Website Cost

[Not Bman]

I have received an email about getting a website updated.

I stated I am mainly a graphic design but do web design as well.

I have no professional experience/schooling for web design.

How much should I charge? (canadian)

 

[kcnychief]

$5 a day?



Do you have any experience or a portfolio to show for your web design? Would be easier to charge a higher premium if you did. Else they may just be shopping for a quote and assume you will be cheaper because you haven't done much of it. Go too high and they will be scared away. It's safe to recommend seeing how many hours you think it would take you, this helps justify the quote you come up with if needed.

 

[Not Bman]

I do not have a portfolio for web design, that was my point. I do have one for graphic design and they have checked it out. I just have started web design as well, since I know it, just not my main career choice.

I will research a bit more, and give a quote probably around that. It's hard cause i have seen price go up and past 1000 and yea.

 

[kcnychief]

Well what I was saying is though you can't just pick a number out of thin air - be prepared to justify it and prove how you came up with it. Not just "I've seen other people charge this" - at least from my experience I have had to justify.

Good luck.

 

[mfarley]

Quote what you think is a fair price, and since you don't have a portfolio be sure it's on the lower end to get the contract and consider this a great opportunity to start your portfolio. =)

 

[Not Bman]

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to think about that. I will also let you guys know how it goes.

 

[madmatt]

As mfarley said, GET A CONTRACT. Detail everything and get it signed.

 

[Not Bman]

I just got it all signed out and finished deal. I fully stated I was no professional web designer and all that good stuff. Now onto a question.

He previously used http://cutephp.com/ (cutenews) as his source for updated his website, like a blog. Has anyone ever used this before? How easy is it to build a website around it, or should I insist on him using drupal or wordpress?

I normally design in photoshop as image, then move over to fireworks and edit it there, then move over to dreamweaver. If I design that way, what is the easiest content management system to use.

This is the original website, http://www.hockey-wire.com/

I need to put all that content into a new design, I have never worked around a content management system before. Anything will help me out.

*EDIT

come on guys.....i need help with this lol..........anyone used cutenews before?

Thanks.

 

[mfarley]

First off get everything in writing! After the quote, I start out with a proposal where I give a detailed description of the project and then layout the phases with a description for each. After that is agreed upon, contract time. You must have a contract, trust me. Payment amounts, payment schedule, etc.

With that said...
I would move to a more standard based CMS if possible, wordpress maybe since the current format appears to be a blog like setup. If not, Joomla is more comprehensive and flexible.

It doesn't make sense to have two columns (one appearing to be a sidebar) with the same type of content. IF that stuff needs to be there, truncate it. Instead of the full story, it should be a teaser with 'read more...' after it. Visitors will take more time reading more stories this way. Also 580 comments looks nice, but it's ALL spam! Implement askimet if you're going to go with Wordpress.

 

[Not Bman]

Alright, if I am going to go with wordpress, how do I build the website around that.

Does it cost money to use wordpress?

 

[mfarley]

It doesn't cost money to use but you will need to learn the anatomy of themes in wordpress.

Best option is if you have a host install Wordpress--easy install and begin playing with it. I would then remove it and re-install a clean copy to begin creating the site.

All that aside, before you even set on a CMS you better be sure you're able to transfer all the posts/data from one CMS to the other (doing it manually would take a long time).

 

[Not Bman]

Alright, well this is the design (as image in photoshop) so far..

i was reading the anatomy of themes in wordpress but it's WOW lol

He does not want it to look like a blog, just a site.

Is it going to be easy, do you think I can play with an already made theme and just add certain images and details from this into that?

I need to play with wordpress, know any free hosts..?

 

[madmatt]

You need to make the footer text smaller. It shouldn't stand out like it does.

 

[Not Bman]

You need to make the footer text smaller. It shouldn't stand out like it does.

I will worry about that once I can start designing around wordpress or what not? I need to know if i can really do that.

Any free web hosts, I need to play around with wordpress.


Let me ask this......he wants something similar to this http://espn.go.com/

how do those websites manage there content?

 

[Aprox]

Send a PM to LordofLA, he offers website hosting I believe.

 

[mfarley]

Most of them are on CMS created in house.

Why not go with a similar color scheme, darker colors versus the light blue?

 

[Not Bman]

Most of them are on CMS created in house.

Why not go with a similar color scheme, darker colors versus the light blue?

You mean a similar wordpress theme or..?

 

[Not Bman]

Anyone have a good layout for a contract?

Something I can just edit in my prices and detials?

 

[mfarley]

You mean a similar wordpress theme or..?

No, you can port your design to Wordpress I'm saying just change the color scheme to have darker colors if they want it to look more like that espn page.

You can find generic contracts with a google search.

 

[AllWeatherGal]

I don't know anything about wordpress ... can you explain why there's a content management system for a site that sounds like it's basically an information website?

Most web producers I know (myself included) do what you do ... design the look/feel in Photoshop and then move to DreamWeaver and work with a template for page development. And RSS feeds are pretty easy to ad, as far as I know.

I think you'll have a lot more freedom to create a site that has the right set of interactions with DW, or even straight HTML (truly my personal preference).

As to not having a portfolio ... congrats on getting a good start on one!