Name of your website?Jonsay Online Language Dictionaries
Your name?
Jonathan Sayles
Your Location (city, etc)
Lincoln
Please give us a short summary of your website?
English translated into multiple languages
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I was learning japanese but i didn't like the way my language books just gave random words that were no good for me. I wanted to learn about specific topics. All the friends I have from around the world helped me to achieve the website I have today.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is my first website, and I launched it just over 4 years ago.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Really boring but I just took the first 3 letters from my first and last names.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
Almost no website about languages list translated words in categories. They all just offer a search box and you get a result which might or might not be what you need.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
No idea. It will never pay a salary I can live on. It started as a hobby, and I can't imagine a time when I won't be working on it. I'm always thinking of something new to add to it. As long as it pays the server fees then I can just keep it running forever.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
I only work on the website in my spare time, and I'm the only person who works on it. I consider any financial gain a bonus. I only get revenue from adverts but it always increases as I put more work in. Currently I get 19000 visitors a month which increases steadily.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I could translate many more languages which in itself would grow my user base greatly. However, in monetary terms the website has only cost around £300 to get this far.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I believe I could manage reasonably well with a large influx of visitors. The website effectively stop itself. Once I have translated a new language and put it live, I don't have to revisit it or update it for months.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
No unexpected costs. The only frustrating thing for me is actually how hard it is to become well known. Because I don't sell products, I can't really afford advertising. I try to employ as many ways as possible to increase my search result positions but that has limits.
What has been your biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge has been not giving up on the website. It really isn't as large and popular as I wanted by now, and it can take some serious hours from my week. If I was earning thousands I wouldn't think twice about just leaving it. However, it is far too much time spent to turn away from the website. At least it keeps me busy!
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Due to the size of the website, I get virtually all my visitors from google. That is beginning to change as I have found better websites to swap links with. Some send over 200 visitors per week.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It has taken far longer to become popular than I would of hoped. But perhaps that is down to the fact that I don't work full time on it. Some weeks only 3 hours. Other weeks 40 hours. It depends on where my focus us.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
I'm resigned to running it forever. I think it is just too important for me to stop it now. I believe eventually it could become the largest language resource that exists, and it will always remaining 100% free for all people. Languages are for everyone.
What would you like to help you with the website?
I would love someone else to work alongside. Its a very lonely hobby!
What is your website address?
Jonsay Online Language Dictionaries
