hey all, i am developing a content management system. i am in a fix. after spending approximately a year working on it so far, and when i eventually complete it how do i market it to the masses and which path should i take? either open source or sell it for a price like vbuletin. after spending so much time in developing the system i do not want to just give it for free. i want to get some monetary return for working hard on this project, and also at the same time want it ot be use dby as many people as possible. the system is not complete yet but here is the complete features list that i have planned out so far. remember i may add some more features for the version 0.0 stable release or withold some features in the first version, and then add them as updates in the subsequent versions. Quote: 1.Built using XHTML 1.0 Transitional, CSS, PHP, MYSQL 2.Easy to use 3.Easy to install out of the box 4.No prior knowledge of programming or web designing required to use this software 5.Manageable content 6.Admin control panel which controls the whole website 7.User control panel 8.Multiple manageable themes developed by MN Tech Solutions 9.Integrated forum software (80 % complete) 10.Separate admin blog (work commenced) 11.Individual blogs for the users of the site and a separate blog for the site. (work commenced) 12.Comments can be made on the blog and hence blog articles can be discussed by other members of the website (work commenced) 13.Custom menu with links saved in the database. This menu is displayed on the home page of the website 14.Integrated user registration for the website, the forum software, and the blog 15.User banning (coming soon) 16.Aesthetic, beautiful modern design and graphics 17.Constant layout and themes throughout the website. No inconsistencies. 18.High website security to counter hackers (coming soon) 19.User profiles integrated with user blogs, enabling users to have their own personal web pages (work commenced) 20.The whole website content is completely saved in the database 21.User management 22.Admin management 23.Community management 24.Editable home page articles 25.Input validation (90% complete) 26.Email reports sent to the site admin and the developer reporting of any errors in the website (coming soon) 27.Private messaging software 28.Private messages managed through the admin panel 29.Site statistics software (coming soon) 30.Anti-bot registration code implemented 31.Avatar uploading 32.Banner uploading and management through the admin panel 33.Picture gallery (coming soon) 34.Anti piracy software (coming soon) 35.Advertisement management 36.Username and password retrieval implemented following is the website that is using the system and i am adding features to it as i develop them. MN Tech Solutions also if i sell this system for a price, then what price should i keep for a one year licence. please quote in US dollars. thanx guys
CMS is a quiet a old field now. The system available for free are very good and they allow a lot of the system you include with very large development teams. Personally I think you would need to give it away to get some grounding. After that you can sell upgrades that works well, or just charge your time as an expert consultant. Trying to sell it without reputation or a tight niche is going to be an uphill struggle.
I think you're to late - Lot's of great CMS systems out there, many of the better ones open source. You could always package it up for people looking to start their first web site - And market it via PPC with an affiliate program. Good luck - It's a very competitive niche!
Give it away for free. It can actually be more profitable than selling your CMS Start a support forum. If it becomes popular, you will get enough ad revenues from the website. You can also sell add-ons and templates and premium versions etc This way, you also get feedback, bug fixes and help for new features from the users.
i have the following options now: (1) give it for free but withold the developing rights (2) give it off as an opensource software (3) take website building projects for people and then sell them a customised version of the system (4) ask an established software house to market my system for me, but i will hold the developing licence and get royalty for every copy sold. the company will use this system for their client's websites. (5) i sell the whole system completely to a software house for a good price. i think one of the options from (1),(2),and (3) would be the way to go.