What would it take for me to start an Internet dating site? I am most interested in the site software that could be tweaked a bit to the unique nature of what I would be offering.

Thank you for any direction.

There are quite a few in town. If you watch the local classifieds, they come up on offer every once in a while. The you can easily make your own tweaks....

Try the usual sites: TV classifieds, bahtsold, craigslist

10% development to 90% marketing budget share for a start...

What would it take ?...........a frontal labotomy !!!.......why dont you just stand in the street and throw the money up in the air.

Is one of the most informative ThaiVisa subforums starting to degenerate as well?!?

It would take money.

Then hire somebody who knows what they're doing. Not easy to find even if you have money. But will be well worth it...

Reason of edit: deleted it myself....

Bottom line is ..if you don't know the required info now.. your going to lose a shed full of money.

Bottom line is ..if you don't know the required info now.. your going to lose a shed full of money.

Don't know - he just asked what it takes. Assemble a team of talented developers, shower them with money, know what you want, and you, too, can build a successful online dating website, or anything else for that matter.

I didn't say it's easy

Check out dateinasia.com - 100% free for users, see if you want to compete with an established outfit of that nature.

Dating website software is inexpensive. Development costs are probably 10%, marketing probably 90% of investment.

I personally think you will make more more money preparing somtum on the streets - if you can get a work permit for it!

Good luck to u!

A lot of work, a lot of time, and very deep pockets!

In terms of software google web scribbles they offer a turn key package.

This software will do what you want and more, very easy to work with http://www.boonex.com/dolphin

But as others have said it is not an easy road.. you will need very deep pockets and a unique twist of some kind as there are so many sites out there now...

Good luck.

My dating web site is for sale, if you are looking for a ready-to-go solution:

MeetAsianBabe.com

We have about 80,000 members from Asia and USA.

Send me a personal message if interested.

-Nils

good luck...

Hi and thanks for the replies. I've had a novel idea in my head for a few months and just thought I'd ask. Run it more as a hobby than some custom programmed high end, high maintenance project. I'm looking more at more of a very personal social networking site.

DiA that site is a joke, but I am sure it makes a pile of money on Google hits. MeetAsianBabe is not exactly my angle. Not surprising you are having trouble with that and it is for sale.

I am very, very much not interested in buying someones crappy misnamed URL and their failing online "business". But I understand the line of questioning as my initial statement was quite vague.

This looks perfect and free: http://www.boonex.com/dolphin

Thanks for that YFC!

PS: Incidentally Nils, your site has been flagged by WOT as having a poor reputation.

DiA that site is a joke, but I am sure it makes a pile of money on Google hits. MeetAsianBabe is not exactly my angle. Not surprising you are having trouble with that and it is for sale.

DiA is one of the biggest competitors in the Asian online dating space. Whatever they do, you should take notice.

My web site meetAsianBabe.com is doing well and is making money. I am not selling because it is losing money.

A couple of years ago, HotOrNot.com sold for around $15 million. Do you think the owner thought he is having trouble?!

-Nils

I don't know who would enter your site Nils when a big black cloud hangs over it. Have no clue how you are making money off that one. I guess many folks don't have WOT installed. Anyway, its not my concern. Any time spent on DiA you will quickly see it for what it is and that is at the very least not the place to meet an honest woman. The Pinay are scamsters, beggars and pathological liars, the Thai's frauds and the Russians who message you just flat out hookers. Personally, I think meeting up with many of those women on that site to be a danger. Especially in the Philippines where all sorts of nonsense goes on. MeetAsianBabe, that is just crass, sorry. If I were looking for a companion to spend longer than an hour with, it wouldn't be on MAB despite whatever content and user base you may claim. HotorNot is nothing like your site. Apples and tow trucks. Nor is it like the social site I have in my head.

HotorNot is total crap as well. If it is making money so be it. It's not about anything social, it's just a time wasting site. Here is a narcissist who posted her photo in the 18-25 group only trouble is she is 33 and MARRIED. So, unless she is a hooker (she did post all this up on a "meeting site" and lives in Las Vegas) I guess this pretty much rules out any meeting. I am certain the site is full of this nonsense. Going through 50 of her comments only one guy was perceptive enough to notice the ring and I might add, she is attractive but far from hot. It's just a time waster... http://hotornot.com/...file/threeofsix

Anyway, thank you all.

Here is another freebie. OsDate

I've worked with this as well as the above mentioned Dolphin and both are good, but ultimately I give this one the nod. It is truly Open Source, and there is a huge "support forum" where almost every problem / desire / tweak and the corresponding solution can be found.

Once the site is running, you need girls. Lots and lots of girls. So- as mentioned, an ample marketing budget focused at getting lots of girls to sign up and use the site is needed.

Thx Bino. Dolphin looks more polished but I will have a closer look as you can say the site can be tweaked. Looks very standard bog dating site. They type that goes out of business daily. But you say it can be tweaked. I'm interested in a social networking site as much as a dating site. Thanks - just wanted to acknowledge your input.

The market is already oversaturated with Thai dating websites. Just hit this Google search to get an idea (About 67,300,000 results).

I recommend you find another niche unless you are ready to spend a fortune on marketing to get it running and then have very deep pockets and lots of patience before it will even break even.

I already saw several attempts of this where the entrepreneur has deeply regretted starting to throw money at this market.

PS. one of them used Dolphin and ditched it after about a year because it was too complicated to integrate with the rest of the website.

Starting a datingsite means 24/7 being ran over bij spammers, scammers, fakers, requests for information that you can't give, death treads etc. etc. etc. Running a dating site is NOT fun and it won't make any money, unless you will have permanently 5,000-10,000 visitors online then you can have a simple living from the ads.

People who have a chance successfully run a datingsite don't need to ask for information on a forum like this.

Hi again, thanks to you both. Yeah, I was visiting some admin sites and its a full time job dealing with all the nonsense. Honestly, what I was looking to do was really more of a social networking site but did include a form of potential dating. I was really going to just take it on as a hobby but my efforts are better spent drinking Lao Khao it would appear. Member - you are perhaps correct in your last comments. I do have some background in IT, just been out of it for years while living in Thailand. My interest in the site comes from what I see as a novel idea. Not creating yet another stupid dating site for which I could not agree more.

I have one friend that wrote an entire dating site from scratch, including the chat and video upload features. He did it mostly as an exercise in coding and intended to filter the ladies for himself prior to being available to male membership

A retired mate in Thailand set up a dating site, starting with doing a profile service for all the local single (mostly) women. The amount of time taken to do pictures, write something original for what to be totally honest were no-hopers, was ridiculous.

His site failed as the only source of money was from male membership or connection fees, in an environment where it is easy to do this for free via Facebook, Hi5 etc. you have to offer something unique and track where the money path is or your cash out strategy.

That said, there are other reasons for running a dating site.