Qs re: Custom Code Modifications to my First Dating Site

[Esquire]

I purchased rights to open-source dating software, and sent out a proposal for substantial modifications to a programmer who came highly recommended from another dating site owner using the same platform.

I was quoted two prices and two options, Here is what he said:

"After clearly understanding the amount of work required, I estimate that it would take around 320 hours of coding. That means it would take around 8 weeks to complete the task ... There is also another plan with around 240 hours of coding and 6 weeks for completion ... The difference between the two is level of accuracy, stability and standardization of code (which means that while making your functions functional, I also take care of the unwarranted conditions that may or may not happen). That makes your website robust, stable, and your website do better error handling for fast debugging. In first case the code is well documented and tested to make it robust and easy for future integration/upgrades, but in later case emphasis is on towards completing the features. You will get your work done in both cases with the functionality you mentioned. But the differences are clearly mentioned."

Option # 2 costs 25 percent more than Option # 1.

Ultimately I decided I would do some 80/20 analysis, prioritize the proposed modifications, then break the modifications into phases, with an eye to getting the site on the market sooner than later. Some features (like blogging, for example) are just not that important to what I am trying to accomplish and can wait for a subsequent upgrade. .

In any event ... I know very little about programming and it does not make sense for me to try to become an expert in it. I'll stick to site design and marketing. So I have a few questions (if you don't mind my asking).

First: How important do you suspect the optional "code standardization" is in the big picture ...? Is this essential ... or do you think the potential "debugging" issues can be just as easily addressed at some later date if and as they arise?

Second: (and I know this is a rookie question for programmers) ... what is the main cause of bugs? Faulty programming ...? Or faulty hardware ...?

Thanks!

 

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[OsmanS]

I'll simply address 2 because thats the one I know

Bugs are pretty much a given with any software products and are bound to happen. It can be either faulty programming or older hardware (Internet Explorer). Software products are shipped out with hundreds of known and unknown bugs if they don't impede use.

 

[pbl24]

320 hours, or even 240 for that matter, is a huge chunk of time. It is especially risky is you broker this deal through a contract. What I would suggest, as a developer, is to try to scope a smaller area that you can send to this developer for a trial run. If you find something that can reasonably be done in a few days or a week, you can get an idea of what it's like to work with the person, the average response time, the quality of milestones, etc. After this trial period, you can assess whether or not you want to extend the full contract to him or her. If all goes belly up during the trial run, you're only out a little bit instead of a huge amount.