Hi All,

 

I know you are all very busy but i would like to take a moment to ask a question related to web design as I really need a hand to get me started.

 

I consider myself a potential client, I have an idea for a large scale website which would have social media integration and have a CMS to allow users to sell goods and services in my home town. I have all the ideas down on my wish list and have and a solid idea of the buisness I would like to build.

 

I currently work in Information technology and have a solid understanding of the principles of web development, but this by no means makes me a web designer or developer.

 

Almost every person I have spoken to (online) in order to get this project Kicked off wants to produce my website and create it for me from start to finish. They are only seem to be interested in the money and not the product I wish to produce.

 

My issue:

 

I personally see the importance of planning.

 

I would like to pay initially to create a document with a developer/Designer that would capture the range of ideas I would like to have on my site. This would involve my "must have" ideas, my "hopefully achievable" ideas and my "ideal" ideas. Some of my ideas at this moment in time may be quite difficult to produce on my budget, some may be easier to achieve and some must have ideas will need to be factored in now if I want to do them in future. For example, I do not wish to take payments straight away but I would like to be able to add this capacity in future, so this will need to be factored in to the DNA of the site. Some ideas I would like to wait untill the site becomes popular (if it ever does) before implementing.

 

Once I produce this document, I would then like to get wireframes put together and design the potential user experience I would like to have.

 

Ultimately I would like to use the above to get an accurate quote from a web designer to have the site built to my specifications. For all I know I may not be able to afford to do it justice at this point in time and will have to wait, or ask around to get the money required. I want to be in a position where I can choose to proceed or not with my planning and not be locked in to a full design process where we start from scratch and ultimately produce a website I may not be happy with.

 

Therefore here are my questions :

 

What is the best way to get the above achieved (blueprint) ? Is there an established process that already exists ( I imagine so) ? Do I require a web designer or a web developer ? What is the best way to PLAN my website idea in advance (bearing in mind I am not a designer) ? Are there any documents or books I could read on this subject to give me a better idea?

 

Any advice on the above to help me start would be very appreciated.

 

Thanks to everyone who has read this far.

 

Kind regards,

Scott

 

Hi Scott,

 

 

I personally see the importance of planning.

 

Wow, a rarity, so many clients want to skip this and move straight on to design and colours, full marks dude

 

 

Therefore here are my questions :

 

What is the best way to get the above achieved (blueprint) ? Is there an established process that already exists ( I imagine so) ? Do I require a web designer or a web developer ? What is the best way to PLAN my website idea in advance (bearing in mind I am not a designer) ? Are there any documents or books I could read on this subject to give me a better idea?

 

With a solid list of 'would be nice', 'essentials' and 'can't live without' you can tier development as the project grows. My bit of advice here is to try to find a harsh thinking developer, someone who is not scare to point holes in your plan. If the project can survive the probing then it probably has legs and would be actually worth developing, if not then your outlay to find out something isn't viable will be small. A developer can also raise concerns and clarify what you're trying to do, problem areas and the like. The key to the planning is to try to disprove your model as quickly as possible, because if you can't then the plan has legs.

 

With a solid plan I would then talk with designers / developers to flesh out the idea into a wire frame with function before the final 'design' is done. At this point it would be good to liaise with someone with SEO knowledge as their input is vital at this stage, especially with pretty urls and internal link flow. They would also point out potential requirements going forward you might require (such as custom landing pages etc).

 

The outcome from all of this will give the designer / developer a really tight specification of what's required, leaving nothing to chance. Sure it sounds a bit long winded but speaking from experience (and serps / ROI) this method delivers a first class project with room for scope.

It's probably worth getting a UX Designer to go through things at the wire framing stage before any code is written by a developer too.

 

For sure, it's key to the development, but at this early stage I would lean more towards a developer as storing and serving data and the way it interacts will need to be decided so the UX designer can present the functionality in the best way possible, the same time would be good for SEO input as certain onsite criteria may need to be met.

Edited June 23, 201511 yr by BrowserBugs

This is all great advice! Thank you all for your input i am taking all of this down.

 

I totally understand that with web design you generally do tend to get what you pay for. I have tried a few popular online freelance recruitment websites to see if i could find a suitable candidate to carry out this work. Unfortunately i have found a small issue with this process, designers tend to submit their estimated costs dependant on your job description which can sometimes not explain all the detail upfront. I usually find that they sometimes come in under the usual price i would expect to pay. I do not think a web design brief for my website could be done effectively for 150 USD for example!

 

In my research looking around on the web, I believe a reasonable web design brief could take anywhere between 40 - 60 hours to produce for a scale of the site I would like to have. It could obviously take more or less time dependant on progress and fluctuations. So how could I be sure that someone has the talent and interest to give me what I really want and would like to give me the best chance of success possible ?

 

There are many web designers in my home town, but they are either freelances with private buisnesses and personal interests or established buisnesses who charge an extortionate amount to local buisnesses. Due to this I feel I have had to look online to protect my idea and give me the best all round bang for my buck.

 

Where would be a good place to start to find someone who is willing to put the care into the design ?

 

Are there any places you would recommend I look to find this sort of person ?

 

Kindest regards,

Scott

Thank you very much for your reply ! I will definately give it a try on this website.

 

I think I will just have to be very clear about what I want like I have done in this forum and hope I get someone willing to make my dream come to life. Fingers crossed I get lucky.

Hey Seb,

 

The issues which you mentioned below are totally normal and by no means unique.

 

I’ll cut to the chase so as not to waste anyone’s time, I work for a web development agency called MBJ Integrated Technologies. We work with clients just like you every day. Our value proposition is to offer high-class products at startup friendly prices. Most of our clients are young entrepreneurs or early-stage starups so we understand the needs of having to work on a budget and needing plenty of tailored (and mostly free) advice, rather than just a quote and subsequent invoice.

 

We always meet with potential new clients (preferably in person, if not online) to gain an understanding of their project specifications and also to get to know them as people and to understand exactly what they are looking for. In the meeting we can map out everything from your wish list and begin to work through what features are essential and which ones could come at a later stage.

 

After that we go away and draw up a proposal that includes an outline of what we have understood of the project, some initial designs and wireframes/blueprints, any suggestions that our team has come up with and a recommendation of how best to proceed. We also specialise in SEO & on-going strategy to make sure that your project gets a high click through rate.

 

There are no associated costs for drawing up the proposal and it is then up to you to decide if you would like to proceed or not.

 

We’ve been through the motions of starting up our own company and have a young and motivated workforce who love getting creative on new projects. If you’re not an experienced we designer or developer it’s probably best to use a professional (I know, being a web dev agency we would say that..) but it is kind of true. You don’t want to get things wrong and have to go back through messed up code and try to figure it all out, we’ve seen it happen many times. However saying that, the are people out there who have taught themselves so it’s not impossible either. You just could wind up making some big mistakes that you then have to waste lots of time and potentially money going back and fixing.

 

If you’re interested in finding out some more about us, we could arrange a Skype chat to gain a better understanding of what you’re looking for.

 

I wish you all the best.

 

Chris

MBJ

 

I totally understand that with web design you generally do tend to get what you pay for. I have tried a few popular online freelance recruitment websites to see if i could find a suitable candidate to carry out this work. Unfortunately i have found a small issue with this process, designers tend to submit their estimated costs dependant on your job description which can sometimes not explain all the detail upfront. I usually find that they sometimes come in under the usual price i would expect to pay. I do not think a web design brief for my website could be done effectively for 150 USD for example!

 

Your job description really needs to be backed up by a highly detailed document that describes things in much greater detail - it's this detail that can let a developer work out a more realistic price estimate. You can use the simple job description to pull in candidates then send them your brief to the ones you choose for them to assess.

Hi Guys,

 

This is all handy information, and this is definately an education for me.

 

 

There are no associated costs for drawing up the proposal and it is then up to you to decide if you would like to proceed or not.

 

If you’re interested in finding out some more about us, we could arrange a Skype chat to gain a better understanding of what you’re looking for.

 

Firstly Sir, this sounds like a fantastic opportunity I would be very crazy not to take you up on your offer. I have actually been offering people money for a skype chat in order to discuss my idea with a web developer. I had no takers so far.

 

May I enquire why you are willing to provide these initial services for free ?

 

Please let me know the best way to get in contact with you, I am very interested to have a chat. Are there any links you can send me to see your company in a bit more detail ?

 

 

Your job description really needs to be backed up by a highly detailed document that describes things in much greater detail - it's this detail that can let a developer work out a more realistic price estimate. You can use the simple job description to pull in candidates then send them your brief to the ones you choose for them to assess.

 

Thanks for your reply bluedreamer. So far I only have an interest in getting a design document produced, I do not want to go straight in to the web design at the moment as I want to see its feesibility first before proceeding. So I found it quite hard to choose a developer and get an accurate price for this work up front as I only had my initial ideas to communicate across. I was hoping to get to the finer detail with the designer.

 

I specifically said in my job description that I did not want a website produced at the moment and only wanted the web design document. However 80 percent of the job applicants specifically focussed on offering me the chance to design my entire website.

 

I ended up starting a job with a developer who quoted 500 USD to write the design document, then changed her mind after a few weeks when she realised how she had underpriced the job and felt it wasnt worth her while. Then she only offered me either a cut down document for 8 hours of her time (to the value of 500 USD) or refund my money, absolutely no attempt was made to re-negotiate the price to do the job propperly which I was anticipating. I was more than happy to make sure she was happy and would produce good work for me.

 

However when I enquired further as to why she didnt want to ask for more money, she made out that she didnt "get the feeling" I was willing to pay any more and started to get rather personal. Informing me that our (extremely) brief email correspondance had put her out of pocket by numberous hours and she was not getting any compensation for the time spent so far. Please bear in mind that absolutely nothing was produced for me by this person and no work had been handed over to me, however she wanted me to pay her for her time for sending me one line email replys over the previous few weeks.

 

So I do see your point Bluedreamer, since dealing witht his developer I have written up all the ideas for the website into a detailed 13 page PDF document explaining everything in detail. I am now in the process of refining this document into a second draft to make it as clear and detailed as possible.

 

I just want to thank everyone so far who has taken the time to reply to my questions and contribute. You have all been very kind and welcoming on this forum.

 

Kind regards,

 

Scott

Thanks for your reply bluedreamer. So far I only have an interest in getting a design document produced, I do not want to go straight in to the web design at the moment as I want to see its feesibility first before proceeding. So I found it quite hard to choose a developer and get an accurate price for this work up front as I only had my initial ideas to communicate across. I was hoping to get to the finer detail with the designer.

 

This is the right approach - at the end of the day if a website is responsible for 100% of your business you are not just making a website, you're making a product (business) ... you need to determine if the product is viable before a high outlay.

 

Essentially you need find a developer who can think things through rather than finding something to 'fit' your idea into, someone who thinks 'if it was my project what would I do' rather than trying to please you to get the work.