web site help

[mollythetortoise]

I am thinking of starting a new service/business targeted mainly at medical professionals needing lodgings.
I would need a website that enabled prospective landlords/ lodgers could upload/edit their own ads once they have registered for the service.

I have had a look at the DIY websites but don't think they'll cut the mustard for what I want.

Web designers - is this sort of thing complicated to set up? I would want to vet the ads before they appear on website but I want the landlords to be able to make changes/ upload a photo etc if they want to.

Also with regards to making users register (and pay a small fee) is that easy for a web designer add to a site.

I would want to be able to control the website myself after it has been designed.

would this be an expensive website to set up and maintain?

thanks

How much research have you done into the demand for this?
How many medic have you spoken to?
How often does each look for lodgings?
Where do they look at present?
Who are your competition?

it's an area I work in already and there is demand particualy for large london teaching hospitals that have many overseas visiting doctors/clinical fellow/ research associates that might come for 3 - 6 months so can't get private rental easily.

They tend to stay in hotels at the moment.

There are a few similar competitors but none that target medical profs in particular so is IMO a little gap in the market.

It's not really a money making venture for me more a service but I will need to cover costs.

I can only see this demand getting bigger as hospitals become more global and hospitals work more with each other all over the world

are you a web designer?

No, I'm an accountant
my web designer is UKSiteBuilder
have a chat to him.
He knows me by both this name as well as my real one.

I was partly being devil's advocate but as you have identified a niche, go for it.

thanks Talkinpeace, will check your web designer out

Have you looked at open source systems such as this?

It's not complicated to set up. Most web designers will customise a CMS like drupal for you or use a system like the one monkeynuts links to, rather than build from scratch, meaning costs are considerably reduced.

Controlling websites made in this way is not difficult if you've got basic I.T understanding. It's also not usually a problem to add on functionalities later on - although you should tell the webdesigner what kind of thing you have in mind as it may impact on the design.

Costs (apart from the website itself) are: hosting (you can start cheapish and upgrade as you get more traffic); domain name (20 euros a year if that); payment gateway/processing fees eg.paypal for dealing with payments.

A key thing is being clear on the details of how you want it to work. As an ex. say you want to moderate/approve ads before they're put up. What happens when an advertiser edits an ad. Does it have to be re-approved, does it come offline while you're approving, does it stay online unchanged until you approve, do you allow the changes immediately, etc. Similarly how it taking payment going to work - are you going to have a system of credits, pay-per-ad, etc.

Also you need to think about how you will market the site, as this impacts on the webdesign too. Are you going to rely on search engines a lot for traffic? If yes, you should think about providing some useful, unique content for the site - a blog, or well-written articles. These will help your search engine rankings a lot.

Sorry this is so long. Feel free to ask any specific questions.