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PHP Script - Should I hire someone to do this for me?

Discussion in 'PHP' started by aleo1203, Jun 8, 2013.

0
  1. #1
    Hello hello,

    I need a php script for my site that accesses a few online type seo tools from other websites, gathers some results and displays them back on my site. I have a pretty good working knowledge of html and css, and a beginner's working knowledge of java. Is this script something I could figure out, or should I just hire someone? If I do hire someone, about how long would this take a skilled php programmer to write? Thanks for the help,

    Andrew
     
    aleo1203, Jun 8, 2013 IP
  2. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #2
    How long is a piece of string?

    You should do it yourself if it is likely that you will use these skills again
    You should hire someone else if you can earn more in the time you spend doing it than you will pay

    How long it will take will depend on the complexity of the task. Are there API calls that will let the processes be clean and straight forward? or are you just going to scrape the sites? And how many sites?
     
    sarahk, Jun 9, 2013 IP
  3. aleo1203

    aleo1203 Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Probably just scrape. Maybe 5 sites?
     
    aleo1203, Jun 9, 2013 IP
  4. HuggyStudios

    HuggyStudios Well-Known Member

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    #4
    The best thing you could do (in my opinion) would be to make the scripts yourself. You will learn a lot from it and the next time you need another script made your confidence will be greater and you would most likely complete it quicker.

    Only hire someone if you couldn't do the task because of time or skill.
     
    HuggyStudios, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  5. cochisetm

    cochisetm Member

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    #5
    All the advice so far is good. The only thing I'd add is that some people learn better by seeing functioning code in action. Therefore, it may be a good idea for you to hire someone to write it for you (or at least to get you started) so that you can review their code to see how they got everything done. Of course, this is only helpful if you hire someone whose code is worthwhile to be emulated :)
     
    cochisetm, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  6. socialappzone

    socialappzone Member

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    #6
    Technically for a developer this is easy to do, however be careful people may not like have their content scraped as it adds load on their servers with little benefit to themselves. As rule of thumb, if they don't offer an API then they probably don't want you grabbing their stuff :).

    But with that in mind here is a simple scrap in PHP:

    <?

    $ch = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'URL GOES HERE');
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
    $text = curl_exec($ch);

    echo $text;
    ?>

    This will display the content of the selected site

    It's easy to get started. The fun is when you have to organise content from complex pages. But that is when you start learning about string searching and manipulation. Fun for all ages :)
     
    socialappzone, Jun 10, 2013 IP