How to Sell a Website in Ukraine and Abroad: Step-by-Step Guide

• What Affects the Value of a Website
• How to Prepare a Website for Sale
• Where to Sell a Website: Best Platforms in Ukraine and Worldwide
  • Madbid — A Platform for Secure Online Business Sales in Ukraine
  • Flippa — The Most Well-Known International Platform for Website Sales
  • Empire Flippers — International Platform for Website Sales with Professional Support
• How to close a deal: safe website transfer

Personal blogs, informational web resources, forums, and marketplaces can generate decent income from contextual and banner advertising, paid article placements and backlinks, as well as the sale of goods and services. However, even a profitable project sometimes needs to be sold, for example, due to a change in interests or a need for funds. This process is quite complex, so we have prepared a step-by-step guide on how to sell a website and where it is best to do so. It is suitable for those who have either a Ukrainian-language or English-language online business.

What Affects the Value of a Website

Despite the rapid development of artificial intelligence and ongoing talks about the death of SEO, dozens of informational platforms are bought and sold daily on private online business marketplaces. Sometimes, you can find internet projects that generate almost no income, yet they are purchased for hundreds of dollars.

This situation is explained by a combination of factors that influence the value of a website:

• Traffic. It's not just about the monthly number of visitors and page views but also a deeper analysis of users. This includes the number of page views per person, average engagement time, bounce rate, and the main countries of visitors. Traffic sources significantly impact the value of a web resource: organic traffic (from search engines) is highly valued, as it indicates good optimization and strong potential for attracting new users.
• Revenue. Websites are typically sold for 20–40 times their monthly income. For example, if a project brings in $200 per month, a realistic price would be between $4 000 and $8 000. However, income sources must also be considered: Google AdSense contextual advertising and affiliate programs are the most valued. If you're not using all monetization options, you should include information about potential income in the description.
• Expenses. The optimal range is $50–100 per month. This amount usually covers web hosting and domain name registration, theme and plugin costs, content creation and publishing, and sometimes paid promotion methods.
• Niche. Popular commercial topics include finance, health, lifestyle, travel, education, and technology.
• Age. The older the site, the higher the chances of selling it profitably. New websites under 1 year old are rarely purchased, even if they have traffic.
• Technical condition. Buyers are looking for a website that not only generates income right now but also doesn’t require thousands of dollars to fix technical issues. Therefore, before selling, you should analyze the web resource and resolve all problems, including duplicate pages, low loading speed, poor mobile responsiveness, lack of HTTPS, and similar issues.
• Content. The content must be unique, properly optimized, and free from keyword stuffing. With the rise of artificial intelligence, the presence of original author-written articles without the use of AI is becoming increasingly important.

For a quick website valuation, you can use appropriate tools such as Empire Flippers’ Valuation Tool, Flippa's Free Valuation Tool, Siteprice.org, and SiteWorthTraffic. Unfortunately, there are no Ukrainian tools, but international platforms help provide approximate data.

Read also: How to Recognize AI-Generated Text — Tips for Editors and Content Creators

How to Prepare a Website for Sale

Online projects listed for sale are often poorly optimized, which is why the initial value of the website is lower than expected. By spending some time improving the web resource, you can significantly increase its price.

Before selling a website, we recommend the following:

• Technical optimization. Start by conducting a technical audit of the online project using popular tools like Google Webmaster Tools, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, and Sitechecker.pro. Then eliminate the identified issues, the most common being broken links, duplicate pages, incorrect configuration of robots.txt, and the XML sitemap.
• Speed optimization. Slow websites repel users and, accordingly, potential buyers. You can check page loading speed using the free PageSpeed Insights service: after the test, it displays metrics for mobile and desktop versions, problems, and their descriptions with suggestions.
• SEO audit. Web resources with predominantly search traffic are most valued by buyers. To improve On-Page SEO, check for relevant titles, descriptions, alt tags, an optimal number of keywords, a logical URL structure, and well-organized internal linking to distribute “weight” among pages. To improve Off-Page SEO, increase the number of quality backlinks and ensure there are no spammy links.
• Content analysis. Interesting, well-optimized texts can bring traffic to the new website owner for years. Before the sale, check the uniqueness, relevance, and informational value of the content. It’s useful to prepare a content strategy so that the buyer knows the target audience, popular content types, and publishing frequency.
• Test new promotion methods. One of the most common traffic sources is organic search, but we recommend trying other ways to attract users. For example, create social media pages or try writing guest posts to increase referral traffic.
• Try new monetization models. Many website owners focus on a single earning method, but it's important to demonstrate the full potential of the project to future buyers. If you prefer display advertising (Google Adsense), test affiliate programs, direct brand collaborations, paid content access, donations, or sponsored posts with links a few weeks before the sale.

After taking steps to increase the website’s value, prepare all materials for the buyer. Create technical documentation, including a description of the online project’s structure and instructions for managing the web resource. Ensure analytics are properly set up and displayed (Google Analytics is commonly used). If the website generates income (Google Adsense, affiliate programs, direct sales), be sure to prepare financial reports for the past 6–12 months. Along with income sources, include expense reports so the buyer can see the project’s profitability.

Read also: Bounce Rate on a Website — How to Analyze and Reduce It

Where to Sell a Website: Best Platforms in Ukraine and Worldwide

Finding a place to sell a website is harder than it seems. While there are forums, Telegram channels, and social media groups, they usually offer no guarantees, so the sale of an online project often requires a protected money transfer or the signing of a purchase agreement.

Therefore, the best option is to use an escrow service — specialized platforms that act as intermediaries during the transaction. Both parties register on the marketplace, the buyer funds their account, then the seller transfers the project to the buyer. At the end of the transaction, the escrow service sends the money to the seller.

Sometimes, these two website sale methods are combined: a buyer is found on a forum, messenger, or social network, and the transaction is formalized through an escrow service. There are even cases where freelance platforms act as the escrow, with the buyer registering as the client and the seller as the contractor. Then, a project is created, the ownership is transferred, and the payment is securely processed.

Which website selling method should you choose? We still recommend buying and selling through specialized marketplaces — let's now talk about the best ones.

Madbid — A Platform for Secure Online Business Sales in Ukraine

Madbid is a Ukrainian platform for buying and selling domains and various types of internet projects, including websites, YouTube, Telegram, and TikTok channels. It functions as an escrow service, providing protection for both parties in the transaction.

To use the platform, you only need to complete a quick registration by providing a Telegram link, email, and password. After confirming your email, you’ll gain access to your personal account.

By clicking “Create new listing”, you’ll be taken to a page where you can add information about your online business.

After entering the data, click “Save and publish”. Madbid will verify the accuracy of the provided information, after which the search for buyers will begin. Once a buyer is found, you’ll proceed with negotiations, transfer the web resource, and receive the funds, which the buyer transfers to the escrow service in advance. The platform charges only a 3.5% fee for its services, which is one of the lowest commissions.

Flippa — The Most Well-Known International Platform for Website Sales

Flippa is a platform for selling digital assets and online businesses, including services, online stores, informational web resources, blogs, forums, plugins, domains, and more. It allows sellers to provide buyers with maximum information about the project: title, description, screenshots, analytics and monetization tools. It’s ideal for selling English-language websites.

To sell a website on Flippa, you need to register using your email and password or a Google account. After creating an account, you’ll be redirected to the homepage, where you need to click Sell Now and enter the web resource’s address.

Next, select the type of online business. Each option includes examples, which significantly simplifies the selection. However, if you need help, click the message icon, ask a question to the chatbot, and get an instant answer.

In the next step, describe your online project: name, date of creation, country, industry, website type, and average income over the past 12 months in dollars.

Then choose one or more monetization methods.

After that, you’ll need to provide more details about the online project. The process is divided into several stages, including integration with Google Analytics and Google Adsense, finances, marketing, detailed description, pricing, and more.

After creating the listing, the system may verify the provided information to increase buyer trust. Then the project will appear in the catalog, and your task will be to negotiate with potential buyers, answer questions, and discuss the terms of sale. Once an agreement is reached, the buyer will make the payment through Flippa’s payment system (the platform can act as an escrow, holding the funds until the transfer of the online business is complete). After confirming the transfer, the funds are sent to the seller minus the commission.

Flippa offers access to millions of potential buyers worldwide, tools for website valuation and expert consultations, the ability to view sales history and reviews. But it does not support free listings: the starter package costs $29 for 60 days, the enhanced package with wider reach — $49 for 3 months, and the premium package with better marketing — $199 for 6 months. Additionally, a commission is charged upon a successful sale: 10% of the deal amount up to $50 000, 7.5% from $50 001 to $100 000, 5% from $100 001 to $250 000, and so on.

Empire Flippers — International Platform for Website Sales with Professional Support

Empire Flippers is one of the most well-known brokers for buying and selling profitable online businesses. At the time of writing, the platform has facilitated the sale of digital projects totaling over $530 million. These results were made possible thanks to the high level of trust from buyers, as the platform performs a thorough screening and verification of businesses before listing them. Sellers also receive professional support throughout the entire deal process, including help with website migration.

To sell a website on Empire Flippers, go to the homepage and click Get Started. Then, create an account using Google or your email address. On the next page, choose Sell My Business or Valuate My Business.

Let’s go straight to the sale process. First, submit a listing request by providing monetization methods, the date the site was created and when it first generated income, annual net profit, whether Google Analytics is connected, and a brief description of your online project.

The next page will display the stages of verification and the necessary steps for listing the business.

You’ll also receive an email with the same instructions.

You’ll also receive an email granting you access to an editable spreadsheet. This document is based on the date your site was created and when it started earning income.

To proceed with listing your website for sale, go to your dashboard, navigate to Selling → Listing Submissions. Once all conditions are fulfilled, the platform's team will review your request and make a decision. If approved, the business will appear in the catalog, and once a buyer is found, the deal is executed and the website is transferred to the new owner with the help of the Empire Flippers team.

The company requests that your online project be listed exclusively on their platform for at least the first two months. This gives them sufficient time to find potential buyers, review offers, and negotiate on your behalf. There are no upfront listing fees — the model is simple: if you don’t sell, you don’t pay anything. If the project sells for up to $700 000, you pay a 15% success fee; for $700 000 to $5 million — 8%; and for sales over $5 million — up to 2.5%. Considering access to serious investors, thorough buyer vetting, and full transaction support, the commission is quite reasonable.

Read also: Where to Start a Digital Products Business in 2025: 10 Popular Products

How to close a deal: safe website transfer

We have prepared the site for sale, calculated its exact value, listed it on a marketplace, and found a buyer. Now the main task is to safely and correctly transfer the online project so as not to ruin the deal.

First, let’s look at the transfer process on the Madbid exchange:

1. Agreement of terms. You discuss the price, assets, and transfer deadlines with the buyer.
2. Funds transferred to escrow. The buyer transfers the money to the escrow, i.e., replenishes the balance on the exchange.
3. Transfer of assets. You have already discussed the elements of the agreement, which usually include the domain, site, related resources (email, Google Analytics, social media accounts, and the like), and, if necessary, a database file or an archive of the web resource.
4. Confirmation of transfer. The buyer checks and confirms that the assets have been received and everything is working.
5. Completion of the deal. You receive confirmation of the deal’s completion and the amount of money minus the exchange's commission.

The sale of a site on Flippa is similar to Madbid, but it has several important differences for Ukrainians. Let’s look at the step-by-step process of transferring an online business through Flippa with these differences in mind:

1. Communication with buyers. Negotiations take place in the platform’s internal chat.
2. Deal conclusion. When you find someone willing to buy the site and discuss the terms, the system creates a deal, after which the buyer proceeds to the payment stage.
3. Money transfer. Flippa is integrated with Escrow.com, where the buyer transfers the money. And here’s an important point: users from Ukraine can register, but to receive payments, they need to provide a bank account in one of the supported countries.
4. Transfer of assets. While Escrow holds the buyer’s funds, you need to transfer the online project, including the domain, site, accounts, and other components of the deal. Flippa even has a checklist to help you not forget anything.
5. Confirmation of transfer. The buyer checks that the business has been fully transferred and is working, after which Escrow.com unlocks the payment and you receive the money.

Although Madbid, Flippa, and Empire Flippers provide access to millions of potential buyers and professional support, it’s not necessary to sell a site through a marketplace. You can find interested buyers via forums or social networks and then offer a safe website transfer through Escrow.com.

If you are selling an online project in Ukraine, there is a reliable and convenient alternative — UAPAY Escrow. You agree on the terms of the deal, the buyer makes the payment to a conditional UAPAY Escrow account, and the funds are reserved. When you transfer all assets to the buyer, they conduct a check and confirm it in the system, after which the funds are transferred to your account, from where you can withdraw them, for example, to a bank card.

Now you have a step-by-step guide with a description of the best Ukrainian and international platforms, which greatly simplifies the process of selling a site. Over time, you’ll get used to the process, start finding buyers faster, and close and conduct secure deals. You can even turn this into a business: create or buy websites, build up traffic, enable monetization, earn money, and after 6–12 months — sell the projects. But help may always be needed, so we recommend saving this article and returning to it when needed.

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