Is it better to hire a web developer or take the time to learn it yourself

[chrisbiz4444]

I was just in the process of hiring a web developer. However he turned out to be very rude and unprofessional ultimately ending in him hanging up the phone because I wanted an idea on final cost of the build. I only have so much capital to start this up with and I did not want to start something I couldn't afford to finish. That would be a waste of money. Unfortunately I shared my idea with this guy and he might steal it and use it now. I am quite upset at the moment and It just shows how many bad people you run into when your doing business. I guess business teaches you to trust nobody.

Do you think learning everything it takes to build a site and market it is worth the time or should I just try to find someone else and not worry about the technical stuff ? I have no idea where to even start, i have no clue how to code, no clue how to SEO, I'm green when it comes to web business's. I guess I could start with wordpress. Any opinions or advice would be really helpful.

 

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[SeanKelly]

depends on complexity of site. Simpler sites can be made with a service such as wix.com and more complex sites I'd just contract out on elance/odesk.

 

[brycer9]

My opinion: Outsource what you don't know. If you can't learn it in a couple days, outsource it. Post on a bunch of freelancer sites and talk to each developer beforehand, take a good look at their reviews, and test them before hiring.

 

[FastLearner]

Unfortunately I shared my idea with this guy and he might steal it and use it now. I am quite upset at the moment and It just shows how many bad people you run into when your doing business. I guess business teaches you to trust nobody.

Remember, no one can execute the idea as good as you and if they can, at least they're providing more value to the targeted market.
Next time, don't say anything unless you've already paid and have a solid relationship with a developer. Good people aren't hard to find they're just a little more difficult to spot that's all.

 

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[CNP]

Usually it is not worth the time. Just find someone else to build your web business. After its built, you market the hell out of it. Since you dont have the skills now, it would take too much time to learn. you would eventually find someone to build it for your price unless its outrageous lol.
As its being built, you can learn how to code and your market...killing two birds with one stone.

Wordpress is ok, just depending on your business. If you want something unique and not formatted, let someone code for you. If you are not sure what you are trying to do, go with wordpress. And im sure there are people here that can help you with seo or tell you where to go. Just know general stuff and learn and dont dive in like I did.

 

[FastLearner]

Simpler sites can be made with a service such as wix.com and more complex sites I'd just contract out on elance/odesk.

Wix looks so childish and unprofessional. It's like using MySpace for a business..

 

[dominodivine]

It depends on do you have a budget. I am a developer and honestly I have outsourced plenty of task that I can do as I need to focus on the business side of things.

Now if you are very tight on funds, then we do what we have to do.

But here is the rule of engagement you should follow when talking to developers are telling any body your ideas.

1. Have them sign a Non disclosure agreement and sometimes it Non Compete
2. Ensure that you no exactly what you need done, because most developers charge by the hour and honestly I have seen people who is not sure what they want become a problem because they expect changes for free.
3. Do not use WIX - If you read the book then you know why ... You should not be building any business on someone else platform at any time they can pull the plug.

Remember you are the business man if you start coding than you have just found you a new job... And honestly I enjoy coding but I use my coding skils and knowledge just to ensure that I dont get beat.

Oh the other things is you want to get different quotes. Shop around my friend

 

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[dominodivine]

Oh I would like to add, most developers dont know how to SEO a site. Now you should learn SEO and marketing those are key skills that I would not outsource.

Some good sites to follow

Is

moz.com
distilled.net/blog/
Seobook.com

 

[johnp]

Some advice...

- There are smarter and better people than you.

Find them. Learn from them.

Many of them exist on this forum.

They can either program for you or help you find the right people who can do it.

- Don't bullshit around. Either learn it or don't. Just do something.

- In most cases, there is nothing wrong with a cocky programmer, or even one who comes across as being rude or arrogant. You need someone who is going to be straight with you and tell you what can be done and cannot be done. ESP if you don't even know what is possible to begin with. The last thing that you want is some laid back person who will keep you in development for years, so they have a job.

Notice that I hedged that statement with "in most cases", because obviously that is not always the case.

-Get someone to build it. Put another version on a test server. Hack it apart, rebuild pages, try to build features..watch videos. That's what I did and it helped me a lot. Except, I didn't do the test server.

- If you outsource it and fail well then.. you learned something. Try again. Been there..done that. Still alive.

Good luck.

 

[SeanKelly]

Wix looks so childish and unprofessional. It's like using MySpace for a business..

Key word there would be simpler. And I'd have to disagree. I've seen great sites come from that.

 

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[chrisbiz4444]

This might sound ridiculous but can I find pre written non disclosure and non complete forums ?

 

[AndrewNC]

This might sound ridiculous but can I find pre written non disclosure and non complete forums ?

google.com

 

[whiteeclipse]

Different people have different skills, if your have a vision and you have the business ideas then you should be investing your time in planning and organizing the startup of a business, not waste your time learning how to become a programmer, just outsource the programmer from elance, odesk or freelance.

Goodluck

 

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[damien275x]

I was lucky enough to work in Website & Application developer roles right out of high school since 18, and i'm 24 now. All I'm going to say is, three years is going to pass by anyway. The web will still be around in three years, we'll probably all be more dependent on it than we are now (think mobile web) I say learn.

There's something great about being able to create something exactly as I see it in my mind. No compromises.. not only that, but being technical when outsourcing ensures people won't take you for a ride. In the same way that it'd be hard to buy a good second hand car with no knowledge. If you don't know, at the very least.. bluff. Find some jargon and work it into your specs.

 

[H. Palmer]

It's hard to outsource something that you don't understand.

 

[Bigguns50]

Amschel....I agree from experience. I did outsource my site and it's been chasllenging BUT worth it. I would suggest learning about various platforms and what they can be used for. Study up on terminology. Basically so you can more effectively communicate we with the developers.

I used Elance so I read details of similar job postings and researched all the above.

 

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[pbl24]

You need to focus on your core competencies. If development isn't part of your core competency, you should outsource it. In fact, I've often see people who are developers themselves, outsource technical aspects like this. The fact of the matter is, time is limited, and you should be focused on things that have the most evident form of return. This may be customer development, marketing, experimenting, etc. If you're tight on funds and want to outsource, ensure that you have identified the absolute most bare boned features required to get a minimum viable product out the door and into the hands of potential customers. You don't want to waste precious time/money by adding superfluous (or un-validated) features.

 

[Lakeview]

You need to focus on your core competencies.

You nailed it! If there is one thing I have learned on TFL forum, it is ....what is the best use of your time - RIGHT NOW! Now do it!

 

[exige]

Not worth it to learn it yourself. What you should do yourself is decide on an initial platform and direction, depending on exactly what it is your website is going to be doing. If its content and basic e-commerce, front end to sell information/e-book/etc., then just get a hosting account with Wordpress and go on your way. If you need custom functionality, like a web app etc. then you'll need to have it built.

Make sure your dev isn't going to write and send you crazy code. With no programming knowledge its going to be hard to vet #1 yourself. Make sure you clearly articulate exactly what you want the site to look like, the screen flow, and what functionality you want it to have/what you want it to do. Then get a proposed solution architecture back from the dev, and run it by a 2nd opinion to make sure they aren't over-engineering it or under-engineering it. If its just a small site without a big development effort you could probably find someone on here that would take a look for you and give you a thumbs up or thumbs down and let you know if there are code smells etc.

A lot of offshore devs will build _exactly_ what you specify, bugs and all. You want to be careful that you don't wind up with a load of crap that will cost you 3x as much to fix. There's really no magic bullet for that other than carefully vetting the folks up front, checking references, and having someone you trust keep an eye on it and do a code review.

Building a proper solution is a lot more than just learning to code.

Anyway, my opinion in short is outsource the dev, outsource the SEO, and focus on the business, pretty much what all the other posters have said.

 

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