As just about everyone knows, YouTube is one of the most popular websites on the Internet. Although there can only be one YouTube, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of space for similar video sharing websites. As more and more people gain access to faster Internet connections, the popularity of online video will continue to grow. Therefore, if you have an idea for your own video sharing website, there has never been a better time than now to get it up and running.
One of the best things about launching a video sharing website is that you can do so without spending a lot of time on the technical side of things. Thanks to all of the free YouTube clone scripts that are available, you can have your own video sharing website up in a short amount of time, and then spend the majority of your time focusing on more important tasks, such as marketing and attracting visitors.
To get you started in the right direction, I’ve gone through a huge list of the free YouTube clone scripts that are available, and narrowed that list down to what I feel are the top five options:
1) ClipBucket: The reason that ClipBucket is at the top of the list is because it is absolutely packed with features. Although I could spend all day talking about the features this script offers, some of the features that really stood out to me are its SEO friendly URLs, the built-in social networking features, its easy to customize CSS and its flashuploader interface. Best of all, the ClipBucket creator and community are quite active, so new items such as tutorials and plugins are released on a regular basis.
2) PHPmotion: The main feature that landed PHPmotion at the number two spot on this list is its full support for MP3 audio (and the fact that this option can also be disabled). Additionally, the sheer popularity of this script provided a persuasive reason for putting it at number two (this free script has already been downloaded by over one hundred thousand people).
3) VidiScript: If you are looking to aggressively monetize your video sharing website, this may be the script for you. The reason that I say this is because VidiScript gives you the opportunity to sell pre-roll and post-roll ads, which can be a really effective way to increase the income that your video sharing website generates.
4) Video Site Builder: This free script is all about creating niche video sharing websites that will generate traffic from search engines. If you are planning on launching a group of smaller video sharing websites, this is probably the script that you will want to seriously consider using for your group of projects.
5) Seyret Video: If you are using or want to use Joomla in conjunction with your video sharing website, this free Joomla extension makes it very easy for you to do that. Simply download this extension and add it to your Joomla installation, and you will be able to get your own video sharing setup in a short amount of time. Best of all, both Joomla and this extension are absolutely free!