So I'm going to pay someone to build me a website .. I was going to go with a custom cms now because I plan on the site becoming big and a custom cms would allow for rapid expansion correct? The only con I could possibly see is if I hire somebody else to perform updates and they don't how to work the custom cms or whatever... Also I wanted to post up for a logo design contest m. But I'm not allowed to post I've been on the site making post for a while now when will I be able to make a contest thread
What CMS will you be using? If it's Wordpress or the like, it shouldn't be an issue. A problem could arise when the current customizer messes with the code so much that the second customizer will have difficulties with orientation. He might have to redo everything. So make sure you get a good customizer. Don't try to save costs and choose the cheap route.
Everybody wants their website to become big but it almost never happens. A custom CMS will not necessarily allow for "rapid expansion" any more than an off-the-shelf CMS. If you want to design a system for a multi-server cluster, you can expect to pay considerably for it. At the very least, a caching system should be built in to reduce load on the server. (Tell that to the Wordpress developers.) There is a learning curve for everything. A properly designed CMS that is adequately commented in code and provided with proper documentation will allow a skilled developer to become familiar with the system relatively quickly. How much are you planning to spend? Just out of curiosity...
You have to get one "like" from three different established members to be able to create a contest thread. You get "likes" from establisehd members when you add value to DP by making a quality post, helping someone else out on a thread, etc. Or, you can pay to become a Premium member and be able to post in BST immediately.
I doubt that's anywhere close to your expectations. Just a custom theme for an already existing CMS would cost you that.
Depending on the skill of the person you hire your custom site could be full of sql injection opportunities and other security problems. It could be a nightmare to upgrade as technology changes. And if you get stuck there's no community to call on to help.
$3,000 for a Facebook style site built with a custom CMS? If anyone offers to do this for you, be very careful. It'll likely be ripped software and it'll be rubbish, not custom at all. That's so cheap. I worked with a team of developers once working on a site "like" Facebook, where they wanted to copy a load of features, their budget was over $70,000.
Back in '06 we outsourced a website to a crowd who had a great reputation. We wanted a forum attached to the site and we wanted it to be like vBulletin which at the time was #1, infact we'd have been happy with vB if they could integrate our paid members section with the forum. "No worries" they said, "that's easy" they said. Each time I looked at them skeptically, but they assured me they used forums all the time and they understood the features I wanted. Funnily enough they didn't know squat, they lost all the business because the rest of their work was crap too - and they were charging way, way more than $3000. A decent developer won't promise anything for such a teeny amount. By the time you pay tax your $3000 has shrunk to $2000 and then you have business expenses...
There was an open source script out there that was similar to Facebook but I have not seen it in years. Anyone remember what it was? (You can find others by searching for "facebook clone script" or similar terms.) The original poster may be wise to go with a free open source script and if his membership takes off then consider investing real money. Sometimes it makes sense to start small.
Have enough knowledge to be able to read it. Start with how they do queries - are they using old school techniques or modern, secure techniques? Is it tidy, documented, and MVC...