Member Avatar for mustafaneguib

hey all,
i am developing a content management system.
i am in a fix.
after spending approximately a year working on it so far, and when i eventually complete it how do i market it to the masses and which path should i take?

either open source or sell it for a price like vbuletin.

after spending so much time in developing the system i do not want to just give it for free. i want to get some monetary return for working hard on this project, and also at the same time want it ot be use dby as many people as possible.

the system is not complete yet but here is the complete features list that i have planned out so far. remember i may add some more features for the version 0.0 stable release or withold some features in the first version, and then add them as updates in the subsequent versions.


Quote:
1.Built using XHTML 1.0 Transitional, CSS, PHP, MYSQL
2.Easy to use
3.Easy to install out of the box
4.No prior knowledge of programming or web designing required to use this software
5.Manageable content
6.Admin control panel which controls the whole website
7.User control panel
8.Multiple manageable themes developed by MN Tech Solutions
9.Integrated forum software (80 % complete)
10.Separate admin blog (work commenced)
11.Individual blogs for the users of the site and a separate blog for the site. (work commenced)
12.Comments can be made on the blog and hence blog articles can be discussed by other members of the website (work commenced)
13.Custom menu with links saved in the database. This menu is displayed on the home page of the website
14.Integrated user registration for the website, the forum software, and the blog
15.User banning (coming soon)
16.Aesthetic, beautiful modern design and graphics
17.Constant layout and themes throughout the website. No inconsistencies.

18.High website security to counter hackers (coming soon)
19.User profiles integrated with user blogs, enabling users to have their own personal web pages (work commenced)
20.The whole website content is completely saved in the database
21.User management
22.Admin management
23.Community management
24.Editable home page articles
25.Input validation (90% complete)
26.Email reports sent to the site admin and the developer reporting of any errors in the website (coming soon)
27.Private messaging software
28.Private messages managed through the admin panel
29.Site statistics software (coming soon)
30.Anti-bot registration code implemented
31.Avatar uploading
32.Banner uploading and management through the admin panel
33.Picture gallery (coming soon)
34.Anti piracy software (coming soon)
35.Advertisement management
36.Username and password retrieval implemented


following is the website that is using the system and i am adding features to it as i develop them.

MN Tech Solutions

also if i sell this system for a price, then what price should i keep for a one year licence. please quote in US dollars.

thanx guys

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Dani AI

Generated

A practical checklist for deciding how to sell and market this CMS, building on 's goal of revenue plus wide use and on 's point about low introductory pricing.

Consider the business models and trade-offs: a freemium/open-core approach (free core, paid plugins or premium features) drives adoption but requires careful product partitioning; a paid annual license gives predictable revenue but slows uptake; hosted SaaS yields recurring income but adds ops work; professional services (installation, custom work, support) convert demand into cash quickly. Dual licensing (community + commercial) is another route for mixed goals.

How to pick a price: estimate your cost-to-serve (support time, updates), your target customers ability-to-pay, and competitor prices. Start with an early-adopter price to collect feedback and conversion data, then raise with clear added value. Offer at least two tiers — a low-cost self-hosted license and a pricier bundle that includes official updates and priority support — and use discounting for beta testers. For enterprise buyers, use custom quotes or per-site/per-server pricing.

Immediate next steps (actionable): lock a licensing/legal template (LICENSE + TOS), build a one-page edition-comparison, create a working demo and simple installer, add automated license key/renewal flow and payment gateway, and run a closed beta with a small, paid cohort to measure conversion and support load. Track metrics (trial->paid conversion, support hours per customer, churn) before committing to full price increases. Market via a clear demo, documentation, targeted developer communities and relevant script marketplaces; lead with how paid tiers reduce buyer friction (updates, support, custom work).

Member Avatar for articlemaster9

Since you don't want to give it for free, So you can sell it but make it sure that you are selling it a reasonable price. Since, your CMS is completely new to the market so you should sell it a cheaper price to get some quality feedback and popularity and once you are done with that, you can raise the price.

Member Avatar for mustafaneguib

ya i can do that. but then if i ask people to pay then they might not want to use it. i think id better make my market first by giving this system as free and the charge them for special services, like if a user wants an extra custom feature then i can charge them an amount for it.

also if they want special maintanence services then i can charge them per month.

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