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As long as there are singles wanting to date, there will always be an audience out there for online dating websites! So have you ever thought about going into the business and starting your own? You can start a general dating website, like Match.com or Eharmony, or you can get more specific with a niche dating website. Niche dating websites make sense because it stands to reason that the more in common you have with someone, the more compatible you are. Examples of these would be Farmers Only, Trek Passions (for Star Trek fans) or Mouse Mingle (for Disney fans).
So all this sounds good – but you may be thinking, can I do this myself? If you have little to no experience creating websites, you might think it would be impossible for you to start your own dating website. But you would be wrong. Today I’m going to go through a step by step guide of how to build a dating website. This guide will not only help you get started, but also teach you how you can earn money with your new website.
Step by Step Guide to Building Your Dating Website
Here’s how you can easily create your own dating website.
- Pick your Niche
Whether you want to create a general dating website or a nice website, you are going to need to choose what you want to do before you begin. This is because your business title – and website URL – should reflect your niche. This makes it easier for people to find you.
- Pick out a Name
Pick out a name for your dating website. If you have a niche dating website, you can pick something cute that reflects your point of view (like Mouse Mingle) or get right to the point (like Farmers Only).
- Become an LLC
You are going to want protect yourself legally when starting a new business venture. I go into why starting an LLC is advantageous here. I recommend using IncFile if you are going to become an LLC. They are what I used to start my last LLC. They are incredibly affordable and easy to work with.
- Get a Domain
Ideally, you are going to want to pick a domain name that is your website name (like our website is Website Tips and Tutorials and our domain name is websitetipsandtutorials.com). This helps you so that if someone is trying to find your website, they can just type in the URL and they’ll be able to find your website. Sometimes, that is not the case if someone is already using it. You can check to see if the domain you want is available here.
- Get a Web Host
You will need a website host in order to have a website. I recommend using BlueHost. This is an incredibly affordable, popular web host that is great for beginners. This is what I used for one of my most recent websites. And not only are BlueHost’s rates affordable, but you can get your domain name for free when you sign up for a plan.
- Get a WordPress website
If you want to create a website without much experience, then using WordPress is the way to go. There is a reason that more websites are created with WorPress than any other content management system. You can create incredibly professional looking websites without having to have any coding experience by using WordPress. WordPress is what we use for this website. You can watch a video of how to install WordPress on your BlueHost website by clicking here.
- Add the Dating Theme for WordPress
Part of why WordPress is so popular is that you can easily get a professionally looked website designed for the website you want to make with very limited input on your part. You can do this with a WordPress theme. Basically, a WordPress theme is how the website will be displayed. And your website will be displayed perfectly for a dating website if you purchase this Dating Theme for WordPress.
With a one-click installation, you’ll have a website that can have member profiles and advanced membership searches. You can also have a private message system a chat room for people to interact (an obvious must for a dating website!), and the ability for visitors to send virtual gifts. You can also easily add membership packages with restricted access. This is important because this is how you’ll make money! And this theme comes with 24/7 customer support and YouTube video tutorials, which will help you when you are building your website. Basically, this is the best choice for starting a new dating website! You can find out how to download a theme to BlueHost here. - Set up Membership Plans
Obviously, if you’re starting this, you’re going to want to make money for this. Charging customers for membership plans is a great way to make money. As I mentioned before, with the WordPress theme I recommended, you’ll be able to easily set up memberships. Check out some of your competitors to pick out the best price. Consider making your prices lower at the beginning while you’re building your business. For dating websites to work best, you’ll want a lot of users.
- Get Social Media Accounts
A great way to get more users on your website is through Social Media Accounts. One of my favorite social media accounts is Pinterest; you can read our Pinterest for Marketing Guide here. You can also use Facebook to drum up interest for your website; here are our tips for getting your Facebook posts to go viral. Instagram is another great tool; read our tips for getting more Instagram followers here.
- Advertise Online
In addition to creating social media accounts, another way you’ll want to promote your new business is with online advertising. You can do these with Google Ads or Bing Ads.
- Run Ads on Your Website
If you start generating traffic and you’re looking for a way to make more money in addition to the monthly memberships, you could consider running ads on your website. You can do with these with Google Ads; you can do this by setting up a Google Adsense account. You can also run banner ads through Affiliate Marketing; you can find out how to get started with Affiliate Marketing here.
- Start Email Marketing
Once you get people on your website, you’ll want them to keep coming back (especially if you run ads on your website). One way to achieve this is through email marketing. A good email marketing company you can use is Constant Contact, and they offer free trials, which is great.
How to Install WordPress on Bluehost
How to Install a WordPress Theme on Bluehost
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