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Subscription Drive: Status report

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Subscription Drive: Status report

We're not going to make it..

from WinCustomize Forums

If you click HERE you can see WinCustomize's traffic details.  Most sites keep this kind of thing secret but we tend to operate as transparently as possible.

The key figures are: 788,000 visits per day average. 5.5 MILLION visitors this past week. 

13 days into the WinCustomize subscription drive, we have a total of 345 people who have re-subscribed or subscribed new.  Quite a few of them are individuals who re-subscribed long before they needed to or bought a subscription for someone else.  That means a very small number of people are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the site.  345 subscriptions means $6,900 in revenue (thank you to those who have subsribed).

As you can imagine, running a site that gets 5.5 million visitors every week is very expensive. Especially when it's on a download site. For instance, Kol's VistaXP skin has been downloaded about 2,000 times today.  It's a 2MB file.  That means 4,000 megabytes (4 Gigabytes) of bandwidth were used just for that one skin. So as you can imagine, the bandwidth costs of this site are immense.  Moreover, as skinning gets more popular and more users interact, we need full-time people to code and manage the site.  Thank goodness we have volunteers who actually run the site and a day to day basis or else there'd be no WinCustomize.

Which brings us back to the start of this news item.  WinCustomize costs probably around $300,000 a year to run.  That's bandwidth + salaries.  Anyone in the Internet business will tell you wer're running the site on a shoe-string.  A site in the top 3000 or so most popular in the world would typically cost far more.  deviantART, for instance, has around two-dozen employees working just on that site. 

So what happens to WinCustomize when October 31 comes and we're not even close to our goal?  Well, for skinners, subscribers, and SD Customers the answer is, not much.  Skinners and subscribers are going to get new stuff -- we have a Halloween skin in the works for instance and there will be subscriber-only content made in the future.

For regular users it's going to be a different story.  Users are going to have to start creating accounts to access skins made that month.  We'll also have to put in some code to make it more difficult for someone to simply create a duplicate account.  This will likely drive away some users -- which will be part of the goal.

In the midterm, the site will begin focusing more and more on the community with the community defined as people who care about WinCustomize.  That would be the skinners, the subscribers, and SD customers.  People not in that category will still be able to do many things on the site, but it will be much more restrictive. 

 

63,729 views 167 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
As for WC exiles and the ill press about WC... just remember, bad news travels faster than good news. People love to complain and rant about something but a small percentage actually smile and say thank you.


Never a truer word spoken.
Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WC has been my homepage for years. I used to hit the majority of customize sites, but they have ebbed away to the point where WC is the place for me. I come here daily. I renew OD every year to my wife's sighs. I suscribe. I haven't skinned for awhile due to time involved, but WB5 has the juices flowing; it's a major feather for Stardock. The staff and peoplehere are straight forward and honest, and it is a communal bloom amongst big buck boom sites. It's like it's family oriented, if you know what I mean. My subscription isn't up yet, but I'll ask the check master if she can see her way to coughing up another one (no gaurantees, though). And Beta, people usually won't pay for something that can be had for free, so your subscription logic falls short. As for ratings, some people who wear their hearts on their sleeves can't help but where their hearts on their skins.
The Political Machine 2024
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I am very glad to be a subscriber to this TERRIFIC site and am sorry to see that more people out there do not care to subscribe.I love to skin my applications and I have learned so much in the past couple of years about graphics.I was just a "regular" visitor to this site in 2002 and I got hooked on it and soon realized that I could not continue to download skins and software all the time without paying for it WHICH WAS FINE WITH ME!!!, because subscribing was the best thing I ever did. I love having access to Beta's and new releases and the support and helpful comments from the Stardock/Wincustomize community is great! Yes, this site is very addicting!!!And when you pay, you GET MORE! "Nuff said.....
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Okay, I caved.

I just bought a subscription to WinCustomize.

Honestly I think charging the masses a buck a year would have generated much more revenue, but at least now my conscience is clear and I can download skins without the guilt.

My deepest thanks to the skinners out there who hooked me around 2000 and have kept me coming back for more ever since. And thanks also to the other 350-something people who have chipped in so far and put something back into the pot.

Signed,
#357
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Oh and I wanted to add that I'm also an Object Desktop subscriber, too.What a small price to pay for such a wide variety of apps and skins. Ok.I'm done blabbing!
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It boggles the mind to think that of about 1.5 million UNIQUE visits in the past couple weeks, only 345 subscriptions have resulted.

I completely understand the need to increase revenue from the site, especially in the light of how much bandwidth unregistered users consume. I think a combination of reducing the number of things non-subscribers / ODNT users can do while increasing the benefits of subscribing is the only logical thing to do.
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well, I threw in my 2000 cents. I think I still had a couple of months left, but I figured I'd do my part now. My career makes me spend a lot of time in front of my computer--you guys help make that time both more productive and more enjoyable.
Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Tips: Release windowblinds beta (only for windowblinds/wincustomize subscribers)

I fyou would close the site for the "public" and have content avalible only for members i think that less people would find the site and then subscribe, so what you are doing, according to me, is suicide.
Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If I could afford it, I would definitely subscribe... You guys rock so hard! It's unthinkable how you keep such a great website open... Keep up the great work.
Reply #36 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WC has been my homepage for years. I used to hit the majority of customize sites, but they have ebbed away to the point where WC is the place for me. I come here daily. I renew OD every year to my wife's sighs. I suscribe. [...] WB5 has the juices flowing [for trying to skin]; it's a major feather for Stardock. The staff and people here are straight forward and honest, and it is a communal bloom amongst big buck boom sites. It's like it's family oriented, if you know what I mean. My subscription [wasn't up for a month but I went ahead and did it now!] And Beta, people usually won't pay for something that can be had for free, so your subscription logic falls short. As for ratings, some people who wear their hearts on their sleeves can't help but where their hearts on their skins.

Ditto!
[with a few minor alterations!]
Reply #37 from WinCustomize Forums Top
For those of you who didn't follow Brads link to the stats page, here is just a snippet from today:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VISITS

Total 214,805,508
Average Per Day 782,751
Average Visit Length 0:03
Last Hour 18,541
Today 52,127
This Week 5,479,258

PAGE VIEWS

Total 301,203,677
Average Per Day 1,027,750
Average Per Visit 1.3
Last Hour 25,317
Today 72,062
This Week 7,194,253
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These statistics were copy/pasted at 5pm EST [Australia, where I am]. They show that even when the majority of the USA is sleeping, the site still gets quite a hefty visit rate.

Compare these stat's with the number of people who are actually subscribing this month, and you'll see that it's far from a fantastic effort. Surely y'all can do better than that, huh?

Those of you that have subscribed during this current subscription campaign are to be commended & congratulated.

Well done!

Those of you that haven't yet done so, ~as a fellow user of WinCustomize ...I urge you to consider it. You'll be doing your part in supporting the site that makes those computers of yours look so good, and you'll be getting a whole bunch of goodies as part of your sub.

...So, dont just think about it ...do it! You'll be glad you did!
Reply #38 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hey All,

I subscribed at the beginning of the drive after complaining continuously about it. I've found the $19.95 was a steal for everything you get for your subscription. Don't use a lot of the features? Don't plan to? Hey, me niether. I find a lot of the features not necessary for me personally and I doubt I will ever use them. However!, out of the few features I do use, I would have paid even more than $19.95 for the subscription! Think about it, total integration with your StarDock products and WinCustomize products. Hmm.. That means less effort, more organization for finding what you want and overall more "user friendly". Not to mention no more stupid ads. Lol. .

To answer a few questions I seen on here though while we're on topic. I noticed someone mentioning about people being "mean" to him or something to that degree. I'm too tired to find the post here lol. Answer is, it's just like High School any where you go. Remember High School? I really don't but I remember the cliques. The same goes here, there's in crowds and out crowds. If your in with the in crowd, everyone loves you and praises you and is most helpful. If you aren't then it's not as rewarding to get involved with posting and submitting anything. I don't know what to consider myself, but I can tell you I posted a question on the tech forum about 2 weeks ago, and have no responses. For an easy yes or no question I deem it to be.

At any case, it's a community. Whether your in crowd or out crowd doesn't matter. We are all supporting the same cause and have the same "similar" goals for usuage of the site. It doesn't matter whether you have admin rights, you're a developer, you're a skinner or your just an average joe. If you aren't in crowd, your going to stay a level 1. Take it from someone who's sent emails asking to help and the emails aren't responded to. But thats not a problem.

All in all, WinCustomize.com is a WONDERFUL place. We have awesome people working on the site to make sure only good-premium quality skins are uploaded, everything is organized all user friendly like and most of our community is friendly and helpful, unlike a lot of other communities I've seen. If you clash with a "higher up" just shrug it off. Again, we're all for the same cause here.

I would love to help though as far as being a voluntary Moderator!! And hopefully, this time that question is answered.

In closing, subscribe or don't. The community needs your help and is asking for it. If you can't help and need to make excuses, that's cool... But, don't expect your same leeching habits come November. I would recommend to find the $19.95, whether it's change from your couch and get a subscription.. It's for a good cause, it's for a year and you will be part of something not found on other sites.

-Chris C.
Reply #39 from WinCustomize Forums Top
This is a weird, wild suggestion from out of the dark by an infrequent visitor to the site...don't get me wrong, I *love* the content here, I just don't get to surf as much as I'd like...

There are a combination of ways to tackle this problem, and a myriad of divergences you can take to handle those combination of ways, so let's look at the main points: 1) keeping up the revenue to keep the site maintained, running, and keep bandwidth available, and 2) lowering the bandwidth usage.

I see ugly stats about bandwidth usage on this site, and I could nod in grim agreement. But you know what? A *lot*
of this site is -- dare I say it -- *inefficient* with the way it handles bandwidth usage. A glaring example...

The wallpapers section. I just skimmed through the first 2-3 pages to make my point, and I didn't see any thumbnails for about 80-90% of the wallpapers. So let's say a surfer gets curious about the creative name given to the wallpaper, and doesn't have a thumbnail. What do they do? Click on the everpresent *download* button to see what it's like. I just checked out, for example, the (I believe it was, not positive) 9MB "Dragon's Fire" pack. There was no thumbnail for me to say I didn't care for it. So I downloaded it. Poof -- you're already 9MB of bandwidth in the red. I opened one of the resolutions, and said...."Meh...?", clicked it shut and discarded it. Reality? Apathetic user, and site is out 9MB of bandwidth.

Multiply that by -- and I'm probably being conservative -- let's make it 1/20 of the visitors a day, or around 40,000 people a day (taken from the original post figures for daily visitors) look for a new wallpaper here. They can't see any thumbnails, an eensy fraction of the size of the entire bundled package of 8 different resolutions rendered for the user's pleasure. That's 360,000MB of bandwidth. If it's 1/10 of the users a day coming to check out wallpapers, it's 720,000MB of bandwidth.

How much effort would it take for people to be required to render their wallpapers into a small thumbnail that could
be printed alongside the name? 5 minutes or less. How much would it save in bandwidth?

40,000 people times a 50K snapshot = 2000 Meg, or 2 Gig.
40,000 people times a 2Meg "pack" = 80,000 Meg, or 80 Gig.

Let's say 20% of the people who download their wallpaper actually keep it. So that leaves 62Gig of bandwidth (80 Gig - 16Gig for those that keep wallpaper, minus 2 Gig for the snapshot) that was saved, all for the 5-minute creation and posting of a 50K snapshot.

It *really* isn't rocket science...I personally find it staggering that such creative geniuses don't create a little snapshot while they're busy rendering wallpapers into 12 different screen resolutions. And let's face it...if you cut your bandwidth down by 75%...you're going to (in general) cut your costs by a sizable amount as well.

There are more "user-friendly" way to cut bandwidth down than the horribly misguided "let's just drive all the non-contributors off!" mindset. Consider this just a drop in the bucket...I picked wallpapers as a well-known source of "bloat and waste", but there are probably other areas on this site as well that could use the snapshot treatment...

(and to those who *do* create the thumbnail shots, I applaud and give you kudos; you're saving the website bandwidth *and* saving the 30 seconds I need to download a 5 Gig wallpaper pack just to see if I like someone's design or not. Thank you!!!)

Thanks for letting me voice my opinion; and to the nitpickers who say I have all the figures wrong, I say I'm taking a swing in the dark at some figures -- bottom line is, I'm still right in that the site could be using far less bandwidth, so bleah on you. =^p > I hope someone seriously considers making it policy as much as they consider restricting access to areas for fees spent. (Hell, who wouldn't feel better going to a movie or getting a CD for $2.50 or $3.50?)
Reply #40 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Supermankalel;

Not sure why you're not seeing them, but there's thumbnails for every wallpaper in the gallery.
Reply #41 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hmmmmmmmm...that is odd. I've tried both viewing with SlimBrowser (browser o choice), Firefox and Aieeeeee...I only see thumbnails for a very few wallpapers. *frown* That's odd. (and also makes me look ignorant, but I swear, images are turned on. Why they only show up for a select few wallpapers is beyond me...)

Feel free to ignore my comment then, if such is the case; I beg your collective pardons...

(hunts for whiffleball bat to repeatedly bust over computers case...)
Reply #42 from WinCustomize Forums Top
My subscription renewal isn't due 'til Jan 2006, and I have a couple of bills that must come first, but I will renew a little later this month to help support this great site. And quite frankly, I don't care if there's no extra goodies or premium content with it. That's not what this should be about! I see no problem with offering premium suites to attract new subscriptions from drive by's and more recent visitors, etc, but it's sad when 'old timers' of many free downloads see the premium content as being of paramount importance. If these extra goodies become the primary focus and reason for subscribing, then the spirit of community is lost to self interest. That is a problem! The 'I'm not subscribing unless I get extras' misses the point altogether and sends a negative message to people less familiar with WC services and all it has to offer. This subscription drive is not about catering to individual wants, but the Wincustomize community and the continuation of services, a concept that sadly seems to have been missed by a few.
Reply #43 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I personally do not have much incentives on spending 20 for a subscription. At least, not yet... But I do would like to express and explore the bandwidth concerns.

Skins, screenshots, and suite/themes are downloaded every day. We all know that is a problem. But I see a different problem: the site itself. To elaborate, the site design, while nice and spiffy, needs a redesign still. Why? The site design in itself is part of the load too, not just skins. There are plenty of people accessing this site using broadband connections. So it only appears to load fast. However, I think a redesign to truly make the site use minimalistic designs is needed in order to help save on the cost of bandwidth and maintenance. A lightweight UI can go a long way... and I think rather than depend on the subscribers and future subscribers, start at the foundation first, not at the general users.
Reply #44 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I personally do not have much incentives on spending 20 for a subscription. At least, not yet...


Sixshot,

Don't take anything in this post the wrong way. Not meant to be offensive or accusing of anything.

I find it funny that you have no "incentives" on spending $20 for a subscription. Yet, you have your incentives to download from this community and not contribute. Where, it's clear that the community is in trouble and needs your help.

I'm an ObjectDesktop and WC Subscriber (Proudly) and I complained in the beginning as well. But at that time I had still paid my $49.95 into Stardock. Being at Visitor rating.. What can you say your contributions were?

Suggestions for site improvement are probably always welcome by the admins. But to be taken seriously you need to show your worth like the rest of us do. Or fall come November.

Again, no problems with you in general. But I hate people who leech!! And hate people who pirate Stardock software even more. (Not that you do). Don't be with that crowd.

Sell an old T-Shirt on eBay and give back to the community that gives to you. It's $20 for a freegin' year. That's NOT pricey on any stretch of the imagination for the subscription uses.

I don't consider you ignorant to the benefits of the subscription, but I do consider you mis-informed. (Like most probably are who refuse to subscribe). Look into it.

The benefits of being a WC Subscriber are more than a personal page that you probably won't use.

-Chris C.
Reply #45 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Im sorry if this is a dumb or repeated question but if you've bought products from stardock but not OD itself, for example my page says my user level is 4 does this make a difference at all? Because i saw in the article that you mentioned SD Customers aswell, thats where i got confused. Again sorry if this is a repeated question.
Reply #46 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Im sorry if this is a dumb or repeated question but if you've bought products from stardock but not OD itself, for example my page says my user level is 4 does this make a difference at all? Because i saw in the article that you mentioned SD Customers aswell, thats where i got confused. Again sorry if this is a repeated question.


Hey Duke,

I can't really speak for the site higher ups because I'm just your basic access user. I have no authority here at all. Lol.. I would say yes.. BUT. WinCustomize.com is a seperate entity from Stardock. Meaning if you bought $9 Million in Stardock products.. This site still needs your support too. (From what I'm told).

You help by having SD products. It means your not a pirate. But depending on how much you download, you could be a borderline leech. You know how you have fast downloads? And easy to find skins? It's because of the financing pumping into the site.

Want to help? Pay the $20. Your SD products and WinCustomize.com will have total integration. You will be able to apply skins right from the WC Browser you get when you subscribe. Awesome huh?

-Chris C.
Reply #47 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I see no problem with offering premium suites to attract new subscriptions from drive by's and more recent visitors, etc,


Clearly the site as it stands offers so much its mind boggling. To offer more is absolutely no incentive for anyone to subscribe.

This subscription drive is not about catering to individual wants, but the Wincustomize community and the continuation of services, a concept that sadly seems to have been missed by a few.


This is exactly the kind of view that I believe holds the site back. The percentage of people who "love" the community here is tiny compared to the majority. To design a subscription drive around the people who already believe in the community and in general have probably already subscribed, well that is just a very bad business move.

I also dislike intensely the idea that "leechers" should be spit on because they have used a site the way it was actually setup to be used. This whole them and us philosophy cannot help but create problems in growing a community and after all, that's exactly what is wanted.

Still, I'm a fairly new user here. I've tried to take part in the community side, left comments, downloaded a few things, submitted some of my stuff and yet I feel like a leecher. I've gone out of my way to find out more about this site and I think if that is my impression, then what on earth would the impression be of someone who hadn't even tried to get involved yet? Perhaps they might be thinking they are the dirty unwanted leechers too. Hardly an atmosphere that encourages participation or the handing over of money.
Reply #48 from WinCustomize Forums Top
My applause to WC for recognizing that giving so much free stuff to non subscribers is not the way to go. The more you give the more they take. The $19.95 subscription fee is well worth it. You get your moneys worth and then some. Anyone who says they can't afford it should consider giving up a few six packs of beer and that Domino's pizza, or whatever un needed luxury they indulge in. Then you can afford it. It is very little to spend in light of all the benefits. I am very glad as a member of this site that all the free loading is coming to an end. Any of you that are still not convinced to support the site can find many others that are free. Just keep in mind that it won't offer anything close to what this site does. This new plan for the site also makes those of us who have paid our dues feel more appreciated. Thanks for a great site and the great content that is made available to us through it.
Reply #49 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hardly an atmosphere that encourages participation or the handing over of money.


If the skins and themes are not enough incentive, then I don't know what is. Members are not buying friendships or atmosphere, members are helping to pay for the bandwidth it takes to download all the wonderful work that all the skinners work so hard to create for the enjoyment of others. Without the members, non memebers would not have a site to come to. And since so many people have been free loading, we the members are in danger of not having a site to come to either. The bandwidth used by non members is outweighing the amount of money collected from members. The friendships that develop here are just icing on the cake. This is after all, a skinning site.
Reply #50 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If the skins and themes are not enough incentive, then I don't know what is.


You missed my point completely. I'm actually in agreement with you, the bandwidth nightmare has to be resolved but my point was that if you were the type of person that was here just to download and were already getting everything you wanted for free, why on earth would you subscribe?

Members are not buying friendships or atmosphere, members are helping to pay for the bandwidth


I beg to differ. I would wager the biggest reason people subscribe to this site is based purely on the respect they have for the skinners. The overwhelming creativity here is intoxicating for other creative people. If that isn't atmosphere, I don't know what is.

And since so many people have been free loading, we the members are in danger of not having a site to come to either.


The royal we? I'll say no more.