How would you tackle this problem

[Schopenbauer]

There is this very popular website "exampleSite" with a couple of million visitors each month and that has an affiliate program. What I want to do is take this website, put a "layer" on top of it that offers extra functionality and links to the real website (for affiliate purposes). So when you go to "exampleSite-with-layer-on-top" you see an exact real-time copy of "exampleSite" (with all functionality that you have on the real website), but there are some extra banners and and buttons that I added. When you click on a product on the website, you don't follow the original link to the product but the affiliate link.

I could copy the whole website (probably illegal) and place it in my website but this means that if something changes in "exampleSite", this doesn't get reflected in my website. So if their website add a new product, my website adds some kind of functionality to that new information, but for the rest everything remains the same.

So I need some kind of "viewing window" functionality, but still be able to alter their website. Or to put it even simpler: I want to alter their website and show it on my website, but still be able to get real-time updates.

I know this is kind of confusing but I hope you understand what I mean. I'm a computer science graduate but my knowledge of web design is quite basic (drupal etc, little bit of php/javascript). I don't need to know exactly how to do this but maybe some general directions would be nice

Thanks!

(btw, is this legal? For affiliate purposes?)

 

[IamNRE]

just tell the people that you send through your link... to contact you after they have purchased through your aff. link and you will give them a free bonus worth $xxx.

 

[srb888]

Such deception and duplication can only be illegal. They can sue you IMO. Out of their few million visitors, even if a handful complain to them about your site, then you'd be in big trouble.

 

[jazzc]

You can create a script that scrapes/duplicates the target site and have it update every day.

 

[travisle]

You could iframe the site and put it in your site. Then you could add banners or whatever to your site, while they are still viewing their site in your site. I think that is the best you can do. But you still wouldn't be changing their site with your aff links.

Your other option to try to get affiliate commissions would be to find a way to install your affiliate cookie first, before they use the other website.

Hope this helps

 

[Schopenbauer]

You can create a script that scrapes/duplicates the target site and have it update every day.

Wouldn't you need a lot of webspace for it? Lets say for example amazon (though the site i have in mind is smaller), would that website fit on a goDaddy domain of 10GB?

 

[Schopenbauer]

Such deception and duplication can only be illegal. They can sue you IMO. Out of their few million visitors, even if a handful complain to them about your site, then you'd be in big trouble.

If they earn money through my website I don't think they have much to complain about. The only problem I could encounter is that they duplicate my functionality and place it on their website. In that case I would be screwed.

 

[jazzc]

Wouldn't you need a lot of webspace for it?

Yes, it would if you are scraping a big site.