Hello everyone, As some of you probably heard by now, I am starting a freelance programming website. Basically, a client posts a project and coders can bid on the project. This is where I am right now in development. I have a few questions I would like to get some feedback on. Private vs Open Discussions Before Project Bid Acceptance Many coders ask questions before posting a bid on a project. Many coders will have the same questions. If discussions are private, then the client may have to answer the same questions multiple times. This would not happen if the discussions are open to the public. In addition, the discussions may be more competitive among coders. I think it would also increase the quality of work being done. The bad side is it may be harder for newer coders to get established. If it was an open discussion, this may increase the spam level of the site. Thus, private discussions would decrease spam. Open discussions may be great for SEO as well. Looking around, it looks like the majority of freelance programming websites have private discussions between buyers and coders before bid acceptance. Is there reasoning for this I am not seeing? Please give your opinions about this matter. Thank you in advance. Sincerely, Travis Walters
Allow the "buyer" *person posting the project for ppl to bid on* to choose to keep it open or closed.
Hey there, Why would a buyer not want to have an open discussion before bid acceptance? - It keeps them from posting answers more than once - It leads to higher quality of work and quantity of work Do you think the spam level will be too bad? Or is there another reason? Hmm, you do raise an interesting point though. What if I had both options before bid acceptance? I think if this was the case, the coders would be less likely to participate in the open discussion unless the buyer initiates conversation. Sincerely, Travis Walters
Buyer may want to keep some specific details private. You should allow buyer to choose private/public when he posts a message.
Hey there, Thanks for the replies. I started out freelancing so I know the difficulty in finding a good job. When I first started out, it was extremely difficult but as my resume grew, it became much easier finding work and buyers actually came to me. When that happened, I was able to raise my prices. In regards to my website, I have to keep buyers a top priority. Having said that, I am taking measures for freelancers as well. For instance, I am going to have a package system so out-of-the-box solutions can be offered to buyers. I am going to have software auctions. I am also keeping bids on projects sealed so that does keep freelancer prices up a bit - at least as good as it can be. As a freelancer, if you have any good advice on how you would build a site to help freelancers, please share your thoughts. Thanks again. Sincerely, Travis Walters