here's the deal got good domain name got lots of knowledge of my industry know what design i want have hosting ready now the tough bit i want to build a site directory that will cover my topic i want to let visitors search by area eg car wheel rims in dakota my market is specialists and none out there that i know of. i dont want spamming and dont want messy capture it took me an age to get listed in some directories. i have $250 budget to do script and unique design. i know this is not much but its all i have so is there hope for me?
Its very close to being possible. I wont spam and flame the thread like the last gang did, but phplynx comes standard with regional AND topical categories built in. Its priced around $50-$80 depending which version you buy. That'd leave you with a fair amount for design. DP member "ipod" runs a design service. You'll get an amazing looking PSD done for within your budget. You just need to find a coder then! Mike
Agree with Mikey, phplynx full version will do what you need, Also jojo at http://phplynxtemplates.co.uk does custom designs for $200 - $400 and codes them to work with the script also. Thanks aubenrey
That leaves me too close to the limit. I wont be put off by hhheng and will look at Mikey1090 suggestion. Where to go for psd?
Based on what little information you were able to give about your niche I would advise you to get everything custom developed. There are a lot of good scripts available but I think based on a specific comment you made that you are looking for something slightly outside the box from what most scripts offer. The designers that hang out here would be too expensive for your budget. Head over to Script Lance and post a project for the design work. You should be able to get a decent design for around $50 but you will need to be very specific about what your requirements are to ensure that you get the best job. You can also use the same web site to hire a programmer that will be able to code you something in the price range of $150 to $200. There are a lot of programmers from third world countries where such amounts mean a great deal more than it does to people in the US, Europe, etc. Some of them are also very talented, just make sure you speak with them using the message boards to ensure two things: 1. You are able to communicate with them. Some users have very poor English and I would advise you to stay away from them purely because it makes the job take longer than it needs to. 2. Make sure they understand all of your requirements exactly. Don't leave any room for potential "Oh I didn't understand that, it will cost you more" situations. If you want you can send me a private message with more detailed information on your requirements and I may be able to help you more. You can rest assured that anything you say to me in a private message will remain exactly that, private.
SilkySmooth is 200% correct.. actually i also belong from a third world country and here $150-200 does mean a good amount for the work you want.. and to be honest i also have very poor English you must have got the idea from my post
Couldn't have said it any better Mikey. An example site of what phpLynx can do can be demonstrated on the following randomly selected directory, Waggler.net - where sites are listed in categories and *some* are listed in a particular geographic location. In this case, the directory owner has selected to enable London as the only geographic location. You can see the outcome of searching for listings in the London location - by the looks of it, the directory owner has manually entered crap quality sites manually or allowed all submitted links to be activated immediately upon confirmation by e-mail, as the script also allows. As I say, this is just a randomly selected directory which shows only the slightest effect phpLynx can have on running a directory. Good luck selecting a script
Thanks for the info guys appreciated phplynx looks complicated to me when I looked in admin phpld never had a demo for their versions? esyndicat didn't gave the search manner I want. downloaded phplynx and will join forum if stuck, is it okay to ask question on here though? Thanks for every answer, all help.
Blox, Many directory owners ask on Digital Point for assistance with their directory script, which I am totally against. You should ideally use the phpLynx (or phpLD, eSyndicat, etc) forum, alternatively, send me a PM and I'll help you out. Cheers
I'll throw an alternative opinion in here. While I recommend using an established directory script I wouldn't be too anxious about the custom design. Work on that over time. Your unique advantage is your niche - it's so tight that you will have an absolute advantage over anyone else. The big question is if the listings are free or not. I'd start by adding all the places you know of - including the bad ones. If you don't like them then add a rating system or feedback system saying why you don't - but be prepared to defend your position. If your site is paid then the template won't matter so much but you will have to show you get traffic and send traffic.
Thanks for the answer sarahk, the problem I am going to hit is that my niche is going to need to look good from the start a little like a filling the shelves of my shop before I open I still need to make the outside of the shop look pretty because of the nature of fashion.
you might contact iPod here for custom designs and also Rob for mods, but monthly $250 improves your chance