By AJ Hall
Special to YNOT

When building pay sites, developers must make many decisions. From the more obvious ones like what to call the site and which domain to buy to web host and billing company, options are legion. How is anyone supposed to make those choices?

I tend to look at pay site resources much like tools. It’s important to choose the right tool for the job. Doing so from the beginning makes the work much easier.

A hammer is a really good analogy. There are several different types of hammers, and each has a specific use. If you browse the tools aisle at a large home improvement store you’ll be shocked at the selection and variety and may see more types of hammers than you even knew existed. Some can perform many tasks, but one is always more well suited.

Beyond types, there are also various size and quality levels of hammer. If you’re “average Joe homeowner” who uses a hammer a couple times a year for odd jobs, chances are the hammer in your toolbox is different than the one hanging from the hammer hook on a professional framing contractor’s tool belt.

Similarly, the type of content management system (CMS), web hosting and billing setup you choose will differ greatly based on the level of pay site operation they’ll be used for.

The only exception to this is design, where a basic or fancy design can work well on almost any kind of website. With design, getting the fundamentals right matters the most.

For a small startup without lofty future goals or a hobby business, a simple automated site management backend CMS will do. Often what I refer to as “crude and rude” will do the job here, and you can get by with far less than a full-scale, high-end site management platform. Elevated X, for example, offers a basic version that’s great for startups and small sites but isn’t intended for those brand-new or with zero experience with the web or zero knowledge of working with web sites.

For this there are a couple of cheap systems out there, and even free, open-source scripts like WordPress will get the job done. These are fine for a hobbyist most of the time, but no one will use them aside from entry-level users or those primarily looking to save a buck.

Keep your goals in mind when looking at site management options and pay attention to who’s using the product you’re considering. If all you see on the examples or testimonials page are smaller operations or unknowns, think about whether you fall into that mix or have different or bigger goals for your pay site. Go with a vendor whose product and clientele closely match what you plan to achieve, whether your goal is big or small.

When it comes to web hosting, regardless of size I always suggest using reputable, longstanding adult hosting companies. There’s nothing wrong with generic or boutique hosting, but when the shit hits the fan, you’ll be happy you paid a little more for fully managed adult hosting. If you look at industry message boards, you’ll see there are fewer than a handful of web hosts widely suggested by a lot of happy customers. Those are generally a safe bet. Whether you go for a dedicated server or shared or virtual VPS hosting will depend on how much content you have, but regardless of your current size, make sure you choose a host that makes it easy for you to scale up as you grow.

Billing is probably the easiest decision for a new site builder, despite a myriad of options in the billing arena. Things like merchant account and gateway setups are often not reasonable for those just starting out, as more of the management lies in the hands of the site owner than the biller and things like affiliate sales tracking and payment are not provided by the biller. This is why most starting out will go with a company like CCBill or Epoch, who charge a higher fee per transaction but provide a bigger suite of managed services. You can always move to a merchant account setup later once your site is making steady sales.

Take your time and don’t rush when choosing which tools to use. Moving a CMS or changing web hosts is not always an easy process, and sometimes saving time and money in the beginning is much more costly long-term. Making the right choices from the beginning will save you a lot of headaches and give you the best chance at long-term success moving forward.

AJ Hall is a 14-year adult industry veteran and CEO of Elevated X Inc., a provider of popular adult site CMS software. Hall has spoken at industry trade shows and written for several trade publications. Elevated X software powers more than 2,000 leading adult site and has been nominated for more than a dozen industry awards.