Web Site 1500-1700

[mb911]

I have quotes for website construction of 1500-1700 bucks is there really that much to it??

Anybody else do that on this forum that could guide me

[RickM]

Ben,

IOt depends on what you want the site to do. If it's static it'll obviously be less that and interactive site with shopping cart capabilities, databases etc. That price actually sounds low to me....unless a bare bones informational site.

Is the site builder offering a portfolio of previous work for you to review? I would insist on that.

[masraum]

Web sites really aren't that hard to do (but they can be), but they are expensive to have done. Personally I think it's usually overpriced for what you usually get for the cost, but that doesn't mean you'll find quality any cheaper.

[mb911]

Yes both people are offering portfolios > I was expecting to see something like 400-500 for this I guess I need to sell a bunch more mufflers to make it worth while

[neiltorda]

What are you trying to do?
Do you just want info about something?
Do you want an interactive forum like the one here?
Do you want to have an online store?
Do you want Flash animation to make it "cool"

These are just some of the things to consider.
A simple website that just displays information about a product is incredibly easy to create. The more you add, though, the more complex it will become and cost.
For example, the following site: http://jeanwilkes.com
my wife made for her moms furniture business in an afternoon (literally, 5 hours). (before any one criticizes, it isn't finished yet, i know that the same piece of furniture is used over and over, waiting on new pictures )

The server this site resides on costs around $4 a month. The registration of the name was $8.95. Rachel would have charged (had it not been her mom) 4 or 5 hundred for her time.


I think that it is outrageous what some people charge considering the crap they put out.


neil

[neiltorda]

one other thing to consider, any one can make a website.
But you need the right tools. The proper software to do a nice job will set you back nearly $1000.

It does take some artistic/design sensibilities to make it look nice... an example of this in a vein most of you are familiar with... both Porsche and Yugo make cars.

[mb911]

I want some pictures of products and a testimonal or two along with a few sound clips and some contact info thats it

[neiltorda]

Originally posted by mb911
I want some pictures of products and a testimonal or two along with a few sound clips and some contact info thats it

based on that, it looks like you are only looking at a few pages at most of info....
i could do it for $400 with no problem, and that would include a year of service...

[mb911]

How do we start??

[neiltorda]

i'll PM you

[Chuck Moreland]

It all depends on complexity. How many pages, what kind of navigation, complexity of the images, shopping carts, search functions, databasing, other features.... the list goes on.

A simple site with no extras, a few pages with text, pictures, contact info, sound files.... I'm sure you could get that under $1k. Probably someone here would be willing to do it.

Don't forget about maintenance. You will want to change the content as you introduce new mufflers, etc.

A professional looking site setup for real e-commerce is going to cost at least tens-of-thousands, more for high-end sites. A site like pelican requires a full timer on staff to constantly maintain it.

edit: looks like you have a candidate, slipped in while I typed.

[MysticLlama]

I have people do a lot of site design for me, and the price doesn't sound too unreasonable for a small site.

It can easily run $500 per page for a nice original layout. It's not so much the HTML, but the design skill that goes into it. Doing really good print layout is expensive as well for the same reason.

What you need to do is find someone that will work for mufflers.

[msterling]

Based on your simple description you could almost use the built-in page building tools that come with inexpensive web-hosting services. They will give you template pages that you can "fill in" with your content. Don't expect to create anything very jazzy if you do it this way but it requires minimal expertise.

Did the quote you got include domain name registration and webhosting service for a period of time? Building a website could cost ANY amount. $50-$500,000 based on what needs to be accomplished. A single information page is obviously the cheapest.

Neiltorda is probably in the right ballpark with $400 to build a basic website and offer tweaks for a year. That would probably not include webhosting or domain registration fees. You could set that up yourself or go with a hosting service recommended by the web designer.

I could also build you a site for this kind of price. I would probaby have my son do the work as he is better trained than I. If you have specific content that you want to see, try to get it into a text document that you can email to the designer. Adding sound clips or short video clips would be easy to do. The things that are more expensive are online stores with secure ordering and extensive product databases. You could just have a price list and contact information including an email link....oh yeah, and lots of pictures of immaculate welds.

[masraum]

I put up a page for my wife with frames and about 30 pages including a shopping cart and stuff. I built the page, and the monthly hosting charges for everything were $60 a month plus $5 a month for AMEX and $15 a month for Discover (Visa and MC were included in the $60.

[copper]

MB911

If you need any photoshop work done for the site, let me know. I'd be glad to help you out with design.

Jim

[derek murray]

... i would do it for a nice half shiny duel inlet / outlet 'r' inspired muffler... that's not too loud

[randywebb]

Find a U. Wisc. campus near you and hire a student - unless you have high security or other needs.