Need to create 2 websites in 4 months

Using MySQL, PHP, Javascript, CSS, RSS, XHTML and HTML

[unbeatabletechnology]

Hello Webmasters,

I have 2 clients that want me to set up two database websites using MySQL, PHP, Javascript, CSS, RSS, XHTML and HTML. I know a little bit about how these languages work but I have no idea how to use them except for html.

Here are the programs I have:
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop 7.0
Macromedia Studio MX
Notepad
Frontpage

Here is the deal. I have until february 5th to create the first site.

Site 1: Deadline February 25
I need to have a custom navigation panel at the top of the screen that is displayed on all the pages. It has to work on a variety of monitors and browsers. I need normal navagation buttons, a search, and a login built in.

I then need to display 3 information columns that can have xml (?xhtml) and rss feeds. I also need to be able to insert other feeds myself and the feeds need to be displayed on 3 seperate information columns. I then need to have each of the 3 feeds also go to seperate pages of the site. SO feed 'x' needs to be displayed on page 'x' feed 'y' on page 'y' and feed 'z' on page 'z'. On page xyz I need to be able to sort those feeds by a variety of parameters.
All of this information needs to be able to be archived on the site.

I need the pages on the site to be xhtml compatible so that other sites can have my feeds on their site i.e. my yahoo!, feedburner

All of the information needs to be in css format so it displays well on different computers.

Next I need to have a login option so that users can save articles and products they are interested in.

I also need an e-mail script that will send a message for a user requested term or article and that will also send them daily or weekly information from the site.

If possible the client wants to be able to get prices from a variety of sites to be displayed on a product page for several products.

The client also wants a site search that can search through all info on the site and sort it based on relevance, date, etc.

The client also wants ebay advertisements displayed on product pages.

At the top of every page the client wants to display banner ads that can be rotated and tracked.

All information on the site needs to be tracked.

Site 2 : Deadline April 25
Site 2 needs all of the above except the datafeeds. It only needs one database sorted by a variety of topics and searchable.

Where should I start and how should I approach this? Remember my knowledge is limited but I do have a fair amount of time and I could possibly ask for more time if necessary.

Thanks,

Mike

[brianminer]

are you looking to farm out the PHP and database work on this or did you take on these projects with hope you could pull this off? :)

Brian

[PatrickDeese]

I think you should probably be looking at outsourcing this - I doubt that anyone could learn all these diverse skills and get a presentable site up and running in 4 weeks.

You should get someone working on the first site right away, and learn from your subcontractor - and attempt to modify the 1st site to fit the needs of the second site.

You've bitten off more than you can chew - so now - if you plan on respecting the deadline - you should get this together ASAP.

Try eLance or one of the other outsourcing boards and hope that their price is lower than what you bid for the project.

[unbeatabletechnology]

I have 2.5 Months for site one and over 4 months for the second one. Does that change anything? My client is flexible and I can easily ask for an extended time frame. I would like to learn how to do all of this myself for future knowledge. If there was no time frame what would an estimate be to complete these sites working 20 hours per week on them including time spent learning?

I guess I should organize the two projects task by task and ask specific questions that pertain to the problem I have.

Thanks,

Mike

[topr8]

it is possible to do it yourself, especially if you use some of the "ready made" bits of code (either free or purchase) from places like hotscripts.

if i was you i'd learn a bit about databases first, then everything else will come together.

[topr8]

i was answering the question as to if it was possible!

but in terms of making money, well that is best done by getting others to do the work and you making a good profit on the job for yourself!

[brianminer]

unless your currently used to programing and database work and very comfortable with it odds are highly against going from plain HTML skills to PHP/SQL site in 2.5 months... If your charging fair market value and not giving your work away, you run the risk of having a very upset customer... They might be understanding if they are family or are paying so little for it that they can tolerate delays and such.... If you are charging fair market value for your work then you will be money ahead in all avenues in finding an experienced PHP/SQL code writer and farming it out to him/her... the work will be done quickly and correctly and you will make money... then after wards look at the code and reverse engineer it as a learning tool for the basics of proper coding.

Rule of thumb, "under promise and over deliver"

Brian