Where to start with this good website idea?

October 25, 2008 12:18 PM

Where do I start? I have an idea for a "rate my ____" website. It is not a photo-based one, more like the rate my teacher sites around.

Where to start? My friend has an idea for a "rate my ____" website. It is not a photo-based one, more like the rate my teacher sites around.

She has SOME html experience, but no css. Building this herself is not really an option. So how do we find someone to pitch it to? We presumably need someone to invest time/money into it, as she don't have any disposable money to put into it now. Who do we need to look for?

If ever this were to actually get up and running, it would be a free service with ad-generated revenue.

We don't have any experience in this field, but it's a pretty great idea. Can anyone offer some help to a couple of naive idea-likers?

posted by nitor to technology (6 comments total)

Wordpress.
posted by ISeemToBeAVerb at 12:35 PM on October 25, 2008

I asked a similarish question a few months back and Wordpress was the solution I picked. It (and its extensions) could do pretty much everything I needed except bring in the visitors...
posted by the christopher hundreds at 1:05 PM on October 25, 2008

So you want somebody to build it for you, for free, in exchange for theoretical revenue that odds are will never happen. Good luck with that.

Ideas are not that valuable. Everybody has ideas. You need to bring a lot more to the table than just the idea to entice any halfway competent developer to take on a project for equity only. If you are serious about doing it that way, write a business plan that'll inspire confidence that the developer will see some payback on his effort.

Or, your friend could learn the necessary skills. Ruby, Rails, and rudimentary dB skills are not rocket science. What better way to learn new skills than in pursuit of a project that you think will pay off in cold hard cash in the end?
posted by COD at 1:11 PM on October 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

You will probably want to adapt an open source application to your needs rather than develop a website from scratch. If envision a Digg.com type website, you should look into Pligg. Destiney's Rated Images script is similar to HotOrNot.com .

I can't judge your idea unless you share it, but you should know that building a website requires a substantial amount of work.
posted by nilihm at 3:45 PM on October 25, 2008

If you're a student, perhaps see if you know any computer science majors that may be willing to volunteer their time. However, as on any project, it can be hard to get people to commit to it unless they have a personal stake in it.

I would also suggest sharing your idea to everyone you meet to get broader feedback. I imagine you may be reluctant, with the possibility of someone else stealing it, but there are tons of ideas out there but very few people with the resources and/or motivation to follow through with them. I attended a talk by Dave Howlett earlier this year and one of his themes has stuck with me, "All things are possible as long you don't care who gets the credit."
posted by perpetualstroll at 8:41 PM on October 25, 2008

I built a site like this once -- did fairly well at promoting it and made a small (< $100) monthly revenue from it for a while. I don't do design but PM me if you want help with the programming.
posted by MaxK at 1:13 AM on October 26, 2008