Hi, I've been posting about a redesign that we are working on for our company website. I'm having a bit of a hard time trying to figure out what direction I want to go with it though. I have tons of options, but I want to pursue the most cost effective path for the company. I originally was going to narrow my search down to: 1. Freelance provider 1. Local web design firm 1. Company overseas But, I've found problems with all three options. The freelance guys are hard to find with all the necessary skills for the project, the local web design firms are way too overpriced and the overseas guys have been unreliable thus far. Somebody mentioned that I submit contests on sitepoint for the logo design and web design itself, then to pursue a developer for the back end programming. I love the sitepoint idea, because it gives us the option of looking at a bunch of mock-ups, so we can choose which one we like best. I think the hardest part for me to make a decision on is the programming/database aspect of the project. I'm currently taking classes on ASP.NET, but until I get my own skillset up to par, I have to rely on a provider. So, my question is: Does anyone know of a good way to find a provider for database programming? We need a database to hold our product line which numbers in the thousands. Are there any open source platforms that make the process easier? or should I pursue a custom made deal? Please bear in mind, that we don't have the biggest budget for all of this either. Any help would be much appreciated...I'm starting to lose sleep over this.
One option is to use quality templates. There are thousands of sites selling templates, and many look like custom designs. Website templates are good for small businesses, startup companies, and cheapskates (note theres nothing wrong with being a cheapskate, it just means you don't want to pay a professional web designer).