# Do Websites Make Money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582 "2003-07-19T15:04:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sat_on_Cookie)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/1 "2003-07-19T15:04:37Z")
For example, the Onion. Is that a magazine as well? Do they make all their money from the magazine and just do the website as complimentary or do they actually make money from it? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/2 "2003-07-19T15:32:51Z")
Well, I think that there are some information-based websites that do make money… things like Google and Yahoo, supported by advertisers. But a lot of websites also try to go that approach and die a quick death. The Onion, in particular, does have a print edition and also an online store selling branded merchandise. I would guess that between the subscriptions, merchandise sales, and advertising revenue, they managed to make some sort of a profit, otherwise they wouldn’t be here after all this time. Just my guess. ---
**Author:** ![homercles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed8c4c/32.png) [@homercles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homercles)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/3 "2003-07-19T15:42:23Z")
Actually, i think the print version of The Onion is free. Much like local entertainment guides (The Guardian, SF Weekly, East Bay Express, Willamette Weekly, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/4 "2003-07-19T15:53:49Z")
Well, perhaps it is available free at certain places (I don’t know), but they also offer a paid subscription: [https://subscribe.theonion.com/cgi-bin/subs/SUBstore.pl](https://subscribe.theonion.com/cgi-bin/subs/SUBstore.pl) (Unless the subscription page is a parody, too) ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/5 "2003-07-20T00:36:32Z")
Whether a website makes money or not depends on the business model - not just any old website thrown together and put online will make money, it requires a well thought-out business plan. There are plenty of websites that do make money; a good example of a successful website is **Expedia Travel** , they’re an online travel business and they make a mint - in fact their turnover is in the billions. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/6 "2003-07-20T00:58:58Z")
Well, I work for a website that makes money (i.e. a profit). We make all of it through advertising and referrals, but we can do that because we have very very high volume (both in terms of the traffic we get and the breadth of our advertising inventory.) Most websites that tried to earn money from advertising only went the way of the dodo a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/7 "2003-07-20T01:16:14Z")
Seems like some porno sites make money. I don’t know first hand, but that’s what I have heard. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/8 "2003-07-20T01:22:42Z")
Of course most porno sites charge for subscriptions, so yes, a lot of them make money. It’s much more difficult to make money when you provide services and content for free, though. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/9 "2003-07-20T01:56:11Z")
Websites that have subscriptions make money. Websites that sell products (like Amazon) ostensibly make money. Apparently Amazon made a loss every year since inception - I assume that is still the case, though perhaps not. Porn sites are famous for being pretty much the only guaranteed moneymaker, though it’s not like they make millions. They’re less profitable than most people imagine. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/10 "2003-07-20T02:31:59Z")
I’m pretty sure that eBay makes a very nice profit. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/11 "2003-07-20T02:36:14Z")
Netflix also announced their first GAAP-profitable quarter a couple days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Pirate\_LeChuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dead\_Pirate\_LeChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Pirate_LeChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/12 "2003-07-20T02:40:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nobodyimportant \* > \*\*Well, perhaps it is available free at certain places (I don’t know), but they also offer a paid subscription: > > [https://subscribe.theonion.com/cgi-bin/subs/SUBstore.pl](https://subscribe.theonion.com/cgi-bin/subs/SUBstore.pl) > > (Unless the subscription page is a parody, too) \*\* It was free in Milwaukee 4 years ago when I was attending school in the area. That may have changed since then. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-websites-make-money/189582/13 "2003-07-20T02:44:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dead Pirate LeChuck \* > \*\*It was free in Milwaukee 4 years ago when I was attending school in the area. That may have changed since then. \*\* It’s still available free in the Madison and Milwaukee area.