Idea for a website? Want to learn how code? look here first!

[Davidla]

Lately there have been many threads about fastlaners wanting to execute their internet business ideas:

"where can I learn how to program?"
"what programing languages should I use?"
"how to outsource my website development?"
"how to develop an iphone app"

I thought, why not gather the answers to the most common questions and good resources here?

So concentrating on the technical side of executing your idea into a business (not talking about the idea itself here), First question to ask:

- Should I do it myself, or hire someone?

The first urge many people have is to jump in and start learning how to program, and to code the website/app themselves.

Altough admirable, this is usually not the best way to go. Just because MJ did it 10 years ago doesn't necessarily mean you need to do it yourself now. Things have changed noticeably, and today there are many tools that did not exist 10 years ago.

Think about the pros and cons of doing it yourself.

Pros:
- Controll
- Less money spent to develop
- Agility in making changes
- Learning skills

Cons:
- If you are busy with the technical side all day, who takes care of the business and marketing side?
- Time. How long will it take you to learn everything you need to know and build it?
- Quality. An experienced programer/designer is likely to do a much better job.
- Opportunity Cost. What are you giving up to learn how to code? (I.E time to work a job and make money etc)

Some questions that can help you decide:

- How complicated is the website to build? Do I just need a website that shows information and sells a product, or is it going to be a complicated platform that interact with 20 different websites and systems?

- How much technical knowledge will the business require once the initial development is complete?

If it requires simple capabilities you might want to do it yourself.

(continued in next post)

 

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[Davidla]

What programming language should I use?

What programming language should I use?

And the answer: You dont necessarily need to use programming at all.

Why? Content Management Systems.

When having an untested internet business idea, launching a quick test website is usually a good idea to see if it is worth investing further time & money. CMS allow you to do that.

What does a CMS do? it completely takes out the need to know how to program. You customize everything in a user friendly environment. The point here is that you can usually have a decent beta of your service/store up and running within a few hours/days.

A few popular ones:

- WordPress, Joomla
- Bigcommerce, Shopify

Basic capabilities of WP and Joomla:

- Present content (text, pictures, videos)
- Upload free design templates
- Add pages and menus
- User registration and login
- User comments and feedback
- Built in "contact us" form capabilities

Adding more advanced capabilities usually requires downloading a free/cheap plugin:

- Social media connectivity (facebook, twitter etc)
- Forums, advanced member areas.
- Selling info products
- thousands more plugins available for pretty much every capability you might need.

BigCommerce and Shopify:

Allow you to open a professional looking store and start selling products fast.
Great way to start testing around with your product and idea if it involves ecommerce.

CMS can be a great solution to get started and test out, especially if your idea requires features that are common to other websites. There are also many CMS themes and designs that look very professional if that will be your main technology.

However, having a website developed especially for you with a professional for 5k-10k will most likely be of better quality. The question here is why spend time and money for an expensive solution if you get a free/low cost solution to test much faster?

What if your idea is not viable? Wouldn't you rather find out sooner and richer rather than later and poorer?

Same logic applies to learning to code yourself. Why spend months to get it done yourself, if you can get it out there quick?

To learn more about CMS look at these threads (and use the search of course):

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/we...ng/27229-easiest-way-build-small-website.html

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/we...languages-learn-website-business-concept.html

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/we...-management-system-my-website.html#post139824

That being said, CMS is not a magic solution for everything. Many ideas are much better off coded. Then there is the question again of should you do it yourself or hire someone?

The bottom line here is that you should think before you start programming your own website.

As a fastlaner you should think about the best use of your Time and Skill.

The idea is to build a successful internet business, not to become a successful programmer.
There are some great examples for people who built very successful online business with little or no coding:

Snowbank is a great example. He built an online poke-r training business without writing one line of code. He concentrates on what he is good at: Poke-r and Making money.

Biophase and Marktech are other great examples of people who built successful e-commerce businesses with coding being a small or non-existant part of their work.

Heck, even my brother who is an experienced programmer and runs a tech start-up is now sorry he didn't hire coders from day 1 so he could concentrate on the management side.

 

[900]

Great post. There've been a ton of these posts, and in my opinion, people should "do what they're good at". I've been around computers an web stuff all of my life, but was never much of a programmer, though I have built a few things and even charged for them.

In hindsight, it was time wasted as I was much better at other things, such as marketing, and designing and defining what the product or project I was building was going to be.

My current project, I lucked out, found a couple of very experienced technical co-founders, and I stay away from code, but am involved in the product definition, business development, design, and all the other aspects that they can't do. Between them they have 25 years of actual development experience, and have so far built some very cool bits that there's no way I could have done.

Another tip. I've also started outsourcing even the CCS and HTML development from my wireframes, and then exact mockups that I create in Photoshop. It wasn't worth my time to even create that in my mind, when it can be outsourced to HTML chop shops for an average of $100 a page. I use a Eastern European one, though they're from all over, so your results may vary. The results I've gotten so far are well beyond my expectations, and frankly, much better than I could have created. My guess is I would have spent weeks of not doing something else had I not paid someone else.

 

[Davidla]

Great post. There've been a ton of these posts, and in my opinion, people should "do what they're good at". I've been around computers an web stuff all of my life, but was never much of a programmer, though I have built a few things and even charged for them.

In hindsight, it was time wasted as I was much better at other things, such as marketing, and designing and defining what the product or project I was building was going to be.

My current project, I lucked out, found a couple of very experienced technical co-founders, and I stay away from code, but am involved in the product definition, business development, design, and all the other aspects that they can't do. Between them they have 25 years of actual development experience, and have so far built some very cool bits that there's no way I could have done.

Another tip. I've also started outsourcing even the CCS and HTML development from my wireframes, and then exact mockups that I create in Photoshop. It wasn't worth my time to even create that in my mind, when it can be outsourced to HTML chop shops for an average of $100 a page. I use a Eastern European one, though they're from all over, so your results may vary. The results I've gotten so far are well beyond my expectations, and frankly, much better than I could have created. My guess is I would have spent weeks of not doing something else had I not paid someone else.

Thanks for sharing your experience 900.

Can you elaborate on the outsourcing part? Where do you find the freelancers? What process do you use to screen them etc?

 

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[900]

Thanks for sharing your experience 900.

Can you elaborate on the outsourcing part? Where do you find the freelancers? What process do you use to screen them etc?

There was no major screening as they were already well established.

One I checked was PSD2HTML.cm which was a bit more but looked pretty good. They take a source file and turn it into working HTML/CSS.

I ended up using Convert PSD to HTML / CSS, PSD to XHTML slicing service. Design to HTML / XHTML conversion online which was a bit cheaper, and I had awesome results. I did specify EVERYTHING which is my nature, and may have helped, but make sure you cover your details and what you expect.

There are dozens of others, but I felt that going low end was too risky, and at the higher end there probably wasn't a ton of difference. It was just over $400 for 3 pages initially, and it was money well spent. Sending a whole additional batch soon.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Bump.

 

[MoneyDoc]

This is an excellent post!

I referred to this 2 days ago when I launched my eCommerce site!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

This is an excellent post!

Yea, I've been aggregating most common questions to put into a central location. Found it during my search. I should have that up today.

 

[Peta of JamRock]

I have knowledge with HTML and CSS, but trust and believe that I would happily hand over building my portfolio site to a professional if I had the cash to spare.

I loved teaching myself back in high school and picking up new things now, but I would have hired someone else if I could. As soon as my business picks up, though? Outsourcing that segment. Without hesitation.

 

[BigBrianC]

Nice post. I also think if you have some programming experience but not necessarily enough to tackle your full problem but need a custom solution, look at frameworks! Bootstrap by Twitter for example. You get the ease and convenience of a template and all the "hard stuff" already done and then you can use your programming ability to customize.

 

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[Luffy]

It makes sense to outsource the coding aspect but how do you know if you're having the right person on your team when you don't have any knowledge of what they're doing?

 

[Peta of JamRock]

It makes sense to outsource the coding aspect but how do you know if you're having the right person on your team when you don't have any knowledge of what they're doing?

Hmm, I wish I knew. I've been lucky to have been surrounded by designers and coders since I left high school, so getting help or a referral is no issue for me. The only thing I can currently think of is to try a site like People Per Hour or Upwork (formerly Odesk) and search for website developers. If I can remember right, you should be able to search based on highest ranked and most positive reviews as well as see a portfolio of their work.

If anyone else has better alternatives, please share. This isn't an area I'm 100% familiar with.

 

[Peta of JamRock]

As for me, I'm using Wordpress and I put my own code and design aside for a ready-made premium gallery theme that does what I want and is responsive to boot. I haven't had use of my desktop for much of November due to it throwing tantrums, so I'm a bit behind schedule but still aiming for an early January launch.

 

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[Tallphil]

Great read, thank you very much!