Can you get support?

Do you have access to support 24/7? Will you be talking to someone who understands your system and can help you solve problems?

Where are the servers located?

Search engines tend to give preference to sites located locally. For example, a search on google.co.uk is more likely to place a server located in Britain higher than one in the United States. However, there may be some legal protection gained from locating the servers in a different country. Before you make a decision, talk to a lawyer.

What services are available?

This can vary widely, from simply offering disk space to full web services. The first consideration is the operating system you want to use, either Windows or a form of UNIX, like Linux or FreeBSD. From here you can decide what tools you want the hosting service to offer, . Most providers target popular web tools like Dreamweaver, providing their own server-side tools to work with them.

How much bandwidth is available?

A good service plan is affordable while being able to handle large spikes in traffic should your site be featured on a major blog. “Unlimited” plans offer all the bandwidth you need…for a price. Read the contracts carefully, and find one that will scale to your needs.

Do they provide their own SSL certificates?

An SSL certificate shows the security of your site through a third party. This is necessary for the secure server you will need for paid services, as it shows users that their information is going where it should, particularly when it comes to payment information. The cost of a certificate can vary widely.

A Logo
A cheap website template
Account System
Streaming video software
Dynamically generated web pages
A theme eg. Male Escort London

Logo

Your logo is what will get people to your site, since you will be using it as a watermark on videos and photos. It needs to be easily visible against a variety of backgrounds, and should include your URL in such a way that anyone who happens upon picture or video from your site can easily go to the source.

Account System

If you want to be paid for your services, you need to make it as easy as possible for users to sing up. On-line payment services work a lot like brick-and-mortar credit card machines: you sing up with a bank, they send you a payment system, and then send you a monthly check for what your customers are charged, minus the bank’s charges.

If this sounds like a lot of work, don’t worry: each piece can be bought. Some tools, like blogging software, are readily available open-source.

Streaming Video Software

This is one area that even the most adept web designers won’t be able to make themselves. Typically, these systems use Adobe Flash’s SWF video format to stream video to users. The software goes on top of Flash, adding controls for users, while also providing back-end software to convert videos into a viewable format.

Live shows are a bit more complicated, and will need different software than regular streaming video, since what is displayed is coming directly from a camera rather than a static file on a server. Most of these programs will include a chat window, which may be integrated into the accounts system so users can enter instantly.

Web Pages

While your site might accumulate thousands of individual pages, most adult websites can be divided into four basic pages: static video, photos, blog, and streaming video. This layout lends itself particularly well to dynamic web pages. These pages are automatically created from a template, making it easy to make revisions site-wide: changing a template changes all of the pages that use it.

Describe your brand in a couple words: The domain name should tell users exactly what the site contains, while being short enough and memorable enough that users will be able to type the URL from memory. Is your site going to focus on one star or one interest? Are there a lot of competing sites who will have similar names?

Letters and numbers only: It’s easy to forget dashes and other odd characters when looking up a website. If your name contains numbers, use Arabic numbers (1,2,3,4…) so they don’t have to be typed out.

End it with .com: The commercial domain is so commonly used that most people will automatically type this in. Even though this is “American,” sites based in other countries can still use this top-level domain.

Don’t make it too close to a common name: While having a URL close to that to a popular site may seem like a good idea, it’s also a good way to draw a lot of ire from people looking for more family-friendly content. One only needs to look to the controversial whitehouse.com, often stumbled upon by minors working on schoolwork. The owner finally shut it down when his son entered kindergarten.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should completely avoid some common thread between your site and a better known one. Redtube and Youporn are two of the most popular adult sites, offering streaming videos much like Youtube, albeit in a more adult format. By tying themselves to a popular website users instantly know what they provide while being far enough away from the brand that they can’t easily be mistaken for being Youtube.