Directory Affiliate Project - anyone experienced with Wordpress?

[BuckF]

Hi !

Need some input on some technicalities surrounding my business idea. I am taking the "create the airplane as you fall" technique so everything is not thought through. Learn as I go.

Planning a project and I need some help determining what the technical needs are and which route would be most sensible in regards to time, cost, efficiency, automation and potential growth.

The website will in essence be a directory and affiliate marketing website, where a user will search a product and get an overview of the stores carrying that said product – shown as a list and on a map. Alternativly, the user can search for a store and get all franchises shown in map with products per franchise shown as a list. We are talking offline stores, and later online if traction gets going. I have thought of a revenue model which will work. (In my country this is not a saturated market, only 1 competing website) I can't disclose details on the niche, but you get the idea.

So, I am thinking of using Wordpress as the base CMS and expanding from there.
I am guessing the most sensible thing would be to install a directory specialized theme. Not sure which one to go for – leaning towards Listable. From there I would need some plugins and develop the site to meet my demands.

I wish to set up a foundation from the get-go which allows me to be creative and expand the site freely with close to no restrictions. Possibilities for monotization, limitless custom search options, automatic csv imports, affiliate marketing etc..

Any advice on how I should get started? I don't wish to simply purchase a theme and some plugins and potentially get stuck down the road because of poor choices.

Thanks guys,
Buck

 

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[TheKing]

Hey Buck,

While I don't have experience with your business model or even the theme you're thinking about using, I do have quite a bit of experience developing websites using WordPress as the CMS.

My #1 tip is:
Use as few plugins as possible - instead pay for the good ones.

I personally prefer to use Divi as my theme. It let's me create a great looking websites from scratch for me and my clients without using templates. Creating a unique look for every site.

I would definitely recommend you try out the theme.

When it comes to your users searching for things, WordPress core functionality has this available.

If you want to expand on this beyond the visual experience I recommend using plugins.

As I mentioned earlier, use as few plugins as possible, and use premium plugins if available.
This is mostly for security reasons. Outdated plugins with sloppy code can pose a security risk for your site.

To make your site a bit more secure, use the plugin Wordfence. It does a good job on keeping out hackers and Chinese bots!

You can often find good plugins on the WordPress plugin database.
Look for the ones with good reviews, compatible with the latest version of WordPress and with a premium version available. This way you know they're making money so they can update it consistently.

If you want to try out the Divi theme, send me a PM and I'll share the latest version with you. Although I strongly recommend buying it if you keep using so that you get the latest, and more secure version whenever they become available.

Cheers!

 

[BuckF]

Hey Buck,

While I don't have experience with your business model or even the theme you're thinking about using, I do have quite a bit of experience developing websites using WordPress as the CMS.

My #1 tip is:
Use as few plugins as possible - instead pay for the good ones.

I personally prefer to use Divi as my theme. It let's me create a great looking websites from scratch for me and my clients without using templates. Creating a unique look for every site.

I would definitely recommend you try out the theme.

When it comes to your users searching for things, WordPress core functionality has this available.

If you want to expand on this beyond the visual experience I recommend using plugins.

As I mentioned earlier, use as few plugins as possible, and use premium plugins if available.
This is mostly for security reasons. Outdated plugins with sloppy code can pose a security risk for your site.

To make your site a bit more secure, use the plugin Wordfence. It does a good job on keeping out hackers and Chinese bots!

You can often find good plugins on the WordPress plugin database.
Look for the ones with good reviews, compatible with the latest version of WordPress and with a premium version available. This way you know they're making money so they can update it consistently.

If you want to try out the Divi theme, send me a PM and I'll share the latest version with you. Although I strongly recommend buying it if you keep using so that you get the latest, and more secure version whenever they become available.

Cheers!

Thanks for the reply King,

I'll make sure to check out Divi and remember to use a limited amount of plugins. This is also the reason why I feel it's important to properly research what plugins I will be needing. Would hate to spend money on a plugin, design the site and find out 2 weeks prior to go-live that I need to switch plugin because it didn't have all the functionality I need, or purchase an additional plugin cluttering up the entire thing. Have you experienced something similar? If I were to run into such a problem, would it be a challenge to supplement with my own code (Javascript, PHP, SQL) ?

The experienced developers here probably shake their head and wonder why I don't just code it from scratch, but in all honesty I don't wish to spend a year or two learning code before I get the ball rolling. My best case scenario would be using as few quality premium plugins as possible and to use my own code as a supplement.

Didn't even consider hacking and bots, so Wordfence will be a top priority, thanks!

/Buck

 

[McFirewavesJr]

Hey,

I have experience with lead generation on Wordpress. I've been doing it for a few years and now I'm building something new in this field;

Progress Thread: Lead Generation Business from Day 1 Progress Thread - Lead Gen business from day 1

I'm definitely not an expert, but I've generated a couple hundred leads and made money funneling them into my own system, which included affiliate sales. Feel free to ask.

 

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[ExcelGuy]

Not really sure how offline stores ties in with affiliate marketing.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk

 

[BuckF]

Hey,

I have experience with lead generation on Wordpress. I've been doing it for a few years and now I'm building something new in this field;

Progress Thread: Lead Generation Business from Day 1 Progress Thread - Lead Gen business from day 1

I'm definitely not an expert, but I've generated a couple hundred leads and made money funneling them into my own system, which included affiliate sales. Feel free to ask.

Cool thanks, will check it out and reply in your thread!