Practical Issues To Consider When Purchasing An Internet Site

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The web as a business portal is here to stay. While nothing is permanent, we can certainly say with some confidence that the internet will remain with us in one form or another far beyond our life spans. This means you need to jump on board the digital train if you want to gain access to a huge consumer pool. The question is how to do it.

Give me convenience or give me death! This seems to be the slogan of the modern world. The web certainly seems to be a creature designed to meet this goal as well. Where else can you get such instant gratification?

Given this, it is somewhat ironic that one of the prevailing issues with how well a website will rank in the search engines is how old it is. The more age on a domain, the higher it seems to go with even a modest SEO effort. This leads to a conundrum for would be site owners. Should you start a brand new site and suffer age discrimination or just pony up for an older site that already has matured? If the older site option seems the best, there are a few practical issues you need to consider.

Let's consider a site about 1GB of RAM computer memory. I happen to own such a site. It has done well through the years since people looking for such memory come to the site, read up on the information available and then buy RAM through various affiliate programs I list on the site. The older this site gets, the higher it ranks.

Would this be a good site to purchase for someone looking to get into the web game? At the risk of cutting my own throat here, I would have to say no. There is nothing wrong with the site. The problem is evolution. Computers have advanced so much that the idea of buying 1GB of RAM will soon be the equivalent of buying a needle for a record player. While there will always be collectors interested in antiques, the total pool of consumers is disappearing.

Let's consider another example. How about buying the website for AOL? It's laughable. The site is worth something, but nothing compared to where it was 10 years ago when we used to all get those annoying disks in the mail. The simple problem is AOL's time has come and gone. You need to ask yourself the same question about any site you are looking at. It might seem like a great pick now, but how about 5 years in the future?

Buying an existing site is definitely a good way to get a leg up in the online game. That being said, you need to take the time to determine whether you are buying a juicy melon or a lemon.

Richard A. Chapo provides legal services to parties buying a website via his site at SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com.

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Purchasing An Existing Site - Think Things Through

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Launching a site from scratch can be a real pain in the rear given the fact it can take a long time for your efforts and money to pay off. Many people simply cannot wait that long, so they look to purchase pre-existing sites that are already well established and have strong positions in their niches. If you are considering such a purchase, it is vital that you think through many of the legal aspects of doing so.

What legal issues can arise in the purchase of a site? Well, there are more than a few. Most boil down to a few questions including, but not limited to, does the seller own certain aspects of the site under the law and exclusivity versus non-exclusivity.

How could the owner be selling a site they don't own? The issue is not one of intentional fraud. Instead, it is more an issue of the fact that world wide web doesn't really mesh well with established intellectual property law. For instance, let's assume the site was designed by a third party company that the site owner hired. Under copyright law, the designing company owns the copyright to the site unless it is assigned to the owner which often does not happen. Alternatively, you might be looking at a site that is based on a template the owner downloaded for free. While there is a license to use it, is there much value in it?

This brings us to our second issue - exclusivity. An exclusive item has much more value than a non-exclusive one. Don't believe me? Ask yourself if an original Picasso is worth more than a print of one of his paintings. Dilution drops value and this is true with websites as well. If a site is comprised of modules licensed from third parties, what is it really worth? There is no exclusivity. Another party could put the same pieces together and make the same exact site. Given this, is it a smart idea to buy the site?

Don't get me wrong. The design, format or software on a site might have little value, but the purchase might still make absolute sense. Consider eBay. A slightly successful site. It has all the design beauty of a warthog. The system is very simple all things considered. There are plenty of other auction sites out there offering pretty much the same technological abilities. Should you not buy eBay then? Of course not. If you had the money, it would be a tremendous site to own because it has a huge volume of market share and users. This is where the value is, not in what the site looks like or even how it works.

Purchasing an existing site can be a very good move or a very bad one. There is no absolute answer. The key is to know what you are getting into, think it through and then make a decision based on all the evidence before you. That means doing your due diligence.

Richard A. Chapo is with SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - providing legal services for those will buy a site on the web this year.

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