Paying Someone To Design Vs. Doing It Yourself?

[Owen]

I want to run something by you. My partner and I (yes I managed to get one, crazy right?! Yes, it's Ryan again lol) and we're going to be paying a company to build the infrastructure for our company. We're paying about $1,000+ to get it made as we both have pretty high paying part-time jobs. Anyways, I am a professional website designer, and I'd consider myself pretty good, especially with customizing Bootstrap. I can make some pretty gnarly looking websites, on the levels of huge websites. However, whenever I make one I am always critiquing it and changing things, the design is never perfect.

I am wondering if I should pay someone to create a responsive and beautiful design for me or I should just do it myself. Either way it'll look professional and well done like Etsy or Amazon or something. What do you think?

[NahidHasan]

Though It depends on your availability but I will suggest to use some one else. Or can do it combined :)

[Freelancier]

Money vs. Time vs. Abilities.

If you don't have time but do have the money, spend the money, regardless of abilities, because web site design is not the most critical thing to your business success.

If you have the time and have the money, outsource based on your abilities. If you have the time, but have no money, you can't outsource anyway, so work on it in your spare time.

If you don't have time or money, rethink your model.

[turboguy]

It seems to me that to hire a really good professional to make a website that looks like Amazon or Etsy might cost a lot more than you realize. Any new venture has a risk of failure and since you feel you have the ability to do it yourself that was my vote in the poll. Maybe if you can find someone to do it reasonably then that might be a good course. Otherwise do it yourself.

[shutupdan]

When I had a business adviser to help set up my company, he told us that we should get a $3000 website built for our company. Of course at the time he was getting 33% of our company and paying for the site to be built, but it's important that your company is seen, and if your website is substandard people may wonder how professional you really are.

[Harold Mansfield]

I want to run something by you. My partner and I (yes I managed to get one, crazy right?! Yes, it's Ryan again lol) and we're going to be paying a company to build the infrastructure for our company. We're paying about $1,000+ to get it made as we both have pretty high paying part-time jobs. Anyways, I am a professional website designer, and I'd consider myself pretty good, especially with customizing Bootstrap. I can make some pretty gnarly looking websites, on the levels of huge websites. However, whenever I make one I am always critiquing it and changing things, the design is never perfect.

Design is just the paint job. For what you want function is where actual coding and programming skills come into play.


I am wondering if I should pay someone to create a responsive and beautiful design for me or I should just do it myself. Either way it'll look professional and well done like Etsy or Amazon or something. What do you think?
I don't think you have a realistic grasp on what it takes to build and run websites like Etsy or Amazon. Those websites are built and run by entire teams of people. Not team. TEAMS.

It seems to me that to hire a really good professional to make a website that looks like Amazon or Etsy might cost a lot more than you realize.

Yes, like tens of thousands of dollars just to even get close to the same level of functionality.

[Owen]

I don't think you have a realistic grasp on what it takes to build and run websites like Etsy or Amazon. Those websites are built and run by entire teams of people. Not team. TEAMS.


I have an idea. To be honest, I don't expect to even really grow it to larger levels until I'm 18, in the meantime I will be providing funding in return for ownership, voting, etc. while the people who have gotten involved (whom are all over 18) will be running the company. Ryan and I are the co-founders, they're kind of there to do the dirty work I can't legally do.


When I had a business adviser to help set up my company, he told us that we should get a $3000 website built for our company. Of course at the time he was getting 33% of our company and paying for the site to be built, but it's important that your company is seen, and if your website is substandard people may wonder how professional you really are.


We'll see, I don't expect to launch until March, April, or May.


Yes, like tens of thousands of dollars just to even get close to the same level of functionality.

Well I don't expect it to be Amazon or Etsy as in functionality, I just like their designs. I'm only paying $1,000 to get it made.

[Fulcrum]

What are you attempting to build again Owen? I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but my mind is still in holiday mode.

[Owen]

What are you attempting to build again Owen? I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but my mind is still in holiday mode.

A business-oriented asset distribution platform, we're also patenting the idea c:

[Harold Mansfield]

Well I don't expect it to be Amazon or Etsy as in functionality, I just like their designs.

That's different and of course doable. Actually everything is doable with the proper budget.

[Owen]

That's different and of course doable. Actually everything is doable with the proper budget.

At this rate I'm the project manager, so I'm in charge of the entire thing until it's launched. I'm just looking for the best person who can program it with a $1,000-$1,500 budget.

I HAVE A NEW QUESTION: For a concept such as ours, what is best? PHP or PERL?

[Freelancier]

It's not really a question of "concept drives the programming tool". Often it's "programmer drives the programming tool choice" or -- the way we do it -- "specific functionality drives the tool selection".

It's easier to find PHP programmers these days than PERL programmers. Unless you're doing something that cannot be done in PHP, consider using it so that you have a wider choice of programmers.

[Brian Altenhofel]

For a concept such as ours, what is best? PHP or PERL?

The language doesn't matter much, though you will have a really hard time finding two Perl programmers that can understand each other's code.

What's your priority right now? Time to market or scalability? Starting out, it should really be time to market, which means it should be in the language(s) that you can get a reliable minimum viable product built in the least amount of time. You can refactor and rewrite for efficiency later. You'll probably want to build a monolith first while taking into consideration how different systems can be split out into microservices later. It's not uncommon to take a hybrid approach early on, too.

[MyITGuy]

We're paying about $1,000+ to get it made as we both have pretty high paying part-time jobs. Anyways, I am a professional website designer, and I'd consider myself pretty good, especially with customizing Bootstrap. I can make some pretty gnarly looking websites, on the levels of huge websites. However, whenever I make one I am always critiquing it and changing things, the design is never perfect.

I am wondering if I should pay someone to create a responsive and beautiful design for me or I should just do it myself.
Two items here: I thought you were still a student, is that still the case or have you moved into the workforce
Doesn't the 1K estimate/budget concern you as being too low?


PHP or PERL?
As someone who is in the industry, isnt this something you should know? Anyhow I dont think things have changed significantly lately....php for web, perl for batch scripting

[billbenson]

I'm a proponent of doing your own website initially if for nothing more than a learning experience. A mediocre website can make money.

You will get a better website from a good professional, but you a young and in the learning phase. Study and write it yourself. Turn it over to a professional when you have a better budget.

JMO