So you’ve decided to launch a niche job board. Whether you are monetizing an existing community, launching a new business or looking for a lucrative new revenue source, your first question is likely the same:
”What platform should I use for my Job Board?”
In this article we’ll attempt to breakdown the key difference between what we see as the three types of platforms available: Self-Hosted, Custom or Cloud.
- A self-hosted job board is something you run on your own server. This could be a free PHP script or a job board platform built on-top of WordPress.
- Custom is where you hire a developer to build a bespoke job board platform for you.
- Cloud is a hosted solution where someone else does all this for you.
The key differences between these options are:
- Features, Updates & Support – How often is the software updated with new features? How do you get support?
- Affordability – How much it will cost you to run?
- Ease-of-Setup – How quickly can get started?
Features, Updates & Support
The clearest difference between these options becomes obvious when something is missing, or something goes wrong.
With a self-hosted or custom solution, you are responsible for adding features, updates or paying for support. It is an immense responsibility, where you must cover the cost of installation, backups, maintence, upgrades and more.
Here is what it takes to host your own servers:
- Setup and finding a server that will handle the traffic
- Installed OS Maintenance, including monitoring and installing updates
- Installed Server Maintenance, including configuration, monitoring and installing updates
- Database Maintenance
- Backups
Back in 2005, this was the only option for running your own job board. 10 years later, it takes more time, expertise and expense to take on these responsibilities, as expectations for security compliance are greater than ever.
In 2015, Self-hosting is time-consuming, expensive and it is no longer necessary. There is a more cost-effective way to run a job board.
By choosing a cloud option like JobBoard.io, you move the upfront costs into a monthly payment, with the guarantee of support being available.
Further, the barriers to entry are dramatically reduced. With no software to install, or servers to maintain, you can get your job board setup in just a few minutes. Most importantly, you do not need to involve IT professionals – you can just focus on growing your job board.
Finally, features. With a cloud platform like JobBoard.io, supporting thousands of users, we are constantly introducing new features to ensure our customers have a great experience. You’ll benefit from the latest technologies, trends in SEO and great new functionality with no development costs.
So, should you self-host? Ask yourself these 3 questions:
Can you afford the large upfront cost?
Will your self-hosted solution is reliable, relevant or required in the long-term? Consider a 5 year timespan and factor in potential upgrade or migration costs.
Do you have the ability to maintain your own servers?
If you are a large enterprise, the answer is likely yes. If you don’t have an dedicated IT department, how much would it cost to ensure 24-7 support and development of the software?
Can you offer round-the-clock availability?
Will your website always be available? Most importantly – will your job board be more responsive than your competitors on cloud solutions?
In summary, when choosing between cloud vs. self-hosted discussions, keep the focus on what is best for growing your own business. If maintaining your own infrastructure is consuming resources away from growing your job board, cloud is definitely the way to go.
Affordability
There are a lot of Job Board PHP scripts online. Some are built as standalone platforms, or built on-top of WordPress. Most are available for free download, if you are prepared to install the software on your own server.
Custom requires working closely with a developer, and obviously costs a lot to get started. Most require a monthly retainer or a fee to keep things up-to-date.
Finally, JobBoard.io is a cloud solution. On the revenue share plan, its completely free, or $99 per month on our single job board plan.
So, we’d assume the ranking is:
- Self-Hosted
- Cloud
- Custom
Unfortunately, its not quite that simple, due to hidden costs.
For self-hosted and custom, you’ll require your own server, SSL certificates, a part-time or freelance IT guy to keep the website running smoothly and upgrade to the latest version when required.
Should the developer of your solution decide to no-longer maintain the software, you’ll need to either write the security updates yourself, or hire a experienced security expert to check for security issues on a regular basis.
Even if you are an IT expert, you’ll still need to invest your time in keeping things up-to-date and secure – time that you could spend promoting your job board.
Ease-of-setup
Do you know your SQL, PHP from your LAMP? Do you know what version of PHP is running on your server?
If you don’t, you can set up JobBoard.io in thirty seconds. The admin panel is simple and elegant, yet powerful enough to allow you to make extensive customizations to the look and feel of your Job Board.
If you do – do you really want to deal with that? Or would you rather focus on building a successful Job Board?
Conclusion
For simple security, ease-of-use and clear pricing, the conclusion is clear – choose a cloud based Job Board solution like JobBoard.io. You’ll be free to focus on growing your job board, rather than focusing on technical issues.
If you’ve still got questions, remember, we provide impartial advice on whether our platform is right for you.