I have experience only in static html, so I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question... hopefully it is. I need to know if my idea is feasable from a programming point-of-view.... I was thinking about creating a members-only site. It would be the kind of thing where a member pays with a credit card, gets an account, and then can log in for 1 year (or whenver their subscription ends). But... here's where it gets "messy." Customers/members will be viewing printable pdf documents. They'll be subscribing because they want to view and print documents they need. I want the pdf documents to be viewable by everyone... whether they are logged in or not. ANd, if they're not logged in, the document would have a watermark across them... if they are logged in, the document would appear normal. (This way they'll still be searchable by google... AND customers can see what they're paying for beforehand.) 3 questions: 1. Has anyone ever heard of this being done? 2. What kind of programmer would I need to hire to make this work? and, 3. I know every programmer is different, but what (rougly) might I expect to pay for this? Thanks in advance for any and all replies. - FB
2. If you have 2 copy of pdf(clean and watermarked) then no problem and it can be done by even novice php programmer but if you need create watermarked copy dynamicaly then its more complex task - for Java or C# developers(they must use iText library). 3. if Java or C# solution then probably from $12 per hour
it's ok with 2 copies of every file. if logged in go to watermarked/file01.pdf of not loggedin go to clean/file01.pdf I'm not a programmer myself but I understand their logic :d
Thanks for the reply... Yes, I would have 2 copies of each pdf-- one clean and one watermarked. This is good news that this will work. What about the account setup-- how hard is it to create a database of members' information (name, adress, email, member since, etc etc....) one that could be accessed by a site administrator... there are lots of member sites on the Internet, so I imagine there must be a relatively easy way to do this, right? Many thanks! - Tim
It isnt that difficult to create a member log in system at all... tying it up to payment is slightly more difficult but not terribly difficult depending on things like: 1) What happens when the subscription is due to lapse? Are they auto-recharged? Just sent an email and automatically lapsed if they dont renew? 2) How are payments that go through but subsequently bounce (eg chargeback) to be handled? Will you manually cancel the membership or does the system need to be able to do this? Cost will vary massively from probably circa $100 for a "non-western" freelancer to over $4,000 for a large "western" development company
Wow... somewhere between $100 and $4000... well, I guess I'd want to go with someone reputable, but I doubt I could ever afford to have a big "western development company" do it. I'd want someone who would support their work and teach me how to set it up and run it properly. Tying it up to payment-- this is a part that really confuses me. I don't know how to accept credit cards on the Internet without using companies like paypal or clickbank. I guess I'm not opposed to using them to process credit cards, but I don't know if it is possible to set them up for payment on subscription sites. I'd want it as automated as possible, I suppose. I mean, I'd want it to work like this: They click a link to subscribe... they enter username, password, email, etc..... then they get forwarded to a credit card processor (or whatever I need to forward them to).... and then once they've paid, they have instant access. I wouldn't mind handling basic tech support and refunds manually. It would be nice if the subscription cancelled automatically... and maybe an automatic email was sent out as a reminder for them to renew. And it would be nice if, when they logged in, there was a little box in the corner that says, "Your subscription is valid through (date)." I am very excited about this new business venture... and I am very confident it will be a success... the whole programming aspect is the part that scares me the most.... probably because it is so foreign to me. Thanks!
You can post a project on scriptlance.com and see how it goes. (don't define a budget ) compare the bids you get with the number of the reviews the bidder has (and what kind of projects gave him those reviews) Good luck
There are many "freelancer" type sites which you can post on (and some are companies and not freelancers) You can use PayPal to do what you require, either Standard or Pro depending on your preference - Pro is better integrated but more complex to set up and so more expensive up front. Access wouldnt be "instant" unless you gave them a short grace period however it would typically be within a couple of minutes. Getting a variety of prices is never a bad thing but make sure you choose the best quote not just the cheapest (along the lines of the old saying "If you think a professional is expensive you should see how much an amateur will cost you in the long run")
Would you be willing to do some of this yourself if you had video tutorials to walk you through it? Check out my site ay MyInternetTutorials.com. I have a paid and free-but-registered members area, and my CMS automatically creates pdf's on the fly. Another question. Why would I pay if you're giving the info for free? Is the watermark going to be that much of an issue if the customer can get the content they need from the free watermarked version? Michael
drcode-- Thanks for the website info... It looks like a great resource... I'll check it out in more depth tomorrow after work. Yes, I think the watermark will work.... especially since the documents aren't really giving information the customer needs to know. Customers will need perfect, printable copies of these documents. They usually buy them or make them up themselves. If it's not printable, the documents will be useless to them. It would take them too much work to recreate them on their own.