Hi entrepreneur,

The area you've decided to enter is massive. If you are planning to follow the traditional models you would need hundreds of thousands of pounds to enter.
However you've mentioned that it has a 'twist', this can differ things.

There are numerous ways you can protect your idea and I can't emphasise how important it is that you do this. This can be done through intellectual property (pricy) or in the initial stages you can get a 'non-disclosure agreement (NDA)'.

The first stage is to do comprehensive research, competitors, potential, finance etc and this all forms part of the business plan.

There is honestly too much to list here but feel free to email me, DaveAdamsonNR@GMail.com

Regards,

Dave

I'd guess there's 'comparison site' PHP scripts already available 'off the shelf' or programmers on freelance sites who are familiar with it, as a type.

No need to develop from scratch.

Just ask for: "I want a clone of XYZ site" and then tell them your 'twist' in private.
If it's a killer idea, make them sign a standard confidentiality clause. Freelance sites have these as standard.
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Hi There,

I have just completed a comparison site, www.buyersassistant.co.uk , have a look if you like, it is for buying building materials and fixings online.

Firstly I decided what i wanted to compare (because I realised that in my job I was spending a lot of time searching for prices for certain things). But it sounds like you have already decided this?

Then, contact some web developers and ask them for quotes. You will probably have a good idea of how much you are willing to spend. I used a good friend www.vistadesign.co.uk . If you contact them be sure to say that Giss recommended them to you.

You don't have to tell them specifics at this stage if you want to keep it secret, but web developers wont generally steal your idea. They don't have time, their business is web development and they focus on that. If you want to keep your idea under wraps, you don't need to tell too many people specifics yet.

Most comparison sites work through affiliate schemes. You can find loads of these on the web, and they pay you on a commission basis.

The main difficulty is optimising your site on the web. I have found that facebook adds are a good way of advertising fairly cheaply. Be sure to set up a facebook and twitter site for your site.

I will warn you though, it isn't easy and will take considerable investment before you get a return. My site has been launched properly for only a couple of weeks, but as yet, no commission :-(

Anyway, I hope this advise helps.

Giss
(Christian)

Hi There,

As mentioned earlier it is indeed a very competitive market (I have experience working within the Insurance and mobile phone comparison industries), however thats not to say you cant crack it!

I would do as much research as you can and fully understand if your idea is different from what the competition offer, but more importantly what consumers want. If it is then your onto a winner.

Next stage is to build your site. If you are building this yourself then you wont have any issues on Privacy. If you are going to use an agency you should ask them to sign an NDA agreement (most agencies should be willing to do this). The agency can add value above and beyond just building a site, so important you give them all the information so they can help you.

Try and use the same agency for the online marketing elements of the business (i.e. SEO, Paid Search, Affiliate marketing, Social etc) that way you are limiting the amount of businesses and people who will know of the idea (and more people who could leak it!). As mentioned, for comparison sites Affiliate Marketing is the best place to start. When you go live it can generate an income and help build your site to hopefully take it to a position when you can then sell advertising space on as well. Ive managed the Affiliate programmes for two of the largest Telecoms companies in the UK, so well placed to offer advice on setting up an Affiliate website.

Im a Director at a new Digital Agency that covers all sides of running an online business - building a website and managing the online marketing (www.digital-motive.com). As mentioned I also have experience within these competitive environments.

Drop me a line if you would like to chat further on how we could help you.

Good luck!

Stuart Kilroy
Director
Digital Motive Ltd
www.digital-motive.com
Email - stuart@digital-motive.com
Tel: 07817 305462
Twitter: DigitalMotive