New website effort and cost

[aug14]

I have what i think is a good idea for a new website - I have the domain and hosting arranged - what i don't have is the site which i need to set up from scratch and i also don't have any previous experience in setting up a commercial web site (although I do have 10yrs in a technical field and have coded before)
What I'm interested in finding out therefor is what degree of difficulty in terms of development and design the site would be and how much you think it might cost to set it up and whether you think I would be better going with a web development company or trying to source the people to design and code online such as scriptlance.com.

Let's say for arguments sake the site is a domain that enables people to sell their old mobile phones online - similar concept to buyandsell.ie except specific to high end handsets. This is just an example to give you a picture of whats required.

The site would need to have:
a) Unique graphics and branding.
b) The possability for anyone to register the details and upload pic's of their phone, when they upload the pic's, a blog is created where any other site registered user can ask questions about the handset. The blog and advert is locked automatically after the advertiser marks the advert as sold.So to some degree the advertiser can manage their own content space.
c)the possability to accept credit card payments for hosting the handset sellers adverts.
d)possability to search/browse by alot of criteria e.g handset,location,manafacturer etc..etc..

To me, these requirements seem simple on the surface but then as I say I have zero expierience so I hoping you can tell me - on a scale of 10 what degree of difficulty would say a project like that would be and how much do you think it would it cost me if I went to a development comany?

Thanks for you advice !!

 

[php.allstar]

Hi,

If you went to a development company they would probably insist on developing a bespoke system from the ground up which could cost in the region of €3,000.

However, if you were to go for a freelancer or one of the many excellent developers with spare time on this forum (*ahem*) you could be looking at something like €1000 - €1500 for a system built on top of a CMS like Wordpress etc...

If you were to go to for the reverse auction type stuff like elance etc... you could be looking at around €500 to €1000 if you were lucky, but you tend to get what you pay for with these.

There's no harm in posting this as looking for a developer, and providing some more nitty gritty details and you get get a wave of offers and quotes from developers on this forum such as myself.

Either way, best of luck with it!

 

[link8r]

I have what i think is a good idea for a new website - I have the domain and hosting arranged - what i don't have is the site which i need to set up from scratch and i also don't have any previous experience in setting up a commercial web site (although I do have 10yrs in a technical field and have coded before)

Just to point out that developing a web business and being able to assemble a web page are different. I use this example: being able to change the oil on a car doesn't make you qualified to run trucking company. Building up a site, traffic, trust and selling online is a hugely time consuming and expensive business - you need to bear that in mind. So many people have a build-it-and-they-will-come theory to websites that just doesn't bear fruit. Before you spend any money, talk to people who trade online - and let them tell you where their traffic comes from, how much that effort costs and what % conversions they have etc.

What I'm interested in finding out therefor is what degree of difficulty in terms of development and design the site would be and how much you think it might cost to set it up and whether you think I would be better going with a web development company or trying to source the people to design and code online such as scriptlance.com

You're hiring people. There are good and there are bad. There is a difference between the technical aspects of knowledge of coding -v- knowledge of running a business/website. The two are remotely related. Just worth bearing in mind. So the technical ability is just one end of it. Look for people who have worked on a similar project. Ireland has been competing with overseas developers for a long time and having hired developers (directly and oustourced) in the past in Ireland, the UK, Eastern Europe, India, Pakistan, Ukraine etc I've found the best are in Ireland. The initial "higher" cost is quickly offset by quality, speed, professionalism and great insight. €50 per hour -v- €10 per hour may look like an obvious economic decision but it's the number of hours both parties have to put in that makes up the costs.

Most of the time its a case of this: You don't know what you don't know until you know it. There are many, many web designers/developers/seo's/online marketing people who just don't know what it is they don't know. I meet people every week who've learnt that the hard way.

To build a web business you need to be able engage with people. Ask millions of questions. Look for past business achievements - has this person used the web to sell things successfully in the same manner as you? No? Then how will they be able to help you - it'll be blind leadingthe blind.

A website that lets you pick designers and developers based on cost (as a main concept) doesn't really allow for that. It's different if you've got a few sites under your belt and you know what you need. But you need advice gained from experience too.

a) Unique graphics and branding.

I would add:

professional, clean and trustworthy. Trust is important. Trust that the time invested in visiting the site is worth it as well as making a financial position

b) The possibility for anyone to register the details and upload pic's of their phone, when they upload the pic's, a blog is created where any other site registered user can ask questions about the handset. The blog and advert is locked automatically after the advertiser marks the advert as sold.So to some degree the advertiser can manage their own content space.

I think you might mean thread -v- creating a whole blog?

c)the possibility to accept credit card payments for hosting the handset sellers adverts.

This can be quite straightforward, you can use Realex, PayPal, WordPay etc. Most of the gateway end is managed by the gateway company, so there is actually very little to do and the samples given by these companies only requires a small bit of editing, if any.

d)possibility to search/browse by alot of criteria e.g handset,location,manafacturer etc..etc..

Should be quite easy to do

To me, these requirements seem simple on the surface but then as I say I have zero expierience so I hoping you can tell me - on a scale of 10 what degree of difficulty would say a project like that would be and how much do you think it would it cost me if I went to a development comany?

I think the development needs to have the right background. Here is the things you've ommitted that you'll also need (some are quite trivial [easy] but important - deonted by [(v)]):

• Google Analytics and Goals (v)
• A dynamic sitemap (v)
• tracking of the keywords used in your search page
• a content management system
• a support mico-site - think trouble tickets, FAQ
• URL Mod rewrites
• Bank Merchant account - talk to a bank, not a designer!
• Keyword research - use tools like Google Insights, AdWords etc - important for picking a domain(s)
• Blog software (potentially)

While there are many off-shelf systems that can be setup - blogs, shopping carts systems - once your site is trading you may find them limiting if you pick the wrong one. What you will want to know is why do people visit pages x,y,z but don't make a sale or a 100 others - then you might appreciate why the cheapest solution isn't the most efficient solution.

If you are worried about spending €1,500 or €3,000 - then you're going to miss the whole point. It isn't feasible to setup a business for €3k. You couldn't become a taxi driver to €3k, you're not going to setup a successful online store for that either - I'm including marketing.

No doubt someone will point out you can do it for free if you teach yourself. You may save at the outset but you won't learn overnight. And that is part of the cost.

Marketing would have to be a real concern for ANY web business as much as it is for any business.