People usually avoid the adult website niche thinking that it is not a profitable business. Actually, it is quite the opposite. The more websites get launched every month, the higher the demand. However, creating an adult website is not easy. It requires a specific set of skills and knowledge. But once you perfect them, you will be able to make a good profit out of it.
People that are familiar with marketing know that it is easier to start a business targeting small niches than a mainstream audience. And the adult industry is exactly like that – niche-oriented. The demand is huge since there is an increasing number of people who are ready to consume adult content.
Types of adult websites
There are many types of adult websites and these are some of the most profitable ones:
1. Porn tube website – probably the most famous type of porn websites where you can find tons of sexually explicit videos.
2. Adult forum – forums represent a good place for sharing adult content, be it images or videos, and you can also discuss adult themes without any visual aids;
3. Webcam site – the most profitable type after porn websites, where models, either professional or amateur ones, can earn a lot of money by simply chatting with their customers and showing them what they want to see;
4. Membership site – not everyone is willing to pay to view certain content, and this is exactly how membership sites function, which makes them hard to advertise;
5. Adult blog – this one is self-explanatory, a blog where people write about adult themes followed with images, gifs, or videos;
6. Dating site – a place where people look for their soul mate;
7. Erotic fiction site – here, you can find stories and poems whose purpose is to arouse your senses;
8. Escort sites – a site made for promoting and selling escort services.
9. Adult marketplaces – websites like Kinkie, where people sell anything from sexy photos to used panties and bras.
10. Adult model websites – sites designed specifically for adult models, OnlyFans content creators, porn stars and performers.
11. Adult massage parlors – sites such as AsianMassage2Hotel designed to offer and promote erotic massages and similar services.
Each one of these sites can be launched in a more or less similar way, but we will explain everything in detail later on.
Choosing a domain name
First things first, you will need a relevant domain name. Once you have decided who your target audience is, you can move on to domain name hunting. It has to be straightforward so that viewers can easily reach it and remember it. Here you can type in your domain name and see if it is available. If it is and you can afford it, go for it.
A few good suggestions for a domain would be: .xxx, .porn, .adult, .sex.
Choosing a hosting provider
If you want to make a website, you will need to find someone to host it for you. Many hosting providers are available out there, but you will need a provider that is ready to host adult content.
Despite the common misconception, adult hosting is not restricted to porn only. Any website that deals with products (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and firearms) available only to those older than 18 or 21 years old is considered mature content. In each case, the security of your customers’ data needs to be ensured.
With that in mind, we would like to recommend you an adult hosting provider that can fulfill all your needs.
Vicetemple, specializing in adult hosting, started in 2016 and is part of a larger hosting network that offers offshore hosting. They are very liberal when it comes to sexual preferences, which means that you will be able to host any kind of content. Their hosting plans are designed to handle big traffic without slowing down your website. You can enjoy 24/7 customer and technical support, as well as full privacy, once you change the password from your welcome email.
They offer 3 different pricing packages:
- Adult Shared Hosting – $5/month
- Adult VPS – $15/month
- Adult Dedicated Server – $100/month
Give them a chance and if you don’t like it for whatever reason, you can ask them for a full refund because they operate on a 30-day money back guarantee policy.
In case you want to read more about them and the services they are offering, feel free to visit their website.
If you are building a porn website
Porn has become popular in recent years and many people have figured out that it can bring a good profit. This is why there are tons of porn websites all over the Internet, which might make you think that the competition is tough. However, that is not the case. The more porn websites there are, the better.
Nowadays, many websites get built on WordPress, which is trusted by webmasters all around the world. Building your website on WordPress is probably the easiest way to get started since no coding is required – everything is done through a visual editor. Aside from that, WordPress is highly customizable and it offers great adult themes and plugins.
The first thing you have to do is to download WordPress from https://wordpress.org and upload it to a hosting provider – most hosts automatically install WordPress on your site (M3Server, for example). After that, you need to set up a database, which can be done in CPanel by using a Database Wizard. Connect the database to WordPress and set up the user information. When the installation finishes, you can move on to setting up basic WordPress configurations, such as the permalinks, the homepage, and the theme.
What follows are useful adult WordPress themes & plugins that you can install on your site:
Another great way to build an adult website is to use a ready script. There are many scripts that can be used to create tube sites and webcam sites, but we will explain that in greater detail later on.
If you are building an adult forum
A forum is a place where people can hold conversations by posting messages and sharing content like images and videos. People usually join forums in order to engage in a community or to promote their services. Every forum has its Terms of Services that explain what they do and do not allow. Be sure to read it before posting anything on a certain forum platform.
Forums are sensitive to adult content but it is not impossible to find those that allow it as long as it is legal. The same goes for an adult forum only if you want to build one.
The quickest and easiest way to create your adult forum would be to use a ready script. However, we haven’t managed to find any scripts that are made specifically for adult content. Nevertheless, there are many scripts that allow adult and you should consider using them.
Here is the list of forum scripts that allow adult content:
- Mybb – free
- XenForo – paid
- SimpleMachine – free
- Invision Community – paid
- vBulletin – paid
- Fluxbb – free
If you are building a tube site
Tube sites have completely transformed the way users watch porn. With many ready scripts and CMS being available, it has become easier for webmasters to start their own tube sites. On them, users can interact with each other, share their experiences, and upload content.
Once again, you can use WordPress to transform your ‘normal’ website into an adult tube site. All you need to do is to find a special plugin and theme which will help you. PornX, a premium adult WordPress theme, would be an excellent choice. That is a perfect combination of useful themes and plugins for your adult tube site.
Another practical solution for your tube site is xStreamer that represents highly customizable streaming software. This software allows you to create a popular site like Pornhub, YouPorn, and xHamster.
If you are building an adult webcam site
An adult webcam site is usually an amateur site that provides 100% live, interactive content. In order to start your adult webcam site, you do not have to go anywhere since it can now be done from the comfort of your home.
ModelNet is both a script and a CMS used for starting an adult webcam business. This script is also highly customizable, allowing you to easily set up your own customer, webmaster, and model referral programs. You can feature other ModelNet models on your website, but in order to do this, you will need to find a way to attract new models.
xCams enables you to create a live chat streaming site in less than a day. No matter what type of user you are (an end user, a model, a studio, or the website owner), a clean dashboard is guaranteed.
The easiest option is to whitelabel an existing camming site. You can rebrand the existing site, redesign it, make a new logo, and after that, you will only be in charge of the website promotion and revenue collection.
If you are building an adult membership site
As mentioned in the introduction, membership sites are websites on which users have to pay to view certain content. Membership sites can actually be built in any form, be it a porn site, a tube site, or a webcam site. You can even come up with your own idea, but it should be unique in any case.
WordPress can be put to great use here as well. It can be used for free, but it is better to invest a little to ensure your site runs smoothly. Consider downloading this membership plugin which will transform your WordPress site into a fully operative membership site. Make sure to integrate a payment processor that accepts high-risk ventures such as Advantage Processor. They’re the only way to go for porn membership websites.
Adult Script Pro is an adult video tube script that every site needs. It comes with great features, one of them being a separate module for Premium Membership that includes Subscription and Pay Per View support.
If you are building an adult blog
Adult blogging is a very profitable business for people who understand how it functions. It is relatively easy to start and run a blog. It is better to start a blog that will discuss adult topics than a pure pornographic site because there is a bunch of those.
You can take a look at the most popular and free blog scripts such as Blogger, WordPress, Movable Type, and B2Evolution. You can upload a blog script on your server or you can just sign up on WordPress or Blogger, which is great for beginners.
Once you have chosen your favorite script, make sure to update your blog regularly. I would be beneficial for you to include images and videos in your blog posts since visual stimuli will keep the reader interested.
If you are building an adult dating site
What makes an adult dating site good? First of all, it needs to have real people, not just a bunch of fake profiles. If there are real people on it than it has to have millions of users. This is what you have to be striving for when creating an adult dating site.
Fortunately, there are many dating scripts that can make it easier for you.
- Dating Site Builder – paid
- SkaDate – paid
- Dating Script – paid
- PG Dating Pro – paid
- AspNetDating – paid
- Sweet Date – paid
- DateMill – paid
If you are building an erotic fiction site
Who would have thought that reading could be fun, but with erotic fiction, a genre that has skyrocketed since the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey, it truly is?
However, this type of site is not hard to create because it does not require a specific outline. WordPress could be a good solution here as well. Just take a look at some of the most famous literotica websites like Literotica, Lush Stories, True Dirty Stories, Adult- fanfiction, and you might get an idea on how you want your website to look like.
Stories and poems do not have to be strictly published by you. It is better to have your site open for anyone who wants to submit a good erotic story. This way, your business will grow quicker. User Submitted Posts plugin will enable your visitors to submit posts and upload images.
If you are building an adult escort agency website
There are two ways to start an escort website. For the first one, you will need an HTML editor and a photo editor. TextEdit is a great free solution, but if you have some money to invest, Adobe Dreamweaver would be an even better solution. As for the photo editor, we recommend Gimp or Adobe Photoshop. Once you have all of these tools, you can start building your site.
However, the second option appears to be a much easier solution if you do not want to mess with coding. The best 2 scripts out there are Escort – Web Designers and EscortBook. Both of these scripts offer many great tools that you need in order to excel in this business and beat your competitors.
This was our guide on how to make a different type of adult website with the easiest options, so that you don’t have to waste your time and money on the ones that are not confirmed.
In any case, we encourage you to inform yourself on all the details before you opt to start a specific type of adult website, and to only use this article as a starting point. For more information, check the in-depth guide on starting porn sites written by Vicetemple.