Websites Need A Profit Motive

Ten years ago there were a lot of non-profit style websites around. But these days, you’ll see less and less of that type. The web is a great place to monetize websites, so there’s almost no reason to build a hobby website anymore.

With simple ad programs like Google Adsense, any website can make a profit. Websites always cost money to run (well nearly always), so you have to at least make sure to have a way to pay for hosting costs. If the development of the website takes up a lot of time, you’ll need to account for that. You can’t just volunteer and pay hosting costs. That means you’re completely devaluing your own time. If you don’t respect your time, who else will?

Almost any website subject can be monetized, but some subjects lend themselves to earning revenue more easily than others. With some thought, you can probably find a profit motive for your website. Once you make some money from your efforts, the satisfaction of running a commercial website will become obvious.