Web Entrepreneurs: Why an Ugly Website May be More Profitable for You
I was reading an interview featuring Markus Frind of PlentyofFish.com. Mr. Frind’s site is the world’s largest online dating website. According to published reports, Markus pulls in over $10,000 to $20,000 a day from Google AdSense alone. His overall income is $5 million to $10 million a year.
Plentyof Fish.com is one of the ugliest sites online. It looks like a newbie web designer threw it up, got it operational and turned his interest to something else.So, why then is it so successful? The site’s success is not by accident, which got me to thinking – and inspired this article.
Why “Ugly Sites” Like PlentyofFish.com Thrive – and Yours Can Too!
Quite simply, PlentyofFish.com thrives because it’s live.
To explain further, one of the things Markus says in the interview I read is that you need to have a rigorous work ethic to succeed in business.
He expounded, “When I came home from work I sat down and I forced myself to code for a[n] hour or 2. . . . it’s amazing how much you can get done when you just type. . . . At the end of the day you just need to sit down and DO it. Most people don’t.”
Lesson Here: Perfection can get in your way and steal your dreams. If you wait until you can afford a web designer, the right logo and perfectly written content, your site may never go live. Hence, your dreams will never be achieved.
A Recent Personal Example That Kicked My Butt in Gear
I’ve had an idea for a website that I feel in my gut could be huge. I’ve had this idea for about two years now, but have always put it off – because it requires coding knowledge beyond my personal ability.
While talking to one of my sisters about it recently, she was like, “I’m tired of you talking about this idea. You know how to do basic sites. Why don’t you just throw it up already!”
Around this time is when I was doing some web surfing and came across Markus’ interview. And you know what, she’s right. Doing what you can puts good “work karma” in the universe. Not to get all religious, but there’s a bible verse where God says something to the effect of, “If you take the first step, I’ll take the next two for you.”
The point is to not let what you don’t know stop you. Do what you can and trust that the rest will come.
A few years ago, the talk show host Montel Williams put out a book entitled, Mountain, Move Out of My Way. The gist of the book is that sometimes you have to go over, around, under and/or right through an obstacle to achieve your dreams.
Note – status on my much-delayed site: I started work on the site. It’s not live yet, but I’ve written a good portion of the copy and sketched out a marketing plan. I’ll finally put it up in a couple of weeks.
Other Profitable, Ugly Websites
Craigslist.org
Google.com
DrudgeReport.com
Hence, fellow web entrepreneurs, if your site is ugly for a while, so what. At least it’s live. And, that’s a lot further than the vast majority ever get – so keep on stepping (coding, programming, learning, marketing, etc.)!
Joel | September 17th, 2008 at 5:33 pm #
I do not think you should count Google as an ugly website.
Just because it simple, and clean doesnt mean it is ugly.
Compare Google and Yahoo, and you will see that Google’s minimalism is an advantage.
Kevin Muldoon | September 17th, 2008 at 9:38 pm #
I don’t think that these websites are successful because they have a poor design, I think they are successful despite having a poor design. Although there are many examples of sites making a lot of money with poor designs, I would say in general most profitable internet companies have professional looking designs.
SIMB Melbourne Web Design | September 18th, 2008 at 12:13 am #
I agree with Kevin - a good design should improve the overall sales potential of the site (i.e., customers are likely to believe the business behind the site is professional if the site looks professional). That being said, some graphic designers are not sales oriented, and do not properly grasp how a site becomes an effective marketing tool. If the site looks pretty but there is no strategy behind the visuals and the text, then the whole point is lost.
sean | September 18th, 2008 at 1:50 am #
I also disagree with google being ugly but this article has prompted me to get my idea up and running.
i’ve also been slowly working on a site but I think I need to get it live so it start can growing.
Still keep working to perfect it but not obsess over it being perfect before i put it up.
Kit Kat | September 18th, 2008 at 6:28 am #
I think it is all about selling,marketing and most of all hard works. Ugly guy can have beautiful wife also, cause they know how to sell themselves.
ceblogger | September 18th, 2008 at 10:36 pm #
the design of the sites you mentioned are not that bad. They’re just too plain-looking and simple, and may oftentimes, underestimated. It’s their marketing method that’s effective, something that is invisible to our eyes.
Josh @ Tempe AZ Real Estate Listings | September 19th, 2008 at 12:27 am #
Dude! Google is not an ugly site.
In terms of an ugly site, ugly is sometimes advantaegous because it makes the pretty advertisements all that much more appealing! Plenty of fish is pulling in 10K in adsense a day? Adsense looks pretty gosh darn appealing.
Nice blog.
Josh
Eric D | September 19th, 2008 at 10:22 am #
I dont think ugly is real issue here. What I get out of this article is to do what you can with what you got and start where you are. Then grow from there. I have had problems with that in the past. I have two websites that are nothing fancy. They make about 600 a month now. They are plain html done in Dreamweaver because at the time that is all I knew. Now I have ideas for other sites and have purchased domain names but I say to myself I need to do php and mysql and automate and this and that and keep putting it off. Those sites make zero. So in the end putting up a basic site and making a couple hundered to start is better than no site and nothing at the end of the day.
Thanks for this article………….kind of got me kick started again…….cheers..eric
Reveiw Online Dating Sites | September 19th, 2008 at 3:40 pm #
It’s really amazing. Thanks for the article. I’m always wondering how much different websites make.
Natalie
top dating sites
Kevin | September 20th, 2008 at 12:36 am #
Hey Yuwanda,
I’m really interested in seeing the site you are working on. It sounds like you are excited about it. Congratulations on finally taking that first step. You have to start some where and you’re well on your way!
I recently dropped a post on the best freelance marketplace sites for hiring web designers and developers. Thought you may find it helpful if you are shopping around for someone to help with some coding for your new site. Best of luck with your new endeavor, keep us posted!
http://tomuse.com/2008/09/18/top-10-freelance-markeplaces-hiring-web-designers-developers
Bags deal | September 20th, 2008 at 2:09 am #
I would prefer a nice blog design to a poor one…you know, although the profit is attractive, nice blog can be also a successful one. I don’t want my visitors have bad impression.
Missy | September 20th, 2008 at 2:32 pm #
Interesting how many jumped on the “Google is not ugly” wagon. I too don’t find it an ugly site, but a bare one. And bare doesn’t equal ugly. I just totally contradicted myself. LoL.
I have several blogs which are in mid planning stage, such as the one i linked to above in my comment. But like you said, just get going with it. Over time, as i have more money to re-invest, i can have a better (or custom) theme in place.
I really plan on turning the above blog, into an affiliate blog. But i would venture to say, that content trumps design.
Take Maki of Dosh Dosh, he re-designed his blog a few months back, and there is nothing spectacular about it. But his content is so good, the design barely matters.
http://www.doshdosh.com
edwin | September 21st, 2008 at 8:58 am #
Hi, thanks for your post. Very valuable for me because my site just used free template with html coding only because I can’t to build with another scripting language. After ready your article, I know I’m at the right way. Thank you very much.
Yuwanda Black (Post Author) | September 23rd, 2008 at 6:13 pm #
@Eric D: Thank you for clarifying the purpose of the article, which, as you sum up so nicely is to “. . . do what you can with what you got and start where you are.”
Everyone commented on site design, but this is just a side point to highlight the main issue — don’t let anything stop you from starting. So, if an “ugly site” is where you have to start, then so be it!
And to all of the webmasters of the “ugly sites” mentioned in this post, no disrespect was meant. On the contrary, I’m impressed by all of your hard work and wish my sites had 1/10th of your “ugly success.”
Yuwanda
fds@dfslk.com | October 7th, 2008 at 1:13 pm #
Since when is Craig’s List a profitable site? They site and creator are famous for not making a profit or wanting to.
Yuwanda Black (Post Author) | October 7th, 2008 at 1:35 pm #
@fds: Sorry to burst your bubble, but not only is Craigslist a profitable site, it’s one of the most profitable on the net. Read all about it in the article, Craigslist Poised For $81M Revenues In ‘08; Could Top $100M: Report; Facebooks vs Craigslist
A quote from this article: “Craigslist stands to bring in $81 million in revenue in 2008, according to a report by researcher Classified Intelligence. If that comes true, it would represent a 47 percent gain over Craigslist’s $55 million revenues for 2007.”
While it started out as a hobby site for the founder — no profits intended — it didn’t stay that way for long.
Yuwanda