got some questions about this before i determine if it's worth the effort

i can do the coding and the design work easily enough and set up sites with hosting companies easily enough, but i'm wondering what potential pitfalls i should look out for

things like:

* the differences between a personal site and a business site (bandwidth, storage, dealing with outages, etc.)
* counteracting hacking
* business licensing
* setting up payment and purchasing systems
* expected delivery times from basic outline to functioning site
* how and where to advertise
* anything else you could think to tell me


If anyone that has had prior experience doing this could educate me on anything they think would be useful to know, that'd be great

9/23/2007 4:13:56 PM

One thing to make sure of is that you contract and specify everything before starting work for some contract/customer.

People often dont understand what they need/ what it takes to make a finished product, and assume its much simpler than it often is.

And get a team of people working for you in India via Odesk.com for the actual work, as they can do it for cheap and that way you dont get stuck with coding all the time, but rather on getting/maintaining clients.

Also, use a CMS for all site you design, so that they backend content editing is already done, and you just have to implement a template for the most part.


BTW, Im not so sure this is a very lucrative idea an more ... but thats just my outside impression... Ive never actually done it as a full time job.

9/23/2007 10:34:10 PM

^ i've got a friend who does this (though i was under the impression that he does all the coding himself)...but then, he creates a lot of CMS software creation

http://www.originvisual.net/

anyway, good luck to you BigMan157 if you decide to go for it

9/23/2007 10:37:48 PM

you shouldn't do this BigMan. It's apparent you dont have the experience, client base, connections or infrastructure setup to handle it.

If you are seriously interested in doing web dev, get a job doing it, get some experience, connections and seed money, then look at going at it on your own. It took me a solid 4-5 years before I had a large enough client-base to really go it alone, and even then it's a seriously pain in the ass for a long time to keep your head above water.

9/24/2007 12:14:04 AM

i'm not going to do it as a full-time thing, just as a weekend thing for some extra income

and i already have a web dev position, i just have other people that deal with the backend of it so i don't have any experience in that area

9/24/2007 8:54:28 AM

i'd go for it if that's all you want to do...the key is finding clients

9/24/2007 8:58:10 AM

yeah, you're about 10 years too late on the internet thingy...

But seriously, most companies are trying to shift towards simple, but effective websites that have low maintenance, which usually means using a CMS. That would require the combination of knowledge such as using php, asp, ajax, mysql, etc. I've known people who just specialize in mysql database and make well over 100k a year. I also know web developers who make 40-500k for designing and setting up one website.

For creating intricate website development now days, it takes months to plan, if not more than a year. Blockbuster's new website took almost 18 months to setup and design, which they pretty much took from netflix. You probably won't have high profile clients like that, but it's a very lucrative business. The real problem right now is the fact that there are already so many people out there now who can design websites and even then, there's so much other free stuff online that you can make a simple, click and build website tools.

If you can find clients, do it on the side, but I wouldn't base a full time small business around it with the level of your experience yet. I also do website development at my work place and host a number of small websites, nothing too fancy, I just don't have time to get more in depth with php and mysql yet.

9/24/2007 12:43:56 PM

key thing to remember is SERVICE. What service can you offer that sets you apart from others. There are tons of designers out there but if you can offer a support or design process thats different then what others do that will help you a lot.

My strong point has always been the quality of service i offer. All my clients I have gotten after they 'fired' their previous web designer/dev. because they were fed up of them. My clients are not only happy with the actual design but my work ethic and availability. I give them fast turn around times while still maintaining quality work. I listen to exactly what they would like to see and discuss whats doable and what would look like ass or worse, unreadable. I keep them updated every step of the way. I'm open for discussion if they see something they don't like. I could go on and on but basically you get the idea. The positive side of all this is the number of clients i've gotten by recommendation.

So many designers out there treat their clients like morons and neglect to listen.

9/24/2007 12:59:27 PM

if you're just looking for part-time work, i would suggest you contact web design companies and find some where you can work on a freelance basis. the overhead of managing a business, dealing with clients, billing, etc would make it not very fun and not very profitable otherwise.

9/24/2007 6:16:21 PM

Quote :

"key thing to remember is SERVICE. What service can you offer that sets you apart from others. There are tons of designers out there but if you can offer a support or design process thats different then what others do that will help you a lot."

Very very true. Support becomes a key factor when you try to sell your service. I would do more website building as a side business, but I don't have a lot of time and I get a lot of requests from friends and clients that some how referred to me to build them a website. Now with the advent of my photography business, I don't even have time to really develop my website to what I want it to me.

9/24/2007 6:23:49 PM

Quote :

"i would suggest you contact web design companies and find some where you can work on a freelance basis"

hmm, there's a thought

[Edited on September 24, 2007 at 7:39 PM. Reason : recommendations on who the contact in the area about that?]

9/24/2007 7:39:14 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/web/

9/24/2007 7:48:57 PM

guru.com is a good source for work also.

9/24/2007 7:55:35 PM

there are shitloads of web design companies around the triangle. i have a list of 50 or so if you have trouble finding them. try a google search for web design raleigh

9/25/2007 6:24:37 PM