For people who do not want to program

[billy]

I really do not like programming, I have a ton of business ideas but I still get way too confused with programming and I really am not interested in it.

I was wondering if I would be skipping over process by hiring programmers to build my sites for me?

It's just one of those things I don't have fun messing with. But I can learn it but I am afraid it may set me back another year and a half, where I want to start building businesses NOW!

Please let me know what you think as I am not trying to skip over process to get to the event.

 

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[SirKonstantine]

Your not.

You can hire a dude from oDesk or Elance to do programming work for a few dollars an hour. It'll save you the time of learning how to program and doing the programming yourself. I know tons of web design guys who just make PSDs and then send it off to India.

By sending the programming off, it allows you to be focused on the more important stuff.

 

[mrhahn]

I agree. I have a programming background so until I have some cash flow on smaller projects, I'll program most of my stuff. But I would rather outsource it for a cheaper rate elsewhere. However since I have a technical background I can know exactly what to ask for from a technical perspective which will allow me to easily maintain the project in the future (coding frameworks, unit tests, etc). I would suggest gaining enough understanding of the programming language you'd like the work done in to hold a decent conversation with your contractor.

 

[marcospolaca]

I would suggest gaining enough understanding of the programming language you'd like the work done in to hold a decent conversation with your contractor.

I agree with that. I'm a programmer myself, so I've been on both sides of the fence. If you understand what a programmer does, that makes the relationship MUCH easier for everyone.

Just like business, alot of programming involves 'figuring stuff out'... so there's not usually a 1:1 relationship between time and what's completed in that time.

Short of learning how to program, I would suggest finding a good development blog, and just read about the trials and tribulations of a typical project.

Read up on SCRUM too. Agile dev processes can really help you work with the uncertainty and still get stuff done.

 

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[bouch]

Really good advice guys! I am kind of in the same boat because I don't have a lot of experience in programming nor do I have a lot of time to learn on the side.

I have a project going right now with a contractor but it's a little unnerving not knowing what I need on the back-end of the website or if they will be able to set up my website with a Content Management System.

 

[stranger]

Nice topic. I too hate programing, but i have to learn some basical stuff to not hire a guy every time. Well, I know HTML, but it's not enough to run a modern website.

 

[valuegiver]

If you're getting them from those freelancing sites, don't expect good quality sites.

Your not.

You can hire a dude from oDesk or Elance to do programming work for a few dollars an hour. It'll save you the time of learning how to program and doing the programming yourself. I know tons of web design guys who just make PSDs and then send it off to India.

By sending the programming off, it allows you to be focused on the more important stuff.

 

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[James Fake]

My honest opinion would be to: outsource a web designer/developer to get started.. and then in the mean time; go and take a few free courses (hundreds all over the web) and learn the basics and logic behind:

HTML
CSS
Basic PHP
Database relationships
& coding logic

You don't necessarily have to be efficient or good at any of them, but know enough to know what is going on. It will help you out in the long run.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to learn the basics of those either, just some trial and error on actual projects.

 

[mrhahn]

I forgot where I got this link from, probably from a post somewhere on here. Some good ideas on how to outsource work using freelancing sites: How to hire a programmer to make your ideas happen | Derek Sivers

 

[rain371]

I like James idea. Good Call!

 

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[dec360]

I am on the same boat here. But I found some really good tutorials online that explain the basics of creating a website using HTML and CSS. I will place the link below.

What I like about these tutorials is that they are fundamental, basic and professional. They are not from some kid trying to show of some fancy tricks using Dream weaver CS5.

Although I plan on hiring someone else to do it, I think its important to know the basics on how things work so that you can tweak the site on your own and also learn the terminology to communicate with programmer/coder

Hope this helps.

David

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMZARc_GdLE

 

[mtnman]

I was a contractor that took free html classes at the local library and wanted to smash monitors at the site of ftp. That was a few years ago, and now I stack my checks from the interwebs. Oops I mean wires.

That said, I still hire out. Doing things you hate when you're at a point when you don't need to kills your momentum and passion.

If you're bootstrapping, yeah learn what you can.

 

[MCD]

If you're getting them from those freelancing sites, don't expect good quality sites.

I have disagree with you, I don't think that is true at all. Sure some of the guys on these sites are terrible but its the same as hiring people for any job... There will be guys that are great at what they do and ones that are not, you need to know how to weed out the bad ones. If you take the time to really treat it like you're hiring an actual employee you won't have half as many crappy workers.

 

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[Icy]

I have disagree with you, I don't think that is true at all. Sure some of the guys on these sites are terrible but its the same as hiring people for any job... There will be guys that are great at what they do and ones that are not, you need to know how to weed out the bad ones. If you take the time to really treat it like you're hiring an actual employee you won't have half as many crappy workers.

Quality talent doesn't hang around Odesk or Elance. They are simply a bidding war to the bottom. You may get something that 'works' but chances are it's not quality work (i.e. hard to build off of).

 

[brendan]

IMO the best and easiest solution is to use Wordpress which is free and is very easy. I have 40+ wordpress sites earning me a semi-passive income and I don't know much programming at all. Don't use the Wordpress.com site which is similar to Blogger but buy your own domain(s) and install the Wordpress cms(free) on those. Wordpress is ideal because you utilize templates or "themes" to create your website. Many are free and some are available at a low cost. examples: Themes | WooThemes

You just need a Wordpress-friendly host (pm me for a recommendation) and its a simple, automated install process done through c-panel. Would be happy to answer any questions because it wasn't long ago that I was in the same boat.

 

[mapaul04]

I was in a similar situation recently. I had very little programming experience but wanted to start a service based website and figured I could learn the more advanced code as I went. I started to program my website about 4 months ago and after about 3 months of working I decided to check out oDesk just to see what costs would be. At the time I didn't think I would actually hire anyone but I posted about my job and got around 20 applications, I decided to interview a couple of the programmers and eventually decided to hire a programmer from India for 9.00/hour. My applications ranged from $9.00-$20.00/hour, I was worried about hiring a guy for only $9.00/hour but he had great feedback, great test scores, and lots of hours worked so while he was the lowest cost I felt it would be worth it to at least give it a try.

So far I feel like it was the right choice. I will be able to launch my site in the next month or so where as if I had kept coding I probably wouldn't have finished before years end. The saved time will be well worth the costs.

I would certainly suggest using oDesk or one of the other outsourcing websites.

Good Luck

 

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[FastNAwesome]

All these sites mentioned here are simply marketplaces, a means of connecting clients and customers, like yellow pages, or tv/newspaper ad etc.

It's just an interface and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the work. Quality of work depends on who you work with, and how have you arranged your deal. There ARE cheap coders that can put to shame expensive experts, but they are rare, and you usually get what you pay for.

Outsourcing should be seen as a means of faster and cheaper expanding your business, without need to hire more in-house employees and buy more equipment, or rent more space.

So even if you outsource locally, you're at win.

And if you outsource somewhere way east (which for me is probably nearby), yes, you'll get better rates, but quality coders will never work for a few bucks, it's a myth. Life costs here as well.

 

[valuegiver]

This is what you get when you find "quality"talents on outsourcing sites..

=> https://flippa.com/148007-gooruze-com-pr5-4-yrs-old-142k-invested

It's not even worth a buck IMO.

 

[cilaes]

I've been doing every aspect of web design / web development for over 8 years now... I can make any idea or thought come to life in a matter of a few days, but get so caught up in it that nothing else BUT that ever gets done with it.

Spend your time learning how to market your idea, and put everything else behind it into the works. It's way too cheap to outsource programming, whereas I can program it, but the marketing is always expensive if outsourced.

 

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[Likwid24]

What if you had an excellent idea for a website, but it's a site that will need constant updates and also need constant supervision when it's up and running? How do you handle a website like that if you outsourced?

 

[cilaes]

What if you had an excellent idea for a website, but it's a site that will need constant updates and also need constant supervision when it's up and running? How do you handle a website like that if you outsourced?

Outsource the updates and supervision as well... or find a way to automate it... again, without know exactly what kind of supervision or updates it's hard to give advice, but the whole big picture behind computers is the ability to automate.

Take Craigslist for example, they automate the detection of spam classified ads, etc... It takes constant updating, etc to do so, but I'm sure there is a staff involved, but mainly just automation.

 

[Zac afronso]

i agree with Cilas. The most important part is on the idea. What sort of business ideas you have? How are you going to make it popular and monetize it?

i love to outsource, and i don't have programming knowledge either. I saw some comments on this forum slamming outsourcing which i think is really a very skewed opinion. Outsourcing site is like a job board where you "hire" people you think fits your needs. There are bound to be hits and misses. When i started outsourcing, i set aside a little budget to try out some suppliers. My idea is to hire programmers on small bits of the projects before you decide if they are good enough to take on the whole thing. It is also good to have some basic knowledge on programming so you can sound like you know what you are doing and not get cheated (sorry for that word) by some very dishonest programmer on these outsource site.

When i first started outsourcing, i hit a rough patch. The india programmer i hired did a very lousy job and i had to pay more than double his quote to get it fixed. From him, i learned that some programmers work this way: They give you a very low quote, then makes you pay everytime you need to fix something. However, i learned a very valuable lesson from there: Know what you want them to do so you won't get fooled. Hence, i started reading up on basic programming things, get my hands dirty trying out all the wordpress plugins, aweber, affilate links etc. I think one must understand these are freelance or programmers who are not that highly skilled. Hence you need to put the whole internet project together, a simple sitemap, things you want the site to work (you need to show them examples etc). When you outsource, you must prepare that i) The project runs longer than you expected either because the programmer is not up to it so you need to make many changes or you axed the programmer and needs to rehire and 2) The cost may overrun due to the above factors.

Hence it is certainly good to have some basic knowledge (like James suggested) so you can give them detailed instruction so they can't missed it.

Alternatively you can check out virtual staff finder or brickworkindia. Of course you pay slightly more as they acts like agents.

Hence 1) Try out outsourcing with the right perspective 2) Learn some basic stuff so you can lead the project and get the programmers spinning out the codes for you.

 

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