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How much does it cost to Start & run a Social network?

Discussion in 'General Business' started by lilc800, Nov 26, 2011.

  1. #1
    Hey guys,

    I am wanting to start a social network.. I want this site to hit big. Many people have to me that social networks cost a bunch of money with sever cost (I thought all you needed was a web host) But I have been told otherwise. I know that I will need to get it coded and programmed which would cost a lot but I still don't really have a good idea of how much it would cost.. Does anyone know?
     
    lilc800, Nov 26, 2011 IP
  2. jack2230

    jack2230 Active Member

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    #2
    It would cost a fair bit. At first you could use a shared host but after your first few hundred members would need to upgrade to dedicated servers. A custom script would cost a few thousand and marketing would also cost a few thousand to get the site of it's feet and get some members.
     
    jack2230, Nov 26, 2011 IP
  3. lilc800

    lilc800 Active Member

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    #3
    Hmm.... I see thats a lot more then I thought but I guess If you can find investors then that would be better and you won't have to come out of pocket with so much
     
    lilc800, Nov 26, 2011 IP
  4. jack2230

    jack2230 Active Member

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    #4
    I mean If you didn't want a custom script you could get away with a pre-built one for a few hundred but like most things it's the marketing that could kill the idea due to the fact that their are already the really popular Facebook, Twitter and Google+ you would need to spend thousands on marketing and seo to make it all work and even then you may have trouble. So I would really only recommend it if you had a lazy million in the bank and didn't know what to do with it, lol. ;)
     
    jack2230, Nov 26, 2011 IP
  5. zeeshan146

    zeeshan146 Peon

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    #5
    if much mony than i will invest thanks.
     
    zeeshan146, Nov 26, 2011 IP
  6. csreference

    csreference Member

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    #6
    Shared host won't work for a social community website. Most shared host has limited email sending limit and on social network you need to have a huge email sending limit per hour. To get started with you can get a VPS hosting and if the traffic increases then you will need to upgrade to dedicated server. If your social network is fun and unique then many people should join it and make it go viral on internet. You will need money only for a good hosting, and if you don't know website coding, PHP, JAVA whatever, then you will need money to hire developers.
     
    csreference, Nov 26, 2011 IP
  7. eurojack

    eurojack Greenhorn

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    #7
    200€-300€/month for a dedicated server, 10,000€-100,000€ for a custom coded social networking system, 1,000,000€ for advertising and bottle of your favorite wiskey to drink after you shut everything down after a year.

    What is "big" for you? Your neighborhood, 1000 members, 100,000 members or 1,000,000 members? Google is spending tens of millions and they can't make it big because Facebook is destroying everything in their way. The question is what do you want to achieve? Should you look into NING?
     
    eurojack, Nov 27, 2011 IP
  8. tradester

    tradester Well-Known Member

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    #8
    Good points.
    A few have mentioned paying developer to do custom coded which will cost a bomb. My question- is there a need to use a custom coded software? Why not use those free SNS software around? Does it make difference to success of the site whether you use free or custom coded software?
    My guess is the big killer cost is the advertising/ marketing/SEO cost. The server hosting and software costs will be peanuts compared to that.
     
    tradester, Nov 29, 2011 IP
  9. sambling

    sambling Well-Known Member Affiliate Manager

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    #9
    You could get away with a budget dedi for $100 per month, free software like elgg or oxwall, and advertising costs of your choice.
     
    sambling, Nov 30, 2011 IP
  10. silencespr

    silencespr Well-Known Member

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    #10
    don't waste your time and money that is my advise
     
    silencespr, Nov 30, 2011 IP
  11. levikay

    levikay Active Member

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    #11
    I would say buy yourself a Social network application thats already built and install it shouldnt cost more then 1000$... then comes the hard part where you have to start promoting the site. for that i would start with a small active group and keep it exclusive and then expand slowly.
     
    levikay, Nov 30, 2011 IP
  12. melanieup

    melanieup Peon

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    #12
    It will cost an awful lot - the actual set up may not be expensive but in an already over-saturated market, your promotion and marketing costs will be sky high.
     
    melanieup, Dec 1, 2011 IP
  13. muplayer2000

    muplayer2000 Peon

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    #13
    I would say on average design site 1000 $, server 300$/permonth, Advertising 500$ per month , this is for a small budget.
     
    muplayer2000, Dec 4, 2011 IP
  14. jhardy2008

    jhardy2008 Peon

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    #14
    Its totally depend on your requirments.
     
    jhardy2008, Dec 4, 2011 IP
  15. bogert

    bogert Greenhorn

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    #15
    I think that it depends upon what type of Business you start, What type of Investor you are and What type of Equipment you use.
     
    bogert, Dec 7, 2011 IP
  16. VideoWhisper.com

    VideoWhisper.com Well-Known Member

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    #16
    Starting a social network is cheap. You just need a nice domain, a regular host and a free open source source networking script (there are many online), some free plugins. Then you can build on that.
    If you add up a webmaster to set it up and designer to do some minimum custom identity like a logo, total budget required first year can be $100-$1000. Exact value depends on how much can you do yourself and time you have to look for best deals.

    But starting it is not the difficult part. Thousands of people start social networks monthly (check social network software downloads). Few take off (as registrations).
    That's where the difficult and expensive part comes: marketing strategy, advertising, finding investors.
     
    VideoWhisper.com, Dec 18, 2011 IP
  17. miftah_jannah

    miftah_jannah Peon

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    #17
    don't wastle gays get action for clucthed best
     
    miftah_jannah, Dec 18, 2011 IP
  18. doketor

    doketor Peon

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    #18
    there is a lot of companies that can make this job for you
     
    doketor, Dec 18, 2011 IP
  19. believe-me

    believe-me Peon

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    #19
    I agree with VideoWhisper.com.

    I created social networking site but searching for a catchy domain name (Still running in a free domain) and its hard to promote it (no time) and getting ads. :(
     
    believe-me, Dec 18, 2011 IP
  20. samadnet

    samadnet Active Member

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    #20
    Starting a social network may easy.But I am sure that It will be very difficult to maintain a Social network with huge traffic.Also don't believe that you can manage it in an shared host :p
     
    samadnet, Dec 18, 2011 IP