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Hi guys,
I've currently reached a point where I need a website developer, my skills lie within online marketing, main SEO. The crossroad I'm stuck at is hiring a full time developer or outsourcing the work, how do you guys develop your sites? learn to code, outsource or use a full time developer?
Wordpress and learn basic html
I am still learning all this stuff. My partner has the experience with wordpress, etc. Is there a single best way to learn wordpress and anything else needed to build a successful website?Quote:
Originally Posted by edgarf76
Wordpress is user friendly, you can quickly learn to use it by installing it and looking through the dashboard.Quote:
Originally Posted by feelthenoize
The best way to learn is just to do it. I knew nothing about Wordpress and just started "playing" with it and building pages. It takes time but just jump in and start working with it. One great think about wordpress is that you cant really break it and if you mess something up you can always revert back to the previously saved draft. Just start building pages and if you get stuck on something Google it, 99% of the time someone has already asked the same question so the answer will be there. If not ask someone here on the GPWA.
When it becomes more cost effective to outsource or hire someone to develop sites then obviously go for one of those options. I.e if your skills are wasted learning a new skill due to the opportunity cost on work you could doing.
If you give more details about the kind of work needed or the stage you are at you might get more helpful responses. When I started out I spent hours learning how to fix tiny alignment issues, editing code and other various basic tasks. Now I just send them to one of the developers. If the job can be fixed quicker than it takes to explain to the developer them I fix myself still.
If you need to add some styling to CSS then you could do it yourself. If you need a complex database and filter system developed then I would look to out source.
If you require constant maintenance and development then it might be best hire someone in house. I assume you could get a good full time developer for $30-35k p/y
Thanks for the advice. I appreciate the feedback.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltimatePokerBonus
Hello TheWaiter, I am also in online marketing/SEO and I don't have much idea about website development. But whenever I have a chance, I make sure to learn about these kind of stuffs even just the basics. Every knowledge I have right now are mostly based on my personal experience, and if you want to learn you must start experimenting on your own now. :)
In my opinion outsourcing is not an option and hiring webdevelopers is worth it only if you have a very, very stable financial situation. Building decent websites is not hard.
Look for "Idiot guides" on google. Html idiot guide, things like that. www.w3schools.com is also a good learning resource. Together with wordpress you can create decent stuff right from the bat. Wordpless + learning html = perfect for beginners. Then it`s on to beginner guides in php, sql (or anything else you need), I reckon very few webmasters here are top class coders. You already know the industry well, SEO, online marketing, how a website works, it will be easier to learn
Not looking to brag or promote myself, but I reckon it could give you an idea about what you need to learn and what you can do. I think my website www.betdistrict.com is pretty decent. My skills? A html idiot guide read 10 years ago, a little practice with a blogger blog & html, and learning php, sql and css when I was bed-bound for 3 weeks after breaking my knee. Key is that you learn enough so that you know what and where to look for, nobody codes hundreds of lines by himself anymore (well, almost nobody).
If you have a guy you can as questions from time to time, that would sweeten the learning process even more.
If I can give an advice - if you want to build good websites, you can do it yourself. But if you really want a top project, I reckon hiring someone is better, better invest the money (if you have it) than the long hours needed to become a medium-advanced webdeveloper.
Of course, it all depends on different factors, what is your situation, how are you working, what you want to do, etc ... but the best solution, if possible, is do it yourself in my opinion. You`ll be thrilled to find out you can do stuff (RELATIVELY easy) you would be paying many hundreds of euros for, arguably even more
Edit: I think I sounded too much like a "guru" in this message, sorry about that, but I have no more time to edit it.
Do you need a developer or a designer? I assume you are from the UK, then employing either will not come cheap! Maybe you can find a freelancer to start off with?
It is difficult to find a responsible and hardworking web developer.
There are black sheep in all kinds of industries. You are likely to encounter bad experience hiring one.
Be prepared to lose some money hiring the wrong guy.
How is it difficult? Sites like freelancer dot com let you post and offer and just look through hundreds of applicants. You can directly communicate with them, see their locations, language skills etc etc and describe the project in details before even starting.
Anyways as most of the above suggested, a wordpress and perhaps a custom template would be a lot easier to maintain and update. Not to mention that the huge database of plugins and faq would meet every need of yours and help you fix any unexpected issues you might come across.
I find freelancer sites pretty much a mine field for hiring anyone. True, there are few diamonds in the rough, but when it comes to web development it is not easy to establish how competent a user is in the same way you can by reviewing content by a content writer.
While I stand by the hire cheap, hire twice motto in most cases - paying a premium does not guarantee a satisfactory job.
In the past we got stuff done only for our new developer to say the coding was terrible and even the basics coding standards were missed. The company that did the apparently bad work were a 'highly established' Elance web development company that only take jobs for 5k or more in price. The end product was not satisfactory. The company were a struggle to work with and the job took ages. They seemed to work on the project for 1hr per day and then any tweaks they would have to send to a reviewer and come up with a new quote. They were really draining and I'm pretty sure intentionally so as the job was paid for up front. They were really unhelpful and missed loads of obvious elements in the PSD and forced ever minute detail to be spelt out to them.
Lucky we have 2-3 reliable we developers on the books now that completely understand the business. It takes time to work with them and I would recommend concentrating on building a relationship with them so that they are clued in to how you operate for future reference.
I'd outsource via a freelancer site. It can be a hit or miss affair but if you're as descriptive as possible before you start or sketch out the finished result then it can take a lot of the pain away. Start with a small trial or two until you find a freelancer that's a cut above the rest and use them going forward.
A good freelancer is worth their weight in gold and they are out there - it just takes a but of looking and remember that cheapest usually isn't best.
of course the best way is to do all by yourself in my opinion but sometimes you want to create things that you simply can not realize without any help. In such cases I would definitely outsource some developments. Depending on the amount of developments it would also make sense to start a cooperation with a good developer. If you just need some updates from time to time then I would outsource it.
Will pm some recommendations.
Great advice, Rostick
great post