where do you find help with rebuilding the right sites

[kirikara]

Hi,
I am in need of some serious direction regarding website creation/redesign hiring.
I have a tiny online store that my husband built 100% on joomla and virtuemart
It was his first project and frankly we are at a point where it needs a bunch of good maintenance with the paypal integaration, MAJOR seo (visits are minimal) and some added features if i want to grow (newsletter, special coupons etc..)
I think at this point we need to outsource since my husband can be of much better use working on the biz itself and the content.

We also have 3 to 5 projects we also need website created for, some fairly simple some more compliacted (online booking website, shopping website, dating website and podcast website)

I have looked around, and posted a lot on elance, and did not get much good results from that. I also posted on .fr forums since my one current site is in french and no asnwer there either.

We obviously dont have a huge budget for the kind of thing we want to do but I dont want to pay for a job that will be less good than what hubby could do...

QUESTION: where can i find a trustworthy webmaster than would do a good job and has enough skills to cover all the different projects and technical issues we would encounter? any advice? What can of pricing should I expect for decent work? I really want someone that can contribute ideas to the projects rather than just executing what I ask for.

[edited by: phranque at 2:14 pm (utc) on Jan. 16, 2009]
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[caribguy]

I really want someone that can contribute ideas to the projects rather than just executing

Welcome to WebmasterWorld kirkara!

Your requirements suggest a level of involvement that goes beyond what you might find from a freelancer. You're looking for an ongoing relationship with a person that provides both technical expertise and execution, AND managerial input / business guidance.

My question would be: what will you and your husband contribute that that person can not achieve on his own? The answer might well be funding or specific knowledge of your market. You say that you do not have a huge budget, this could considerably limit your options. Also, without going in too much detail, your ideas regarding other sites seem to be at a very preliminary stage and rather scattered...

I would split the project up in parts, and focus immediate attention on growing your existing site only. Establish clearly defined goals and benchmarks. If you really feel inclined to keep pursuing the other projects, pick one of the other four as the secondary objective and solidify your plans as time permits while you are generating revenue with the existing site.

Doing this allows you to choose a developer who is able to meet your technical and SEO goals in the short term, and with whom you may be able to establish an ongoing trust relationship and higher level of involvement in the long run. With a smaller set of initial requirements, your search will be a lot easier....

[kirikara]

Hi thanks for your input. Your are totally right on the several project we have. Currently my immediate priority is working on the online shoe site, my husband works on his own business (where I help) which is second in line in term of priorities (only because it is more time consuming as a project)
the other 2 -3 projects are definitely more for later but I am mentionning them because I am also thinking about this when hiring the person I am looking for our immediate projects. I would rather be a repeat customer.

I think I also was not very clear with my last phrase you are quoting. I am definitely not looking for someone to contribute to the business or the project itself, but I am looking for a programmer who can, when brought a project like " we need to do this and that" can provide a technical solution that fits, even it is a little out the box (meaning that maybe the site wont be doing xyz the way we personnally described it but a slightly different way that can improve the backend/coding/functionnality part and make things smoother to run)

Either way, whether I take your cue to just look for what I need immediately or for several projects, where would you hire such service? Do you know of something better than elance?

[caribguy]

I would look at websites with functionality and design attributes that mirror what I want to accomplish and find out who developed those. This will also give you a good feel as to the viability of your plans (i.e. adjust your requirements if those sites all seem to be operated by multi-million dollar companies.)

Since I personally think that it's important to have face to face meetings to discuss critical aspects of my projects, I would limit my selection to development firms that are located in my geographical area. But that's just my own preference...

[rocknbil]

Welcome aboard kirikara, if you're not finding a suitable provider on eLance, it's very likely that a) the RFP you submit is too open-ended or unclear, or b) the budget range you're asking for is far too low for the amount of work you're requesting. eLance is a great venue for both providers and clients (or buyers, or employers, whatever they are calling it . . . TODAY . . . )

It takes a lot of massaging on both sides of the deal, client and provider alike, to find a compatible counterpart in a budget both of you can afford. There is a lot of lowball bidding, a lot of nefarious tactics (lowball-bid to get the project, then mess with the client later to get more money out of them, and vice-versa) so it takes a lot of patience to find the right people.

Once you do, it's priceless. I've hooked up with some clients there that are just awesome . . . but have also worked with nightmare clients too that I hope to never see again (although I made sure they were happy!)

Keep trying; be clear and complete in your RFP, and **try** to assume an air of trust rather than suspicion. RFP's that contain things like "easy job for someone who knows what they are doing" or "no funds will be put into escrow until [ridiculous condition]" will drive away your most valuable provider prospects, we know a problem project when we see one. :-)

An example of "clear:"

it needs a bunch of good maintenance with the paypal integaration, MAJOR seo (visits are minimal) and some added features if i want to grow (newsletter, special coupons etc..)

Processor integration and "some added features" are programming issues best posted in a web/programming category. Also, "some added features" needs to be a bit more specific. This can mean anything from simple existing program modifications or plugin installation to days of work. A provider needs to know what you mean by "Some."

Second, SEO is really a different category and is not really the strength of most programmers. I would suggest posting these as two different projects with two different price ranges, even though the most appropriate category for SEO is also Web and Programming.

[kirikara]

wow,
great comments guy.
I like a lot of your points. as you can see by my posts i tend to ramble a lot so I did not actually post what I really need to be done (thought it might not be necessary)

I really got the answer I was looking for though. I always thought I would better off finding one person/company to do it all rather than mix and match and have trouble with each of the provider to agree/make a complete job work.
However, i also felt like i might be finding better skilled provider by pin pointing what i really need (seo, functionnality, graphic design,...) and get someone that is specialized in one field.
I guess rocknbil answered that question.
Overall I am happy to hear elance is a serious platform, I have to say i got good bids (sometime out of my budget) and a lot of too cheap to be true/looks like the provider is using other people's site as work example bids.

I will raise my budget and see if I can get better providers to bid it might just be the issue...

overall i just want to say thanks for being so open to a newbie.THANKS!

[edited by: phranque at 2:10 pm (utc) on Jan. 16, 2009]
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[caribguy]

Glad to be of help :)

As you put on your project-manager hat, you'll get to lay out the rules of the game by drafting a project plan: one provider/developer vs multiple specialists, concurrent vs sequential tasks, goals, benchmarks, budget, go/no-go decisions, contingencies, communication & feedback loops, etc...

There is a good discussion going on right now in the "Site Graphics" forum, on how to draft requests for proposal (RFP). I think it will give you a good feel of what is involved and a place to start off from when you put together your own:

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