Television has long had a serious competitor. In a few more years, streaming services will completely displace it from the scene. In such services, you can search for everything from travel to online games. Anyone can post content and find their target audience. eSports has also opened up prospects for streamers. Millions of users follow broadcasts all over the world. As you understand, this is of interest not only for game developers but also for advertising integrations. Such platforms have the potential to become the new media.
And of course one of the most popular platforms is YouTube. Imagine that 2,1 billion users visit this service every month and watch over 4.9 billion videos. Therefore, most people wonder how to make a website like YouTube. The benefit for the entrepreneur is obvious. You can develop a resource that can not only pay for itself but will also bring a steady profit.
Copy or original
Perhaps we should start by realizing why YouTube has become one of the industry leaders. It’s the right development strategy to build a global community, ease of use, and the ability to make money from content creation.
But along with the popularity and growth of users, advertisers and bloggers have some serious competition. And everyone is looking for fresh sites for implementation, where it will be cheaper and easier to promote. Especially if you choose a narrow niche, when you make a website, it will help to quickly attract the attention of the right target audience and to build off the competition. It can simplify the search for information for the user and will create a community based on a specific need. For example, this could be a platform where people share everything related to home improvement and repair. This positioning will attract people who require knowledge and experience, or digital content creators who want to share this. Maybe the world doesn’t need another YouTube, but it needs your similar and at the same time unique project.
How to make a website
You’re looking for a map or downloading a navigator when you are in an unfamiliar city. It’s hard to find the right hotel, landmarks, or bus stop without them. It is with the development of a plan that you should start when you make a website. Usually, such a plan prescribes not only the stages of development of the project, but also the estimated budget. If you want to create a truly unique product, it is worth turning to a team of professionals. It will consist of designers, programmers, project managers, testers and others. As a rule, this approach can ensure that you get a quality product, which in the future will be able to scale. If you make a website, here’s a step-by-step plan for a successful outcome:
- Conduct an analysis of your target audience, competitors, choose a niche. Do not try to be everywhere at once. Correct positioning can help at the initial stage to take a place in the streaming market. Select a contractor based on his tasks, experience, cases, and recommendations.
- Think not only about the convenience of the service for users, but also for content authors and advertisers. Your task is to ensure ease of use for all 3 categories, then the project will be profitable.
- Develop wireframes – visualization of the site structure and user scenarios. Let’s return to the service about the repair and design. You have to visualize how the home page will look like, what information it will contain, and what actions the user will be able to take.
- Design and programming. Developing the layout of the future service and evaluate not only with the external aesthetics, but also the usability of the interface. After the front-end and back-end developers write the code. The question of technology will be discussed below.
- Content. This is an essential component of a platform like this when you make a website. Users come for it. You need to make sure the information is truthful, exclude unethical videos, use blockchain protocols to control licensed content.
- Testing and launching. At this stage, you are already getting the first reviews and feedback. Use this information to fix bugs.
- Mobile version. Don’t forget that everyone has their whole life nowadays with a smartphone in their hand. In the case of a successful launch, consider creating an app. This will increase the chances and will be one of the steps towards the growth of the project.
The Intersection of Technology
It all depends on your solutions. You choose the technological decisions under it: software, hosting, cloud storage, converters. Don’t forget that there are special services where you can create your own video platform without any knowledge or experience in programming. But these box solutions have a significant disadvantage. Imagine that you are buying a tour on the coast. So the template is a three-star hotel somewhere on the outskirts of the city far from the sea with ordinary rooms. And if you go to a professional team, the result will be like staying in a five-star hotel on the ocean.
An important factor, when making a website, is the choice of how to monetize the project. This can be:
- income from viewing ads, most often this earns both the author of content and the service
- subscription for premium users, free from advertising, a second window mode appears
- Paid content – videos or translations from popular author
One of the promotion strategies when making a website is to provide access to content at the start for free and without advertising. This will help build a loyal audience around the platform. Then you can introduce a mixed system of monetization.
From idea to launch
Of course, you have the question of how much it costs to develop such a service. The answer cannot be simple and unambiguous. The cost, as in a mathematical example, is made up of several parameters and can range from $5200 to $87000. We start by choosing a development team. Prices per hour of work can range from $25 to $150. Such a difference is not only connected with the experience and professionalism, but also with the location of the specialists. Programmers from England and Europe cost more than in India and Eastern Europe. It also affects how many tasks you outsource to make a website. Don’t forget to budget for content creation. This is not an easy thing to do. You’ll need to initially pay for quality video clips to fill the site and attract users. Let’s say you’re creating a cooking platform. So, you need to record material on cooking, food processing tips, and how to use appliances. Typically, this can cost $50-$1000 per clip. If you create your own content, you can save money. By investing in the platform first, you create a truly in-demand product and thanks to the development team, you can avoid typical mistakes. The timing of the project depends on its complexity, functionality, and time to test and fix bugs. An experienced development team can make a website in 4-12 months.
Streaming platforms are becoming the new television, where the user decides for himself, what content to watch. The development of eSports and blogging has contributed significantly to this. If you are weighing your options and are hesitant to make a website, trust someone else is already doing it.