Please give me some advice on hiring a developer + more...

[CoMp1eX]

Hi, i'm looking to start my first online business. It is a fairy big concept that also encompasses a blog, forum, ect. I immediately joined a HTML class at a local community college, only to find out that there is a lot more to learn! Well, in order to make a very professional and interactive site...

I'm going to continue self-educating myself, but the biggest set of advice everyone is giving me is to just hire a developer. Can someone with experience in this subject give me some advice on where to find a qualified developer? Also, what is the normal timelength, price, ect.? My deadline is by May, but I want to take immediate action to get this started. I'm hoping this will be my big break, thank you all. I really enjoy this site.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Yankees338]

Check with Aptohosting on here. His name is Tom and his business, Apto Hosting, is a sponsor of the forums here. I've heard all good things about their hosting and developing. I'm sure he could help you out.

 

[aptohosting]

Hi, i'm looking to start my first online business. It is a fairy big concept that also encompasses a blog, forum, ect. I immediately joined a HTML class at a local community college, only to find out that there is a lot more to learn! Well, in order to make a very professional and interactive site...

I'm going to continue self-educating myself, but the biggest set of advice everyone is giving me is to just hire a developer. Can someone with experience in this subject give me some advice on where to find a qualified developer? Also, what is the normal timelength, price, ect.? My deadline is by May, but I want to take immediate action to get this started. I'm hoping this will be my big break, thank you all. I really enjoy this site.

Hey there,

I can sure help you get a blog/forum combo set up. Did you already have a domain name in mind, if you did I could register it for FREE ($14.95 value). Depending on the complexity of your project, we can definitely have it done way before May. I have two guys that have over 15 years combined php/mysql/html/xml/css/development experience under their belt.

You can see more of our work here

www.aptohosting.com (Our main page)
www.pbparadise.com (Highly developed e-commerce solution)
www.rawautos.com (Simple blog we did for our client)

You can call me at 919-923-1176 (24/7) and we can talk about what you are looking to have done, or you can email me at tom@aptohosting.com

Also if you get started before the end of October, I will give you the first month of hosting for FREE!

Please let me know,

Thanks
Tom C.

www.aptohosting.com

 

[FT1]

Also check out www.scriptlance.com. I've bid out projects through their service and found some good developers.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[CoMp1eX]

Hi Tom, thanks for the help. I will definitely contact you about my project soon. Yes, I have the domain name. Although, I really like it. I'm still coming up with more ideas as I need a main site and a smaller contributory site. Not done with the business plan, so I will probably need some more time getting it completed. I would like to get it started by December, I will try to contact you this weekend by phone or email.

Anyone else have any advice? I will take all I can get.

 

[bflash98]

I have hired a couple of developers in the past and I find that it is all about communication. It is usually easy to tell whether someone can build a site or not by looking at examples of their work or their reputation. The part that is hard to figure out is their responsiveness and communication skills.

I hired a developer who did great work but when I sent him a punch list of things to fix/adjust he would reply back that all of them were fixed. When I asked what he had done to fix each of the problems he would again say he fixed them and did this. Now the things that he said he did were not related to the problem and did not fix the problem. I was never able to communicate with him well and ended up with a half completed job. Luckily I was able to finish the rest myself but the project took mouch longer because we had to go back and forth to solve a problem.

I'm thinking of hiring a developer for a new project and I have decided to hire a friend of mine becuase I know we are able to communicate well and he will get things done in a timely manner.

My advice if you have not worked with the person before is to give them a small assignment like creating a webpage and adding some colors and text in different locations. After the developer is done ask them to make a couple of changes if you are able to communicate well together than go forward with your project.

 

[CoMp1eX]

Thanks for the input. Communication is definitely on top of my list. I need a developer that will be able to make updates/changes almost daily. Is that normal for customers to ask for?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[aptohosting]

Thanks for the input. Communication is definitely on top of my list. I need a developer that will be able to make updates/changes almost daily. Is that normal for customers to ask for?

Yes,

If you decide to use our services, you will have my direct phone number (919-923-1176) that you can get a hold of me (Tom C.) 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Or you can email me at tom@aptohosting.com, direct line to my BlackBerry. This is normally how it works , we will go over your web design, what you want done, and your timeline. Then I will get started doing a prototype, and ask you to send me a daily list of tasks that you want completed. You will approve the changes/updates/modifications, etc and we will move on.

COMMUNICATION is our trademark, I guarantee that you will be responded to within one hour of contacting me!

Thank you
Tom C.

www.aptohosting.com

 

[vinnie]

In General when looking for a developer are you afraid they might copy your idea and run away with it? whats the usual process a developer and client go through before starting the project?

 

[CoMp1eX]

Great question. Here's what someone else told me on another forum -

"Don't be. Trust me, if you have an issue with telling people your idea, you're not gonna get anything done. If it's so revolutionary that no one has done it yet, it's probably because you haven't found it (it has been done), or it can't make money. The idea is only 1% of the game. You should be able to tell the world what your idea is and still be confident only you can execute it."

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[rico]

Good points raised, especially about communication.

I've worked with two companies in Asia and its been a mixed success. They're cheaper than local workers, but often lack imagination and general logic.

In the end we used a UK based designer to make up the basic layout which took him an hour, then the Asian developers did the legwork in making the site 90% finished. Then we'll get the UK guy back in to do the finishing touches.

Good luck