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  • setting up my web site need help...

    Hello guys. i am trying to setup a web site and need some help. I have posted an add on a freelance web design magazine and some designers have replied with more or less quality work. now they all ask about mysql and php. i did some research and it appears that these applications are open source and very commonly used. What I want is to setup a news site with forums. they have quoted all sorts of prices ranging from $80 to $2000! which really confused me.

    1.how mush should I pay for a nice design, a site that looks really cool.
    2. how much should I pay for a forum section and a 10 page website?
    3. is a forum based in mysql and php standard application. can i do this simply by downloading it and uploading to my site?
    4. do you really nned a designer to do this or is there a site that will let you manage it without paying $1000's of dollaers to opportunist developers?
    HP Pavilion t720m
    Audigy ZS
    Geforce 5600 Ultra
    2x 80 GIG external drives
    Cable Modem

  • #2
    Not having had the joy requiring more than my personal free web space provided by my ISP, I have no hard dollar amounts. But I think your experience so far shows the huge difference in pricing by designers. I'm sure the same will be true of site hosting.
    Site design will have to depend upon a balance of your tastes vs. your budget.

    Certainly, PHP and My SQL are readily available and are placed upon the hosting end of things, ie. at the site's server.
    Your going to need a server which will provide you with the CGI and other tools necessary for the task.

    Forum applications can be purchased, such as the one used here at TweakTown - VBulletin. (which from the user end of things I find quite navigable and contains all the options I find handy.)

    You refer to web designers, which you have been in contact with. Do most of these do the hosting of the site as well, or is this an additional charge from another entity?

    Truth is, if you're fortunate enough to have the time to do some study, creating a web site is pretty much free. Sounds like you may have a business or something which occupies you a bit more than allows for that enterprise perhaps though. It does take time to come up with a good design, and if it is done by someone else it certainly would be something which has value to you that requires compensation on your part. In particular a news- type site which I will assume requires a lot of updating and page maintenance.

    I would like to make a big point here;
    Give some serious research into choosing a host. Poor hosting will be a huge detriment to even the best designed site.
    There again, services and pricing ranges are widely varied. A good deal of pricing could depend on the bandwidth made available to you, as in more visitors can lead to the need to spend more $'s.

    I'm fairly certain I have answered exactly 0 of your questions, but maybe I have given you a bit more "food for thought" on the matter.

    Best wishes on your endeavor!
    Hopefully someone will be along shortly to provide you with more detailed information, someone that can speak from experience.
    The reason a diamond shines so brightly is because it has many facets which reflect light.

    Comment


    • #3
      I really appreciate your response. thank s for taking this time to reply Mr.C , You did answer my questions, and reafirmed some answers I had already realized.

      Some big designer companies post replies to my add in a freelance mag??? Why would they do that? If they have 50 big multinational customers, why worry about the little fish like me?. Aren't they such big shots? And besides have the nerve to charge $2000 for a job like this. I would dare to say that this prject real costs may vary between $100 and $150. And then put a price on the design you want, flash movies, etc. So I think $200-300 is a fair price taking in account that they give free hosting for 6 months and no setup fees or anything. (Take in account that a Flash MX license costs $500 and who knows what M$ charges for FrontPage!, plus a good Flash and HTML book can cost $30-$70, plus the time and experimentation you have to put into it as a first timer.)

      Basically all designers provide hosting offers, which I just found out they are basically acting as resellers for another hosting company. Not a bad idea. But yes I am concerned about the access they may have to my data and all that. I will look into this right now.

      I find this forums very navigatable and practical from the client point of view. And because of the way the admin people reply and post , I think they have a greta admin interface. this is exactly what I want for my site.

      Time is something I don't have, and I lack the knowledge too. And maybe I lack patience. Because I want to be the first to come up with an idea in my country. So yes, I am willing to pay for design. I wish I was not ignorant in all this, and to cause the right impression, I guess I should rely on someone that knows about it. But you are right, I have already ordered a book on flash and one on html. I will learn and publish my own quality work.

      I took a look at VBulletin and you can buy a license for a year for about $85 plus setup fee. Not bad.

      Anyway, I will let you know of the final product, which will be posted in both english and spanish.
      HP Pavilion t720m
      Audigy ZS
      Geforce 5600 Ultra
      2x 80 GIG external drives
      Cable Modem

      Comment


      • #4
        I applaud you for your desire to learn
        Be advised, there are many sources for learning such things. The information can be presented quite differently from source to source. If source seems a bit overwhelming, don't hesitate to try another - often finding the right source that "speaks to you" can be the real key.

        I was able to grasp basic HTML after months of trying by finding a site that spoke to me in a way I understood; http://www.htmlgoodies.com/ That doesn't mean it's the 1 for you, but for me I was able to learn more in 20 minutes than I did the previous 6 months. Bought a couple of his books too.

        Knowing a bit of the basics could help you keep an eye on the "employees" too, should you choose to hire out the job. Never hurts to ensure you get your money's worth.

        An informed consumer is always going to make a better purchase decision, true at the grocery store and everywhere else.

        It certainly seems to me that you have clearly defined your goal, and are working toward it.
        I have no doubt that if you continue down the path you are on, you are going to get what you desire.

        When it all comes together, be sure to give us a link. I'd like to see your project.
        The reason a diamond shines so brightly is because it has many facets which reflect light.

        Comment


        • #5
          You were right again! I visited the site you refered and I learned to make my own banners in 15 minutes. :bounce2: Thank you.

          You are right about te "employees " . In order to be a good boss you really have to know the carpentry work before you start giving orders. You simply have to know the basics to do that. If not, they will not respect you, and probably rip you off!

          I will definitely send you a link as soon as the site is complete Mr. C. The site is very small but it will be very nice looking and it will have both english and spanish support.

          Do you know any good ways to "hunt" for the most recent news on the web, PC game and computer related? Any ideas on that will be greatly appreciated.

          Thank you again.
          HP Pavilion t720m
          Audigy ZS
          Geforce 5600 Ultra
          2x 80 GIG external drives
          Cable Modem

          Comment


          • #6
            Contacting those sites your interested in and asking to be added to their mailing lists is a start. ;)
            <center>:cheers:</center>

            Comment


            • #7
              By far the best reference site for web design I have ever used is sizzling.jalfrezi .

              I used this place when I was a noobie and still refer back to it at times.

              I wish you all the best, it's actually fun to design your own site and see it all come together.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Fedele
                Do you know any good ways to "hunt" for the most recent news on the web, PC game and computer related? Any ideas on that will be greatly appreciated.
                Yes sir, I do have 1 suggestion;
                http://news.google.com/

                Google is worth it's weight in gold so many times it seems.
                The news feature is in beta, but seems to be working well. You can search by topic, or a good old fashioned query-type search.

                http://www.google.com is quickly becoming 1-stop shopping for finding most everything on the internet.

                Congratulations on your success with banners
                I'm thinking you are going to be bitten by the HTML bug before you know it. A few successes and it doesn't seem nearly as much like working, now does it :)
                The reason a diamond shines so brightly is because it has many facets which reflect light.

                Comment


                • #9
                  :cheers:


                  Here's a beer for you my good friend!


                  Now one more thing , is there such a thing as an independent web page hit counter? you know something that, like an accounting audit, will guarantee that the site has the hits that it claims it has?


                  Let me know. CHEERS!
                  HP Pavilion t720m
                  Audigy ZS
                  Geforce 5600 Ultra
                  2x 80 GIG external drives
                  Cable Modem

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Again, this is a bit out of my league.

                    There are certainly counters to be had if that's what you mean?
                    There again, you will require CGI functions from your site's host.
                    Not exactly tamper proof, at least the ones I have looked at.

                    There is indeed software and services which provide website analysis.
                    Of course these too vary widely in both price range and services provided.
                    A good service can certainly provide you with some very in-depth analysis of your site -- things such as;
                    where your site traffic is coming from, peak times, what pages are being viewed most and for how long, etc. etc.
                    All types of information that can be used to tweak your site for maximum potential.

                    Unfortunately, I myself have no experience with this type of thing that I can relate to you. I only know of the existence of such services.
                    The reason a diamond shines so brightly is because it has many facets which reflect light.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The reason they are charging you 2000$ for PHP and MySQL scripting is because they are probably doing it custom. If you have any knowledge you can easily setup your own forums like these ones at tweaktown. They dont require to much scripting knowledge. If your going to have access to the ftp which I am sure your going to...put your own news script on there. You could get both a forum and a news script from www.hotscripts.com. It won't look as great as it would if it was professionally done for 2000$ but it'll get the job done. If you got the money and your planning on having a populated site go for the custom scripting. Or try asking them to install PHP Nuke, or Postnuke. Hope I helped you out.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        yes, I nderstand that now. A custom job was not what I was looking for (can't afford it :no: )

                        I found a designer that did evrything within my budget with real easy tools to manage all the sections myself.

                        excuse my ignorance but what do you mean FTP access to access news script? you mean an FTP server set up for downloads and stuff? I am a newbie and I appreciate all the help you can provide.

                        thanks again!!
                        HP Pavilion t720m
                        Audigy ZS
                        Geforce 5600 Ultra
                        2x 80 GIG external drives
                        Cable Modem

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          FTP access to your site. I am sure you do.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Here it is the BETA test



                            TADA!!!


                            www.polygonos.com



                            Feel free to post your comments and any kind of acid criticism.


                            thank you all for your advice!!!
                            :cheers:
                            HP Pavilion t720m
                            Audigy ZS
                            Geforce 5600 Ultra
                            2x 80 GIG external drives
                            Cable Modem

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hey not bad at all, a very good job there pal. :thumb:

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