We all agree that developing and maintaining a website or forum can often require a significant financial investment. From securing the essentials to enhancing the user experience. So I’m interested to hear about the experiences of others in the community - how much have you invested in your website or forum, and what were the primary areas of spending?
Don't forget about:
Domain Registration and Renewal: Have you opted for a standard registration, or invested in a premium domain?
Hosting Services: A reliable host is the foundation of any website. Have you chosen shared hosting, VPS, or even dedicated servers? Have you found a provider that’s proven worth the investment? Feel free to share.
Licenses: For those using paid forum software or CMS, licensing fees can be substantial. Have you invested in licenses such as XenForo, Invision Community, vBulletin, or other platforms?
Add-ons or Plugins: Plugins and add-ons can greatly increase our experience. What "extensions" have you found valuable, and what have they cost over time?
Design and Customization: A visually distinct and well-branded site can set a community apart. Have you worked with designers, invested in custom themes, or commissioned graphics?
Marketing and Advertising: Expanding reach often requires paid promotion. Have you invested in ads, social media campaigns, or sponsored posts?
For those willing to share, what has your total investment been, and do you feel these expenses were justified? Are there any areas where you would have approached things differently?
Your insights might be invaluable for others planning their next steps in building a successful site or forum.
Thankfully I'm just a co-founder and when I got to the forum pretty much everything was already set up as far as payments go. Currently I have spent $0 on the forum, though if the founder wanted some help with some payments I would step up and help. At this time, I don't see us needing to pay for anything else on the forum though.
In the past I had paid about $100 to set up my forum. But that's including hosting, domain, getting my logo made for me etc. I was really lucky and didn't have to put in a lot of money.
I have a hosting package that allows me to host multiple websites, so when I create a forum, I do not have to spend money on hosting separately, I use open source and free themes and addons so I do not spend money in software subscription. I spend around $13 per year for domain renewal. My major cost is related to content development, I hire paid posters for my forums. I have not calculated exactly how much I spend but I believe I am spending around $300 per year on each of my forum.
I almost tried using Google AdWords/Google Ads once, but it said my campaign was disapproved due to having malicious software on my board, which I didn't. After thinking about it briefly, I gave up on that idea.
I have a few different websites across different hosts. I should condense some so I don't have to worry about spending a fee every year, but I know on Ionos I'm spending too much with their fees on SSL certificates (seriously it's dumb they make you pay for those), and then they charged me for a year not to mention the webmail fees too which Hostinger provides both SSL certificates and webmail for free. I've probably spent at least $600 on my websites that are still active, I could definitely save if I took the time to move Thee Zone over to my Hostinger account because Hostinger is much better in terms of price compared to Ionos. Come my next weekend, I'm going to move Thee Zone finally and any other site that's hosted there. I have a feeling they have cancelation fees too...
