Yesterday we looked at 5 Reasons to Buy Your Next Web Site or Blog. Today we’re going to cover why it may be a good idea to build instead of buying an existing site or blog. There are certainly benefits and drawbacks to each path. Let’s jump right into reasons to build.

4 Reasons to Build Your Next Web Site or Blog:

1. Very low entry cost
   The cost of entry is unbelievably low. In fact, if you really wanted to, you could put the entire thing up for free. Of course that wouldn’t necessarily be the best move, but it’s possible. To do things “right” and give your site a solid foundation you can build on, a domain name, WordPress, some key plugins and a cheap hosting account with a decent provider is all you need. We’re talking under $100 for the first year.

   After the first year, if you’re following some basic traffic building principles and regularly adding decent content, you should have regular traffic that is growing and some solid search engine ranking starting to happen. From that point, you should be seeing a little bit of income coming in and can afford to invest a portion (or all) of your income back into the site to grow it even further.

   This alone levels the entry point for virtually everyone. Anyone can start a blog, regardless of financial status, disposable income, where you live, etc. No one reading this should have any financial reason not to start a blog or site project.

2. You can build it exactly how you want it from the start
   One of the drawbacks of buying a web site is you’re most likely buying existing problems. Everything from bad coding to upset users. You can do a fair amount of due diligence, but in the end, buying a site is always a bit of a crap shoot.

   When you build a site from scratch, you have the opportunity to build it exactly how YOU want it built. The extra effort you have to put in up front pays off when a couple of years down the road your site is growing and needs to scale up due to its success. You won’t have nagging problems that you have to track down or baggage from some other site owner to try and sort out.

   Although it may seem trivial now, if you’ve ever gone through the process of trying to clean up someone else’s work, it can be a pretty big challenge. We’re working on cleaning up one project now that we purchased a few months ago and it’s a pain trying to figure out problems with the template used for the site, getting features to work that have mysteriously quit working, and dealing with bad publicity generated from upset users. Build your site yourself and you don’t have to deal with those types of problems.

3. For the thrill of the start-up process and building a site from the ground up
   Let’s face it. Some of us just love the thrill of starting something up and building it. Taking an idea we had one day and seeing it turn into something tangible with real monetary value. Call us serial entrepreneurs, start-up junkies, dreamers, or whatever.

   That can be reason enough to build your site yourself. After all, isn’t one of the reasons we’re doing Internet “stuff” in the first place is because it’s fun? It is for me. If you enjoy the process of building something from brain wave to successful site, skip the search for an existing site to buy and START BUILDING!

4. You know exactly what you’re “getting”
   This relates to point #2 above. When you build a site, you know exactly what you have when the site is at a completed or go live point. You’re aware of what features work, how they function as well as how they’re SUPPOSED to function, and what all you’ve got to work with in building the site.

   In a site you’ve purchased situation, you will likely have to take it on good faith that the seller will be providing everything you need. I can almost guarantee that with all but the simplest of sites, you’ll run into something you thought you were getting with the sale, but didn’t. This leaves you with a gap you need to fill. I take this into account when I look at a site to purchase. I assume I’ll have to spend some time, money and effort filling in gaps for things the site offers or I thought were included but weren’t or don’t function how I thought they would.

After all of that, if someone asked me “Which would you choose?” I’d have to say it really depends on what I’m after. I personally like finding deals, so for many projects, I gravitate towards looking for a site to buy. It’s fun taking a project that’s up and running and making it better. However, I also enjoy seeing something go from idea to successful site. In the end, I enjoy both and have found success in both.

Probably one of the most important things to consider in all of this is it takes a little bit of money to get something going, especially something that you want to draw income from. Could you put together a site for free and make money at it? Of course, but the reality is, at least from my experience, it takes money to make money.

This certainly doesn’t have to mean you’ll be taking out a second mortgage on your house or auctioning off a kidney to finance your new site, but seriously consider at least a nominal investment to get things going. Having a budget, even if it’s only in the 3 digits will make it feel more like a business and set you up with the mindset for success and scaling things up.

Related posts

1. 5 Reasons to Buy Your Next Web Site or Blog – Build or Buy? Part 1
2. Make Money With eBay Auctions
3. Theme Wars Site Review
4. The Easiest Way To Build Nice Looking Affiliate Sites
5. Can ANOTHER Big Blog Be Built Today?