Paid Solutions vs. Starting from Scratch

by Zima & Irene

One of the requisite questions asked by every dating site owner is why exactly a turn-key solution (like SkaDate Dating Software) is better than building a matchmaking network from scratch. You’ve got a good friend with hacking experience, and seem to be somewhat versed in HTML yourself, so why spend all the extra cash? I am here to shed some light at the bigger picture and help you understand what will lie ahead if you decide to dive into the abyss of platform creation on your own.

The thinking behind most stand-alone attempts at network building seems to be that the initial web-concept will take center stage during the development, while unnecessary tech-details will be quickly tucked-in later on. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Trust me when I tell you that the amount of time and detail to consider in coming up with an attractive and working solution is overwhelming. That friend of yours has to be a genius programmer. Seriously.

Be prepared that building a ready-to-go network will be a very long and tedious task, what with constant bug-swathing and revisions. It’s unavoidable in our industry – no product in history was born bugless. Mind you, I’m talking about professional software, developed by entire teams and departments, which have special staff just to look for and destroy said bugs.

Well, let’s imagine that miracles do happen and your friend appears to be Mark Zuckerberg’s long lost brother. Loose no time and marry him on the spot. Not because it could be the single best investment into possible secure future, but because you will have to spend several next years together. That’s how much commitment will have to go into shaping up a workable dating website. Every developer is inevitably hit with the realization, that creating a software core is only the beginning. The tedious labor of non-stop tweaking, optimizing and customizing is what breaks most accidental programmers. Believe no one who says a web-compatible application can be created in one go. Even if you’ll decide to skip on any potential new features for some reason, the ever-developing industry is not going to stand still. Stuff like new browser version or plugin updates will still require constant attention of a developer, to make sure the network is not stuck in the time of yore.

Let’s talk money for a second. Remember when you embarked on this task thinking you could save some dough if everything was done in the basement? Forget about it. Your friend, the Genius Programmer, is likely already employed by a software company (and since he is building online dating platforms, that company is likely called SkaDate). But even if he isn’t, his service will not come cheap. The most optimistic scenario will see you shell out at least a thousand bucks just for the core development. Then comes the visual design stage, the plug-ins creation and integration, the updating, upgrading and all sorts of other support matters. Needless to say, all of that will also come at additional price.

Now let’s see what we have in the other corner of the ring. I can’t talk for all software developers out there, but here are a few things you might notice about SkaDate –

• Experience: we’ve been doing this for more than six years
• Professionalism: we have a high-skilled development team
• Focus: we closely monitor and constantly utilize latest industry trends
• Responsibility: we listen to our clients and give them what they want
• Stability: we are not going anywhere – we are here to stay

That did sound a bit like a sales pitch, didn’t it? Amazingly, though, it’s all factually true. Remember that no matter what you’ll end up choosing, climbing mountains solo is almost never a good idea. Think of it this way. Would you ask you friend, a mechanic, to build you a Ferrari from scratch? Hell, ask him to build you a KIA, see what he says. I’m not implying it’s impossible, but the time and costs of such an endeavor might not be worth it in the long run, especially since there wont be a guarantee that the final product will satisfy your needs. We, on the other hand, give you a top of the line customizable Toyota, that can be turned into a Lexus with enough skill and creativity. Also, we are ready to fix it if it breaks.

So, why invent the wheel than? There already exists an organic solution complete with basic features, constant updates, friendly support, numerous templates and themes, as well as readily available documentation. That last one will come handy if there ever will be a need to play around with our unencrypted source code. So, go ahead and focus on your business strategy, as well as that web-concept you have in mind. We’ll take care of the rest, saving you time and money in the process.