Hey there, I'm putting together my first serious affiliate marketing campaign, but I've been really frustrated with not being able to edit Dreamweaver templates and create a really professional page...I think that web design is just not for me!... So I'm looking to pay for a fairly simple website on elance.com. This is the first time I have ever used elance and so I'm not sure about how much I should be willing to pay? I've heard that a lot of the big blogs and sites out there have payed only about $200 for a web designer in India to put together their site. Since I don't have content ready right now, and I know basic html and I have basic Dreamweaver skills, I would only need to pay for a template (just the main page design really). Is $100.00 too high or too low? I basically want a simple and clean site, with a nice graffic at the top, a link bar at the top just under the banner, and then one column on the right with the opt-in box and links to articles under that. Also the typical links to privacy, contact page, etc.. at the bottom. I can create the other pages using the template of course. I want it to look very similar to the site below, but without the column on the left side: http://www.musclegainguide.com/ The other thing I'm not sure about is the whole PHP thing. I use Hostgator and they support PHP and I know there are cool little PHP scripts that can display the current date, or you can use PHP to redirect people and hide your affiliate links, but I have also seen people have all there pages in the PHP format. Is this something that I should ask for? Finally, should I give my hosting password and login to the designer to upload and setup? Do I also get support from the designer if I want to change a few things? How do these things play out when outsourcing? Thanks, Joey
If they are only providing a template then it would be in HTML/ CSS or PSD format (you want to ask for the former) and when you actually create the pages you decide if you want them to be plain HTML or PHP or .Net etc However from what you are saying you are really looking at much more than just a "simple template" but an actual site being created. Price will vary very much on if it is a clone of an existing site, turning your concept into a template or being given a blank sheet of paper and vague requirements. Likewise if you already have a "corporate identity"/ logo or if these will also need to be created. There is an element also, as with anything in life, of that you get what you pay for. Established companies are typically more expensive than freelancers but if you discover a problem in 2 years time they are also much more likely to be around to help fix it (and have capacity to do it). Free is the lowest price I have ever seen for template design and $60,000 the most (and that was to fit with an existing look and feel so much cheaper than if they had also had to create an identity). If it is simply the template you are having created then there is no need to give the designer the log in as a template alone isnt going to be seen on the net
I don't know how elance works, but why don't you just put the job up at $100 (or whatever) and see what responses you get? Websites are one of those things that you can spend almost any amount on, which makes it hard to price.
PM sent with details. I can help you can will supprort you whenever you need any sort of help. Thanks..