You want to buy a website to build an online business? And you have made the sensible decision to buy an already existing website? Very good, then you are probably now busy checking websites for sale. But wait! Resist the impulse to buy the first one you see that "roughly" matches your expectations. There are some important factors to consider when you want to buy a website. Always remember: the decision you make now can affect your web project in the long run. Here we list some things you should check before buying a website:
Age of the website

Find out how long the website has been online. On the positive side, if the site has been established for a long time, it is most likely to have a certain level of awareness and traffic. On the other hand, such websites may have been developed with outdated software that is more vulnerable to hackers. Likewise, it may be slow and more error-prone. Nothing can scare off potential customers faster than a website that constantly crashes.
Website revenue

The vendor states that their website makes money - but with what exactly? You need to know ALL the revenue sources and most importantly, check the numbers.

    How much does the website bring in by selling products?
    Is advertising space sold on Google AdSense?
    Is revenue coming in from affiliate partners? Affiliates can go broke, or quit with the program.

Always choose a web project with good sales figures - the income of the website is crucial.

Another thing you should check: is the income of the website constant or does it fluctuate? If the income is not constant, is it due to seasonal fluctuations or something else?

You also need to prepare for revenue lags, so watch for trends in website revenue. Get a clear picture of how and when you will get paid!
Website costs

Every web project has costs associated with it. Find out how much has been paid so far for hosting, shopping cart software subscriptions and other licenses, for example.

What sums are spent on Google advertising or Facebook advertising? Are these regular expenses or sporadic? All these expenses must be taken into account in your calculation and decision before you can buy a website.
Website traffic

Who are the customers of the website and what do they think?

It is very important that you know the target audience of the web project. This way you can estimate how this particular demographic will change over time: Will it grow in size, stay the same or shrink? Will you need to target a different demographic in the future to increase your website traffic?

This may sound obvious, but be sure to read customer feedback. It would be a shame to buy a website that is criticized by many and to do so publicly!
A few more things to keep in mind

Take a long, hard, objective look at the website. You'll want to make some changes, of course, but how many and how long will you work on them?

If you need to do a major overhaul of the site, are you capable of doing it yourself? If yes, it will take up your precious, unprofitable time. If not, you will probably have to pay a professional to do the work.

It would be best to buy a website that requires as little modification work as possible.

Don't forget to find out about the vendor as well. The more information you can gather, the better. Does he have other websites for sale? Does he even run another similar website? Has he perhaps already had a failed business? What can you find out about his reputation?

If it seems just a little shady to you - then better stay away! You will surely find a more suitable website for sale.
Conclusion

This may seem like a lot of effort at first before you can buy a website. But the time and effort you put into finding the perfect website will pay off in the long run!