one like this. On the other hand, if there was a huge upcoming demand for forums on "cedar wood computers" and you create a forum for that, then you're not likely to have much competition in your niche and you'd do really well. Though I doubt cedar wood computers are going to take off )
hey nick I wasn't exactly meaning that this was going to make me rich, but maybe be some extra cash. Also, I am aware of how bad the forum is now, I realize theres plenty of them out there..but that's now. Lets assume I build the best forum out there related to web development, would it still be that bad? I know it is possible to earn money on it somehow, and I will some day (I hope). Just wondering really how far away I am from the reality. Thank you very much. Appreciate people who take some time into others issues.
Ok, but what then constitutes "the best forum out there"? How do you define "the best" in terms of a forum? As you know, earning on the web comes down to traffic. So you need to get lots of traffic in to earn anything. But your topic means you have the widest possible amount of sites to compete against. By the very nature of the web, there are more sites about the web, web design and web programming than pretty much anything else out there (other than sex). And, to be blunt, you're 15+ years too late. Your forerunners have had an awful long time to cover this subject. So you're entering a saturated market late and expecting to revolutionise it by offering "the best forum ever"? I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. I'm not even trying to put you off. Just challenging your thought process because people have an odd way of weighing up risk/benefit when it comes to net businesses that they would never do in the "real world".