Thread: Outsourcing Entire Website

I've read a few posts about outsourcing but one that never hit this specific topic.

First of all, I'd like to acknowledge that this is a touchy topic for some and essentially I may be walking on thin ice with this post; so no offense to anyone!

I'm looking to start a venture with an online business. More specifically an auction-based site for a niche market. Economically, it doesn't make sense for me to start by hiring an expensive full time, or even part time developer although I do realize the benefits in doing so. I've looked into posting my project on Guru and received some pretty legit bids. I even contacted the company that designed the site for NoteHall (the 2 kids on Shark Tank with the note-sharing site). I'm a little uncomfortable with outsourcing in the fact that I feel I don't have complete control over the development and that it may be difficult to communicate specific wants and changes over emails and phone conversations. But back to the point, it just makes more economical sense.

I feel if the site takes off, I can hire someone in-house who can make constant tweaks. What do you guys feel about this direction?

I've also considered partnering with a developer by sharing partial revenues (10-15%) in X amount of time in order to reduce my initial cost and also incorporate the experience of the developer while they'd have invested interest.

Give me your thoughts and feedback on the above. I'm very accustomed to the tangible aspect of business, but really find attraction to the internet service-based industry.

EastWind, I completely agree with your "one dimensional" opinion about most developers. I've had some in-house designers for my current business but I found myself pounding my head over and over again.
I see your approach about learning php myself, however that is very time consuming and the degree of difficulty required to achieve the goals of the site may require TOO much time and a lot of trial and error. I'm looking for a very successful initial launch.
I would prefer to find a local developer, but I feel like matching the skill set and the pay I'm looking for is hard to find. That's why I'm debating resorting to outsourcing.

Max, the problem with that is I don't want to risk dealing with the kinks and "bugs" that may come with a beginner.

I guess what I'm saying is, I'm trying to find the best of both worlds; a very well put together/efficient site and for a very reasonable price. I may have to sacrifice something, so I'm guessing it may be the communication.

Anyone have any experience with starting a web site with custom features, but wanting to do so on a reasonable budget?

Building any website will always involve bugs and kinks. There is no programmer on earth that can make something for you that is 100% to your liking.

I myself outsource my whole project to outsourced programmers and i dont spend anytime other than basic writing and promotion.

While some can program and learn it themselves i myself dont have the time for that. It takes 1/10th the time to hire someone. While this is the case for me i highly suggest you dont. Why you ask?

Now finding someone reliable and trustworthy on a budget? Is tough. Im not a fan of relying on anyone for my business and relying on a programmer is asking to fail.

Not many will tell you a custom site is expensive. You are looking at least 15.00 an hour with a basic project being close to 150 to 200 hours.

If your trying to launch a social network you are looking at... around 7500 to 10,000.

So here im telling you not to hire outsourced group while i outsource all my projects. Ive also been through 20 or more programmers and invested 10,000 or more in projects with little return. After you go through that learning curve you tend to be able to find good work alot easier. So depending on your learning curve you might not want to go that route.

Send me a PM with what type of site your building and i can give you some suggestions on maybe scripts that can be used to save cost and money.

It really depends what you want to build. The best course is to build off an existing system such as wordpress or customize an existing script.

Heres a tip of you do outsource.

What you want to do is create a sketch of the site functionality and features you want. YOu want to use screenshots and even a temporary simple site that functions. You than want to write out every single thing about the site from overview to where and what each link does.

this benefits you for two reasons. One it helps the programmers since the more information they know the better. They dont care about your niche and to them your niche means nada.

If the project is so detailed and complex it might and usually scare the amateur programmers since they will invite themselves for bad feedback.

I highly also dont suggest local programmers. They would be the least reliable since their livelyhood does not depend on it and once they get that local job you can see your investment dollars good bye.

AllOutorNothing- I'm in the same boat as you. I am not interested in learning the code or learning how to design the site myself, rather I want to invest that time and mind into further expanding the site in terms of promotion and features. However, I'm pretty sure that I'll have plenty of holes in the site that I never thought about after the site is done and ready. So how do I end up finding a developer that takes pride in the customer's work and wants to give their own input based on experience and expertise?

Since I read your post, I actually posted a bid on Guru for a GD to design 5 concepts of front pages. Not actual pages with working links, rather just a flat image of layout so I can tweak that, and show the satisfied product to my developer. I've also posted an ad on CL to search for a local developer, but I know the reliability of those first hand.

This is why I go back to my point; should I offer the developer a small stake in the earnings over x time (ex. one year) in an effort to fill the holes and use their expertise to successfully launch the site while getting continual support?

No dont offer a stake... u never want to share revenue or ownership with someone you hire. They are an employee not an investor.