Name of your website?AutoRegister
Your name?
Michael Beeney
Your Location (city, etc)
Newtownabbey
Please give us a short summary of your website?
We provide an opportunity for classic car owners to showcase their vehicles and act as a contact point for classic vehicle clubs. All pages are free and easy to update.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
There is a need in Northern Ireland to provide some information on the classic vehicle scene and I want to be able to support and contribute something to the clubs. A lot of care goes into owning and maintaining a classic vehicle, which along with the stories about each vehicle, should make the classic scene worth supporting.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is the first website which launched in 2007. We're currently upgrading the site which should be completed in June 2008. This involves a new design for the front end and some new features such as a forum.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Difficult to find a suitable name - I wanted the site to include all types of classic vehicles from cars and scooters to military vehicles and buses. 'Auto' seemed a better name than 'car' or 'classic'. The site will hopefully include all types of vehicles and their owners so 'Register' really reflects the idea of a database or directory. AutoRegister is basically a directory of vehicles and clubs.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
We work with the clubs and hope to offer services which will strengthen the club network in Northern Ireland. We will list all types of vehicles and will focus on the joy of owning a classic vehicle.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I'd like to see what the site can achieve and how large it can grow. It will be interesting if we can add some of the rarer vintages and educate people about our automotive history. Long term I can see the site building steadily but it will remain as a going concern.
We hope to grow beyond Northern Ireland and would be interested in hearing from and classic or vintage club anywhewre in the world.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
It is a new site so I can't answer that yet - hopefully it will give a reasonable return on investment but I'm learning a lot about cars and their manufacturers.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I wouldn't spend an unlimited amount of money on the site. The site is build using Ruby on Rails which allows for development in stages and new features will be introduced as the site grows. I probably would have combined the first and second builds but the beta teat period was useful to see how users would respond to the site. I'd probably put the budget into promoting the site.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
The site is designed to be scalable but I want to add more features to keep users coming back on a regular basis. The site will actually work better with more content so I'm ready to deal with a larger site.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
The main headache is trying to find the right approach to get car owners interested in adding their vehicles but this is the same problem most site owners experience with a new website.
What has been your biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge is trying to make the website relevant to its users. Classic vehicle clubs have survived for a long time without requiring websites so it can be difficult for them to see the benefits of being online.
Another challenge is putting together the various data sets I need - for example, I can't find a full list of military vehicles which are in private ownership or a full list of classic motorbikes as some of the more obscure manufactures don't usually appear in most histories.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I visit clubs to give talks on the website and how it can benefit them. I need to refine this approach and develop some interesting talks about vehicles rather than specifically on the website.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I thought that I'd build a good website and then spend my time working on adding content - the feedback from users shows that there are lots of small tweaks which will make the website better and improve the users experience.
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?
The site has been in existence for 6 to 8 months already but will be ready for a proper launch once the next upgrade is complete. I would intend to run the site for 3 to 5 years if it doesn't become successful as a lot of people have added their cars and I owe it to them to keep their work online.
What have you learnt from the experience of developing AutoRegister?
Personally, I've discovered an interest in the history of classic vehicles and want to get involved in the club scene as a member.
On the development side I've learned more about the features required on a website build around a particular group of people with different expectations rather than a single company or client.
What is your website address?
AutoRegister
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