The elements of a successful paysite are many, and to list them all here would be nearly impossible.

What I am attempting to do here is provide you with as detailed a process as possible, without going overboard. I will give you information about designing the tour effectively, as well as a few minor tip on setting up your members area.

First things first. The tour is probably the most important element, since it is the biggest tool you have in generating signups. It must be attractive, appealing, alluring and awesome! The four A's. It must be attractive because a surfer will back out of an ugly paysite without a second thought. If your tour is poorly designed, surfers will automatically assume that the rest of the site is, too. It must be appealing because it must give the surfer a reason to sign up. It must appeal to all their senses and let them know that your site is the one to join! It must be alluring because it must titillate, it must excite, it must get the surfer hot and bothered and wanting, no, no, NEEDING more! And it must be awesome, of course!

The more awestruck a person is by the design and layout of your tour, the more impressive your graphics, the more high-quality your samples, the more highly the surfer will think of your site and its ability to deliver to him what he wants.

"You want the members area to load very quickly so that they have quick access to what they need."

In order to make your tour attractive you must use high quality images, the more high-res, the better! Remember, the higher the quality of the images on your tour is, the higher the quality the surfers will imagine your content to be. Using the very best images you have is absolutely crucial.

You need to use colors that attract attention and seem seductive. Colors like red, black, green, yellow, purple and pink work very well for most websites.

Gay and lesbian sites might like to use primary colors like the rainbow. Not only is that symbolic, but it is attractive as well. Try to use color combinations that go well together and do not clash. Ask for opinions of your color combination. You might want to avoid plain white or black backgrounds, as so many surfers have seen them that they are probably bored with them. The point is to make your site stand apart from the crowd.

The fonts should be attractive, but very easily read. Surfers, especially those looking for porn, will not strain to read. If something is not easily read they move on.

The site must be alluring. In order to accomplish this it must have a nice variety of sample picture, either on a sample thumbnail page or incorporated into the tour. It must have images related to the theme of the site, and they must be enough to excite without over-exciting. You want to tease the surfers to get them to bring out their credit cards, without making the surfer able to "get off" without paying. Alluring photos captivate and excite, without giving away the farm.

And it must be awesome. In order to inspire awe in today's market, websites must have very impressive effect such as animation, mouseovers, special effects and possibly sound. Flash is a good method for making your site stand out. Animated GIF files also work, as do sound files, buttons that change when the mouse moves over them, and other animating tricks.

The tour should consist of a warning page, and at least 2-3 tour pages. Each tour page should feature one or two specific features. Perhaps the first tour page (after the warning page) could tell how many pictures you have, what categories your pictures in, and other information about your pictures.

The second page could outline how many videos and live shows you have, what format your videos are in, what company your live shows are from and other information regarding videos and shows.

Then your last tour page would detail other features such as stories, games, chat rooms, personals... whatever other information you think might interest the surfer. Someone people do one page tours where the visitor has to scroll down a single page to read all the information, but many surfers detest scrolling. I recommend that you check your tour at 640x480 resolution and if you have to scroll more than one inch left and right, or up and down, you should redo the tour. I design most of my tour for 800x600 resolution, as it is the most common format right now.

Recent surveys and statistics have shown that over 40% of surfers use 800x600 resolution.

Once your tour is complete, you should concentrate on setting up the member's area. The members are should have one main page, which should be linked to all other members' areas. This page should have a nice graphic title, perhaps with an image included, and text (not graphic) links to categories or sections. The reason for designing the member's area with text is that you want the members area to load very quickly so that they have quick access to what they need.

The members area need not be as impressive as the tour, however it should be attractive enough to impress the surfer somewhat. It should also be very easy to read and to navigate, and should contain easy links for members to contact you for support and to cancel their memberships. Making it difficult to cancel may result in high chargeback ratios and get your merchant account or your card processing canceled.

Now you have the basics of laying out a paysite. There is no "one right way" to do it. It takes research and experimentation. Just remember to put yourself in your surfer's position. Try and offer them what you think you would want in a paysite. And don't be afraid to ask for advice when you need it!