is $2500 to much for a website like this?

[iamsilent]

hey there,

i have a question. im working on a project and placed my job on elance for $1000. I got a few proposals, and went for the one that had the most projects or a good portofolio.

I am skyping this guy and even spoke to him over the phone, he seems legit and a nice guy to work with, however after giving him my full specifications, his asking price is $2500.

Now, the reason i'm a bit anxious to give that money, is that because my budget limit was $1500 and the other $1000 would of gone to SEO or other stuff required.

The website i am hiring people to develop, is dynamic and will work as a network so given the considerations, $2500 does not seem bad, but i'm not a guru on this topic.

if there is anyone who can help me out with a quote for my website project? I can pm you the full specs if required if you specilise in this subject, but this is what my website will have.

Reward system (points, cash points etc)
Amazon API, Facebook API
Dynamic website
cpa integration
Web design is a vital point (main priority is the layout and design of the website)

there are much more in my full spec.

$2500, is that to much or a good price?

shall i cough up extra $300 a month for SEO with the same guy?

 

[Deleted member 364366]

Has he showed you any plans? There are many scripts you can get that can be changed a bit to fit your criteria for a lot cheaper than that but it's hard without seeing a mock up of what he's selling you.

 

[iamsilent]

Yeah, he has. its difficult to say, as this is my first project that requires a website from scratch. is there any way you can give it a look or advice? i don't want to post my project here lol

 

[pompano]

If it is just a design then it is a bad deal. If you are getting the coding with it as well. Then it sounds good.

 

[iamsilent]

Yes coding as well, and a lot of different tools going to be used.

 

[nikiobicata]

You can try JoomSocial for Joomla . They have many plugins you can use for your needs

 

[princesa]

It all depends. What country is the coder from and from where? I don't know anything about your arrangements... but if you're dealing with a coder from RAC/freelancer w/e one who barely speaks understands your specs, no. Also, is there design work? Just the time you will put in gong back and forth exceeds the worth, and sometimes their quality is terrible and make sure it's not a "team". If you have a good coder from a certain location with common sense, who doesn't need to be flipped on every min... yes BUT it's up to you to put together good, detailed specs.


Remember the coders are using open source software with instant installations/easy install modules... pretty much one for everything. Maybe they will have a sub coder make a few cheap things.. or just buy some... you paying $ is to save yourself time and less stress.

I also wouldn't have the same coder do the design. Have a separate design guy send over the PSDs, and have your coder slice and install them (if they can). Just from my personal experience... it all works better that way.

 

[EmpireQuality]

sounds pretty expensive to me, but it's hard to say because i don't know the exact details.
and your projects goals would also be something to think about, in regards to this guys price.

 

[youtalkmedia]

does it have a user section and an admin section? what are your design expectations?

what I usually say is $200 main design, $10 per page and $100 per task a user or admin can do.

that is my pricing.. or the basic one I use.. depending on the tasks things would be different costs

 

[iamsilent]

thanks everyone for the great feedback,

this guy seems legit, his from india, very formal and fluent in english. Hes shown me a plan for my website which seems fair.

are there any specific questions I can ask any web developer? does not need to be about the website, but there overall portfolio.

 

[WebDev]

hey there,

i have a question. im working on a project and placed my job on elance for $1000. I got a few proposals, and went for the one that had the most projects or a good portofolio.

I am skyping this guy and even spoke to him over the phone, he seems legit and a nice guy to work with, however after giving him my full specifications, his asking price is $2500.

Now, the reason i'm a bit anxious to give that money, is that because my budget limit was $1500 and the other $1000 would of gone to SEO or other stuff required.

The website i am hiring people to develop, is dynamic and will work as a network so given the considerations, $2500 does not seem bad, but i'm not a guru on this topic.

if there is anyone who can help me out with a quote for my website project? I can pm you the full specs if required if you specilise in this subject, but this is what my website will have.

Reward system (points, cash points etc)
Amazon API, Facebook API
Dynamic website
cpa integration
Web design is a vital point (main priority is the layout and design of the website)

there are much more in my full spec.

$2500, is that to much or a good price?

shall i cough up extra $300 a month for SEO with the same guy?

Before the 2008 crash I used to quote for SEO work - and many of the standard HTML sites I used to look at had cost around $10,000 to have built - and they were simple sites of around 7 to 10 pages with a contact form

SEO companies currently charge $2000 for keyword research

Most of you guys do your own sitebuilding and SEO - and seem unaware of the prices charged by legit web design companies for bespoke web design

This is not the type of site I build - but even if I did, I wouldn't touch it for less than $2,000 - and I wouldn't be doing any back link building either

 

[iamsilent]

There going to be using joomla. Im going to try negotiating a better price, as $2500 for a joomla site is to much, however there will be various of tools and changes made to a premium theme.

 

[princesa]

For the site - I would go with $400/500... design 2/300... it puts you a little short of 1k. He is in India, not American. They all seem good, have good portfolios, great communication in the beginning... once you accept the bid... lol it is a whole another story. They disappear, dont understand your specs, try to ad their two sense which happens to not even be close to what you were looking for. and so much going back and forth... waste of time.

I do not really know what your specs are, but I have had large projects coded with design for a 1/4 of the price your looking to pay.

 

[youtalkmedia]

Just a warning about using someone in india to work on the site.

The person who you are talking to now is likely just the sales person and not the guy making the site, once you pay you wont see him again and will be talking to the person who is making the site instead.

A lot of the people who make the sites do not know English well at all and trying to explain what you want will be hard. I tried to outsource a couple times, same thing happened to me each time and I ended up getting a site that did not work as it was supposed to...

Saying that, some programmers there are great, but they charge the same amoutn or just a little less then here, but if it looks like a good price I would say watch out.

 

[artizhay]

That's what we would charge. Probably more. Custom coded though, but oh well.

 

[security]

Do you use cPanel? They are going to use an easy quick install feature in cPanel which takes 30 secs, install a theme, install already made modules, widgets addons whatever they are called. Nothing will be custom. They will install the APIs... they are not coding it, and will buy a theme (hopefully they don't use a free cheap one). I wouldn't have them do any graphic work.

 

[edgematch]

$2500 is all ok for such a project. But I am sure you can get it down to $1500-$2000.

 

[phracktl]

Only a little advice - to protect you from yourself. Its a relatively small budget, and I cant know how much risk and loss would impact you on it - but you obviously have concerns otherwise you wouldnt be asking.

Anyway - who in their right mind would want to lose even 2.5K. Its not "a cost of doing business", but a risk you want to minimise - especially as your business grows and budgets expand

Let me try to give you some useful advice from my experience - learnt the hard way from my own money and from people much smarter than me.

"I got a few proposals, and went for the one that had the most projects or a good portofolio."
- Don't base selection on (easily faked) social proof, but on meeting project spec (you did write a good, complete one, didnt you) and real proofs of technical ability. Address your own biases (look up Charlie Munger and the Lollapalooza effect)

"I am skyping this guy and even spoke to him over the phone, he seems legit and a nice guy to work with"
- Its business - dont make it personal! You're opening yourself up to be worked over

"however after giving him my full specifications, his asking price is $2500."
- Counter-offering is a classic tactic. Somewhat underhand, but I'm not fully apprised of the circumstances.

Your counterparty is perhaps a more experienced negotiator than you - which is why your here asking if its worth the extra, rather than engaging with him over new terms you want to set at that price point

ie. he changes the price: so you should be saying perhaps that you could pay that for a wider scope - either with SEO or another service, media creation, more functionality, shorter deadline etc. and could they deliver that...

Also, you need to take a lifetime ROI view on the web asset - which means, you 'like' him now, but what about X months time after haggling over and hacking out the details the project.

Remember this: outside of retail, there is no such thing as 'price', only what someone will pay. So everything is fluid and negotiable: time, money, scope, and quality. Negotiate whats best for you - dont just agree to terms.

To my mind - and im not presenting myself as an authority on Joomla - 2.5k for a Joomla site from a team in India is ridiculous, tbh. Unless its superb and theres substantial custom coding (as opposed to installing a few plugins). For the same money you could engage someone local (even in the US/EU/UK at this price point) who's office door would be within walking distance and you would have some redress with in small claims court.

For me, I like to build partnerships with suppliers. So really meeting and getting to know who you are dealing with is important. Even then, do due diligence first, and start them off with a small bit of work and build a commercial relationship/drop it from there.

Of course, fruitful online partnerships are possible too. But they're not the norm on small-cap project sites like elance, which are better for less complex commodified projects

Finally, remember, you have the upper hand as its your choice where to spend. Perhaps strengthen your assessment criteria and reopen the tender

And if your brain isn't able to cut through the chaff and weigh up the risk - go with your gut-feeling

hope it helps. best of luck

 

[mr_neo]

You'd be probably better of selling the script because since you don't seem to have any revenue, your site is worth nothing. It might have potential, but you have only potential (no real revenue let alone profit)

Edit: Since this is the site flipping section, I think your question is a bit offtopic. You should negotiate with the developer guy and spend only what you can afford.

 

[iamsilent]

thanks for all the feedback guys. I have decided not to go through this with these guys.

Although they seem professional, when they told me to wait five minutes and talk to the team leader, sounded exactly same as the guy I was talking to before, and my gut feeling now tells me, they are just playing me.
$2500 is a lot tbh especially on joomla. I done some research and found the necessary tools needed for a site like mine for under $300 inc plugins + paid theme.

I guess, i just require someone to configure the site and breath some life into it.

thanks bhatters!

i rather spend on SEO.

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