[Jewelry making - Article 00177] - Re: [Orchid] Website Development Suggestion

[Tamra M. Gentry]

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Hi Kim,

    Alright. As one Orchidian mentioned, the website development issue
    is not as easy as it seems yet on the other hand, it's not as hard as
    seems either. I am currently working on an article about how to
    select a web developer and associated services, which I'll post a bit
    later when it's done. In the meantime, here are some suggestions
    based on my experiences. 

    If you can, by all means DO hire somebody to put together your site
    and to do the original coding on the front end. I did this and don't
    regret the cost I paid to have it done. There's absolutely no way I
    would have gotten what I wanted if I had done it myself. I paid to
    have it done with the intention of maintaining it all myself
    afterwards-everything from shooting and uploading photos, writing and
    changing out web copy, changing out Paypal info, etc. I maintain and
    update EVERYTHING. 

    If you go this route, no matter who you hire-friend, relative,
    professional, GET A THOROUGHLY DETAILED QUOTE that spells out
    EVERYTHING, especially time lines. Also, DO-PLEASE DO get at least
    three references, and don't be shy about the questions you ask them.

    When I got the first few quotes to have my site done (after firing a
    former colleague of my husband's who enthusiastically volunteered to
    do it for free.took him at least three months just to get going!!!),
    I found that a lot of companies and developers try to sell you on
    back-end content management, which costs money over time. I was
    prepared to pay the monthly fees for that; however, luckily enough,
    the developer I did hire found a free resource, Joomla!
    (www.joomla.org), that allows you to get a site up and running AND
    allows you to maintain it and whatever you want-storefront, etc.,
    for free!!! It's an excellent Open Source resource for what you want
    to do, I think (I don't usually do wikipedia, but this does seem to
    be sufficient enough to explain what Open Source is:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source). I can tell you a bit more
    on how I use Joomla! and how it works for me, if you're interested. 

    I am using godaddy.com for hosting. My developer said I need just
    their basic hosting package, which is pretty darned cheap, and which
    has worked out well for me so far. Because I haven't gotten to the
    point where I'm doing any shows or fairs, I don't need anything
    beyond Paypal's basic, free, merchant solutions plan (actually, I
    think it's their second level option)-which is integrated into my
    site. 

    As I mentioned, so far, everything is going pretty well. It's a lot
    of work to do everything yourself, but it's to be expected and I
    really do enjoy it. I am by no means done with my site, and wouldn't
    have launched it except that my husband recognized I was starting to
    sink into one of my grumpy-uber-perfectionist modes with it all. So,
    he lovingly but strongly suggested I get it up. It's up (I'm
    scowling, smile). It probably won't really be where I want it for
    another few months as I'm still learning a lot about everything I'm
    doing to get it where I really want it. 

    I have a number of product manuals and books that I've acquired in
    the process (Joomla!, Paypal, Creating Web Pages for Dummies
    All-In-One Desk Reference (which I strongly suggest you get so you
    have a general idea of how it all works together-a bit thick, but an
    easy read), all-things-Photoshop, etc. I also have a list of other
    resources, many free, in the "List" section of my site. 

    So, again, depending on what kind of time you have and what you want
    out of your site aesthetically and otherwise, I strongly suggest
    hiring somebody to do it. Would I recommend my guy? Hesitantly, yes;
    however, just know that he charges for asking questions if you do use
    him. But, my husband says that, in more of a post-production
    "consultant" role like that, it's typical. I think it's
    nickel-and-diming horsepucky. I also learned quite a bit about web
    developers and timing-which is why I stress that you should spell out
    a detailed timeline and communication expectations with regard to the
    same. BUT, more about that when I post my "article" on "How to
    Select a Website Developer." Oh, and do learn what "scope creep" is-I
    thought I had a really informative, readily available link, but I
    can't find it at the moment. 

    I can't stress enough though, if you have somebody do it, DO
    ABSOLUTELY GET DETAILED QUOTES AND REFERENCES, period(!), be very
    specific about a timeline, and finally, ask them about "scope creep." 


    If you have any other questions, feel free to hit me on or off-line. 

    I SO have the t-shirt for this one. 

Best,
Tamra Gentry
www.agjewelrydesign.com
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