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I was just wondering if the programming language or database you use has any effect on selling your site to another company? I mean is it easier to sell PHP site than other language? How about database type? If I was using Redis instead of MySQL, would that make any difference?

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On auction? You mean as in selling a product through some sort of online (bidding?) systems, much like you have for web/layout designers can with their designs? – Htbaa Feb 22 '11 at 14:43
I took the word out. It was just distracting. – user17983 Feb 22 '11 at 14:47
What do you mean by selling? Marketing, or like Htbaa asks, selling it as a product, or maybe as a code base to someone else. – Ozz Feb 22 '11 at 14:50
Selling the whole site to another company. – user17983 Feb 22 '11 at 15:14

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I think its a consideration, but a secondary one. If the site is valuable enough to the customer, then they will buy it regardless of the technology used. That said, unless you plan on supporting that site into perpetuity, it is probably a good idea to use a more commonly used web programming language, like PHP, Python, or Ruby. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for the purchasing company to find programmers to maintain that site after you're gone.

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up vote 1 down vote

I guess it would depend on who you're selling it to. Clients, especially ones with little technical expertise, can be prone to trendy buzz words as everyone else. I once had a client who wanted an ERP for his smallish company and wanted the back end to be Oracle, because a little bird told him that Oracle was "the best". Fortunately, one look at the licensing fees shut him up :D

Another, more legitimate, factor is if the client wants to staff the website from his own team. Having a website that runs the same technology that his team is familiar with would be a plus in his view. That being said, if the web site's perceived value trumps whatever additional cost the client would need to invest, then chances are good that the underlying technology wouldn't matter so much.

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+1 It may not be THE deciding factor, but it's a factor. A company that's in love with Ruby and fully staffed with Ruby developers will value a Ruby-driven site more highly than a Microsoft shop that lives and dies by ASP.NET. That said, it shouldn't affect your decision when creating the site, because you're going to use the technology YOU like the most (for the task)... – grossvogel Feb 22 '11 at 19:17
up vote 0 down vote

No. The only thing that will matter is the number of visitors\ users.

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Not necessarily true. If the site is coded in C++ it would definitely be helpful to know that and it may discourage some from bidding/buying as the buyer may not know C++ (but may know PHP, for instance) – Jetti Feb 22 '11 at 15:08
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If the buyer is concerned about the technology, the site has no value and\or buyer has no money. – Morons Feb 22 '11 at 15:11
@Jetti I am not taking about extreme case where coding the site in C or assembly. Just common web programming languages such as PHP, Python, Ruby,... – user17983 Feb 22 '11 at 15:17
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@Cory: Even then, it might matter. – FrustratedWithFormsDesigner Feb 22 '11 at 16:35

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