Huge web development tip: do your testing from IE6 from the get-go.
The game plan is to make a big splash with the debut of the site. Hopefully a full on Slashdotting/Dugg. But all that traffic can be a bad thing - will my servers be able to take it? It's a tough question - I'm using budget shared hosting from Dreamhost, so I doubt their servers will put up with much abuse. How much abuse am I expecting? Well I've read that a typical Slashdotting can range from 50 000-500 000 unique visitors over a couple of days. My biggest fear is the site not being available due to an overloaded server. There are several free mirroring services (Coral, Mirrordot) but I'm worried they won't show my ads properly.
In the end, I think I'll be OK going just with Dreamhost. My site is completely static, and doesn't have any high-resolution images or large files to download. I hope this isn't naïve - if Dreamhost crashes right when I get popular it'll pretty much kill my whole plan, as I doubt many Nerds are actively searching for a site like mine.
Hello, thanks for stopping by! This blog will chronicle my experiences creating an ad-supported website. If it isn't obvious, my idea is to create a very easy-to-use resource for Nerds and other fashionably-challenged people to use to improve their fashion sense (for the benefit of woman-kind everywhere!)
I think this site could make some money. Why do I think that? Well, I'm banking on two reasons:
1. On the Web, my target market, Nerds (males aged 18-35) are highly organized and have high surf-rates(?)... that is, they routinely share web links, and they routinely surf a ton of new sites everyday. How do I know? Because I am a one.
2. If I'm reading about a product, I will occasionally click the nearby Ads to see how much something costs, what else they have available, do they have my size... etc... I am betting a certain percentage of my fellow Nerds will do the same.
I don't expect to make much money, or fame, but it should be a good experience, and fill a niche that hasn't been filled so far on the web. The hosting costs are minimal ($9/year actually through a Dreamhost deal), so why not give it a shot? I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get a ton of hits - my main threats as I see them are inappropriate ads served to my pages that have nothing to do with my content, and the fact that a lot of Nerd surfers will filter out ads automatically.
I've created this Blog to track my progress, and to share with everyone out there the issues of creating a site, monetizing it, and getting it Slashdotted/Dugg. I'll also give some insight into the revenues available from AdSense for a site like this - since that was the first question I thought of when I started this project. I have no idea what to expect, but it could be a fun ride.
