educational

So, You Want to Build A Porn Site...

Looking for riches in Cyberspace? Nothing sells quite like Sex, right? But what kind of a person does it take to be a "porn monger" ~ the answer just might surprise you!

So, you've decided that you'd like to own a porn site (or you're curious enough about what's involved in doing so that you're reading this article)? Well, you're not alone. While hard numbers are difficult to nail down, an "educated" guess would be that at least 50,000 "Webmasters" are trying to make a buck from the adult web. While I doubt that they are all "active" in the industry (meaning currently building, maintaining, and promoting their site), the fact remains that for a great many people, the alluring prospect of profiting from the multi-billion dollar online adult entertainment industry holds vast appeal.

What is it about the "porn biz" that is so attractive to people? While the possibilities of earning money beyond your wildest dreams, plus the freedom of staying home and working for yourself, with endless hours spent enjoying beautiful women (and men) no doubt accounts for much of the interest, it doesn't account for ALL of it. Sure, the bursting of the "dot com" bubble has left many newly unemployed and highly skilled web-savvy workers (and quite a few "dot coms" as well) scrambling for new opportunities, but that doesn't explain everyone's motivations. The real answers to this question are as numerous as the individuals who venture down this road.

I won't use this article as a platform for expounding on the "morality" of pornography, or on the hypocrisy of those many millions of consumers who publicly deny their patronage (and in some cases attempt to legislate against the very commodity that gives them so much pleasure behind closed doors). I will instead tell you about some of the people who devote considerable energy to this amazing business (or hobby for those less profit-minded folks).

The People Who Make "Porno on the Internet"

From college co-eds who realize they can earn more money by running an amateur Web Cam than from being a waitress, to computer hobbyists (and professionals) seeking extra income, to those who want to have a career in adult entertainment; the people involved in this industry represent a broad cross section of modern society.

In this business I've met students and retirees, attorneys, accountants, bankers, and bums. Single mothers who want to work from home so they can care for their children, and "disabled" individuals who are unable to function in a more traditional work environment. White collar, blue collar, or no collar; this industry attracts every type of person - and personality...

Some folks believe the wild "Get Rich Quick" hype and enter this business expecting overnight success and its accompanying wealth - only to become quickly disappointed by rapid failures. Others, like myself, are in this business because of the unlimited opportunity it presents and the freedom that it offers. We all have our reasons; we all have our dreams. The challenge before us is to transform our dreams into reality. All it takes is knowledge, effort, faith, and persistence...

Despite the diversity of those individuals taking part in this industry, we share one common trait: we were all newbies once upon a time. For those of you who are SO new to our business that you don't even know what a newbie is, a "newbie" is "someone who is new to this." If you needed that explanation, then you are definitely a newbie!

Because of the dynamic nature of the adult Internet and its ever-changing technologies, we are all newbies in a sense; some are more advanced than others, but all of us need to continue our education in order to succeed in a very competitive environment. If you have never built a successful web site before, and even if you have, you are bound to learn something new and useful from the information appearing here at XBiz.com.

As for me, besides being Editor in Chief of XBiz.com and a frequent writer and lecturer on the Adult Internet, I'm a conservative Republican - a real live supporter of Pat Buchannan - and a deeply spiritual person with Christian fundamentalist beliefs. I'm also a porn monger who truly appreciates beautiful women. You see; there ARE all kinds of folks in this industry…

So now you know who the people in this business really are, and some of the reasons why they have chosen to pursue this hot vocation. If you have your own reasons for wanting to participate, and believe that there's a place in this growing multi-billion dollar industry for you, then welcome aboard! If all that remains is for you to figure out how you too can make a decent living at all of this - then you're in the right place! Stay tuned…

Copyright © 2026 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

Outlook 2026: Industry Execs Weigh In on Strategy, Monetization and Risk

The adult industry enters 2026 at a moment of concentrated change. Over the past year, the sector’s evolution has accelerated. Creators have become full-scale businesses, managing branding, compliance, distribution and community under intensifying competition. Studios and platforms are refining production and business models in response to pressures ranging from regulatory mandates to shifting consumer preferences.

Jackie Backman ·
opinion

How Platforms Can Tap AI to Moderate Content at Scale

Every day, billions of posts, images and videos are uploaded to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. As social media has grown, so has the amount of content that must be reviewed — including hate speech, misinformation, deepfakes, violent material and coordinated manipulation campaigns.

Christoph Hermes ·
opinion

What DSA and GDPR Enforcement Means for Adult Platforms

Adult platforms have never been more visible to regulators than they are right now. For years, the industry operated in a gray zone: enormous traffic, massive data volume and minimal oversight. Those days are over.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

Making the Case for Network Tokens in Recurring Billing

A declined transaction isn’t just a technical error; it’s lost revenue you fought hard to earn. But here’s some good news for adult merchants: The same technology that helps the world’s largest subscription services smoothly process millions of monthly subscriptions is now available to you as well.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

Navigating Age Verification Laws Without Disrupting Revenue

With age verification laws now firmly in place across multiple markets, merchants are asking practical questions: How is this affecting traffic? What happens during onboarding? Which approaches are proving workable in real payment flows?

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

How Adult Businesses Can Navigate Global Compliance Demands

The internet has made the world feel small. Case in point: Adult websites based in the U.S. are now getting letters from regulators demanding compliance with foreign laws, even if they don’t operate in those countries. Meanwhile, some U.S. website operators dealing with the patchwork of state-level age verification laws have considered incorporating offshore in the hopes of avoiding these new obligations — but even operators with no physical presence in the U.S. have been sued or threatened with claims for not following state AV laws.

Larry Walters ·
opinion

Top Tips for Bulletproof Creator Management Contracts

The creator management business is booming. Every week, it seems, a new agency emerges, promising to turn creators into stars, automate their fan interactions or triple their revenue through “secret” social strategies. The reality? Many of these agencies are operating with contracts that wouldn’t survive a single serious dispute — if they even have contracts at all.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

Building Sustainable Revenue Without Opt-Out Cross-Sales

Over the past year, we’ve seen growing pushback from acquirers on merchants using opt-out cross-sales — also known as negative option offers. This has been especially noticeable in the U.S. In fact, one of our acquirers now declines new merchants during onboarding if an opt-out flow is detected. Existing merchants submitting new URLs with opt-out cross-sales are being asked to remove them.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

How to Handle Payment Disputes Without Sacrificing Trust

You can run the best-managed and most compliant website out there, but that still doesn’t completely shield you from the risks tied to payment disputes. Buyer’s remorse, an unclear billing description or even a simple misunderstanding can lead a customer to dispute a transaction. Accumulate enough disputes, and both your reputation and revenue could be at risk.

Jonathan Corona ·
profile

WIA Profile: Taylor Moore

With a 70-person team and a growing slate of tools for content creators, the Teasy Agency has developed a reputation for putting talent first. That commitment owes a lot to co-founder Taylor Moore’s own experiences as a cam model.

Jackie Backman ·
Show More