How to buy a web script to run an online website or business

There are many scripts readily available in the market that allows you to do that without paying the hourly rate for a private developer.If you intend to start your own project to engage a private developer to develop your own custom-made software is risky. You will need to know and write down the full requirements of the software. And even if you think you had included everything in the list, there are always bound to be mistakes and loopholes that might bust your initial budget.

For starters, it would be advisable to use readily available scripts at a fraction of the cost, to gain the experience and test if the idea really works. You will need more than simply a $1000 script, not forgetting SEO (search engine optimization), marketing, building content, web hosting, and much more. As you can see, it is unwise to spend too much time and money on an expensive customised scripts, only to find that you have nothing left for other aspects that would help to make the entire project successful. Yes, the script is just a platform, but for the project to be successful, you will need much more than that (including patience).

A good way to jumpstart your project would be to use readily available scripts. Some tips from our years of experience for readily available scripts:

1) Scripting Language

Type of scripting language for your web softwareTry to use php/mysql scripts that runs on Linux servers. This is the most popular scripting language on the net today, and you will be able to find a very wide range of softwares written in this code than any other.

2) Code Protection

Is the script encoded/encrypted? Check with your script supplier to see if the script is encrypted or not.

Ideally, we would prefer scripts that are not encoded, so that if the software company disappears, you may engage other developers to help and modify the code where required. If the script is encrypted, it is recommended to use only Zend encrypted scripts. We used another script encoded in Ioncube, and it just failed for some unknown reason that may require support from the developers. However, we have used Zend encoded scripts for years and it has never failed before. Lastly, ensure that no matter which part of the script is encoded, the template files (those files that affects how your webpage looks) must be editable.

3) Test the script

Try out the user interface (aka Frontend) and the admin area. Notice the speed, navigation flow (how to access something, assuming you are a visitor), features, and most importantly, if there are any errors. Make sure that the script has all the front end functions that you need. Some questions to ask:

a) Browser-based template editor

b) SEO Friendly URL

c) Admin and Front End Navigation

d) User experience (try login on as a user, both front and back)

e) Speed

4) Future updates

Some scripts offer lifetime updates. This is often a good deal but it also worries us because “how is the developer going to survive” when they are only paid once for each script ordered by a customer. This is a question of continuity. A reasonable offer would be free updates for a full year, followed by the need to pay for future upgrades at a fraction of the cost.

5) Support

The major script suppliers might have a support forum or knowledge base (aka FAQ) for their scripts. A trick is to check out the forum page to see the current user base for the script, and find out the problems or issues of these users. We will update this section in the near future.

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