I have neither the time nor inclination to do this.
I wish to pay someone to do and maintain it.
While i cannot offer any career progression it seems that it could be done by a bright young person looking for more than the minimum wage in their part time.
Talking to others though i find that, even so called professionals.-
Offer and change features that i do not need or want.
Seem to be able to get it right on only one platform reliably.
Are probably too clever for their boots and have no instinct for commercial success of their clients.
I use Joomla for my sites. It's easy and its free. Just register a domain name and find a suitable host to hold it. I use namecheap. They are the cheapest and their support is excellent. But please, don't use GoDaddy.
Well you tend to get what you pay for. Do you have your specs written up? Do you have any content ready? Have you decided on a budget for this? Those are the first things you should be thinking about before you try and find someone to make the site.
Trevor_M:
Well you tend to get what you pay for. Do you have your specs written up? Do you have any content ready? Have you decided on a budget for this? Those are the first things you should be thinking about before you try and find someone to make the site.
Yes i have a broad framework.
Designer will need to fill in some gaps though.
Including generating suitable graphics, im not artistically inclined.
Content will be generated by users largely.
Its mostly a private bulletin board with an online shop for a game.
I have asked around, it seems to be commonly difficult to get a firm quote.
Lots of waffle words.
Looking at some of the websites they have done i get the impression a fair few are trying to charge top dollar rates even though their results do not warrant it.
I have a max figure in mind, but am not prepared to say.
Tried saying i have X000 ukp available can you do it for that and i am not happy with the replies i get.
Lots of caveats with no firm yes or no.
There will obviously be ongoing maintenance costs as well, they are even more difficult to tie down, but its open ended and understandable from that POV.
I get the impression i could end up paying lawyers more than the site cost if i get this wrong.
LAMP is a platform for the server-side. If you don't know about the most commonly used platform for web based applications then what do you mean by this...
Boardburner2:
Seem to be able to get it right on only one platform reliably.
Including generating suitable graphics, im not artistically inclined.
I strongly suggest you separate graphic design from web design then handle each as separate projects. In my experience, those that do one do not do the other.
The term "broad framework" would throw a big red flag for me. You need to be as specific as possible, that'll help get you a more fixed quote with less waffle. It'll also help you should something go wrong. That goes for the maintenance too. If you want I don't mind looking over what you've got so far and telling you what I'd change. Heck I might even give you a quote (although it'd probably be a lot higher than you'd want to pay).
You don't have to tell them what your budget is, but you should say you have one set aside. This website will give you a very rough idea if that budget is realistic: https://www.designquote.net/html/dq_estimate_wizard.cfm
The contractor could handle the graphics, but that might put some off (just because you're good with web development doesn't mean you can use photoshop) and the rest will charge you for it. Your best bet is probably one of stock photo web sites out there that you can look through and buy what you want.
Trevor_M:
The term "broad framework" would throw a big red flag for me. You need to be as specific as possible, that'll
Thanks that link is helpful.
Broad framework, i have the outline idea, i can point to specific examples on the web as to the detail i want.
Initially something simple for a trial.
If it looks like a workable idea i would be willing to spend much more to 'posh it up' .
Ill have a look at the other links to see if i can knock up something that i can show as an example.
What sort of detail is needed ?
Flowcharts ?
I'm just not sure how to specify for a quote.
Im currently trying to learn how to generate an interaction chart, they are used for drug trials and the like, are these useful for page design, do they have a particular name in web context.
Take a look at pre-made templates. These will help nail down the job and there will be less room for interpretation. Web guys are a flaky (sorry) group and my experience with them has ranged from bad to really bad. Web Templates | HTML5 Website Templates | Web Graphics
Now, we buy a template and modify it ourselves. You can also buy the template and have a web guy fill in the blanks.
Thanks, i have not found a suitable template despite much looking.
Broadly what i can say .
A BB type system that works reliably on all devices.
Very similar to this one , with uploads and downloads.
The BB topic index will be selectively visible.
Upon logon the arduino or phone will update a progress report which will decide which topics are visible/ available.
Communication will be phone direct, arduino plugged into a PC , or Arduino connected via phone, this has yet to be decided due to hardware issues.
Topics will have links to interactive pages which will also need access to the arduino data.
These pages will also have the ability to enable new topics to be visible according to completion of tasks.
I am using BB as an example, the format is just an example.
Good enough for trial but custom graphics and 'Front' page can be modified later.
Shop is simple as it will only sell one item (a shield).
If you're planning on doing it as a 2 part project make sure the developer knows that. If you know how you want the final site to look you could even have them quote it like that with the understanding that you'll decide on the second after the first is complete.
How you present the detail is somewhat irrelevant, it's more about making it clear what the site will look like, what it'll do and where the content will come from. Things to start with though are:
general design - layout/color scheme/font(s)
menu(s) - what you want on it/where it goes
Page content - something for each page with any specifics for that page (GFX, text etc) and where they'll come from
I would recommend specifying an acceptable amount of changes and/or cost per hour for changes after.
I totally understand (and agree) not wanting to give specifics. If you're at all worried about it I'd suggest having developers sign an NDA/non compete, if they won't you don't want to work with them.
Not sure if this is an issue or not but you say it'll 'update a progress report', by default a websites have very limited client side access for security reasons.