Selling a website differs slightly from selling a bricks-and-mortar business. We’re asked time and time again about getting your sites sold. We’ve compiled the big questions – plus all the answers you’ll need – in this handy guide.
“How long does it take to sell a website?”
The length of time it takes to sell website businesses differs greatly on a case-by-case basis. As a rule, it’s worth advertising the website for sale for at least 3 months – this gives potential buyers enough time to realise the site is for sale and to find out any further sales information about the website before expressing their interest and making an offer.
In some cases, a website sale will be staggered to allow for a ‘handover’ period of anywhere between a week and 12 months – this is so that the new owner of the business has a chance to question the seller on any particular technical, financial or marketing concerns and ensure that the site retains as much money-making potential as it possibly can once the website transfer is complete. It’s important for the business buyer and the website seller to agree on any handover periods early on in the process so that expectations are met on both sides.
“How much should I sell my website for?”
The selling value of your website will depend on a variety of factors: the traditional business variables of costs, turnover and Intellectual Property rights will have a major impact on the value of the website you are trying to sell, as will additional web-specific indicators such as traffic rankings and the quality/quantity of the website’s content.
You can get a rough indication of comparable asking prices by searching websites for sale here, but if you are in any doubt it might be worth getting a free business valuation from a specialist commercial agent. You can request a website valuation online here and a number of business transfer agents who specialise in online businesses will then call you back to discuss today’s online business marketplace. Or to get a quick estimate, try our free valuation service here!
“Who sells website businesses?”
Individuals or agents can sell website businesses. If you sell your website business privately online as an individual, you won’t have to pay commission on the sale, but you will need to keep track of all interest and offers yourself, and you will need to handle your own negotiations. If you are selling a website through an agent, you will get the benefit of the agent’s market knowledge and experience, and they will do most of the sales and marketing work for you. Our Business Agents Directory will list all the commercial agents in your local area who specialise in internet businesses for sale.
“What figures should I present when selling a website?”
In addition to financial statistics such as the gross and net profit and turnover figures of your website, buyers will also want to know about the traffic that the website pulls in (whether that’s page impressions, visitors or visits), what percentage of this traffic comes from what regions (ie how much is USA-based traffic and how much is UK-based, etc.) and the size of the website’s online community (ie whether the website has 200 or 20,000 loyal followers). Other data such as the domain age and page rank of the website can also be included.
If you are looking to sell your business on daltonsbusiness.com, start your sale here
