Hi

Does anyone know where you can get webdesign done cheaply? I need a website orientated towards e-commerce and implementation of shopping catalogues etc.

Please do let me know.

Thanks

I would look in the advertising forums
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48
And, another possibility would be to look at Sitepoint
http://www.sitepoint.com/marketplace/?

Moved to Web Design and Content.

You can always try a template provider, such as Template Monster or BoxedArt. A non-unique template from one of these providers will cost approximately $30-100.

Out of curiosity, assuming your online storefront is important to you, why is it that "cheap" is your highest priority?

I don't have a lot of money

Just remember when it comes tp peoples time you get what you pay for.

I don't have a lot of money
Could you be more specific? ;)

Then we may have some adequate thoughts to share. :)

Well, you're starting a business, and from the sounds of things you're talking about moving inventory, so you must be raising capital somehow.

If your Web site is going to be your storefront, treat it the same way that you'd treat a physical location. If it's that important to you, then make it a budgetary priority as well. If not, there are plenty of templates you can use to get something online (see my post above), but don't plan on having something unique, special or memorable...

Remember - your site will offer the first impression about your company to potential customers. What do you want that impression to be? It only takes 90 seconds to win or loose a customer.

Does your site have what it takes to be successful in 90 seconds?

It only takes 90 seconds to win or loose a customer.
Couldn't agree more. :agree:

Take, let's say this one (http://www.bulgari.com)as a brilliant example how the website, not only the content itself, sells.

Great site. Your product selection and audience range should also help determine the usability level of the site. What do I mean?

For example, if you are selling computer parts like RAM and Hard drives then a simple store layout would probably work. However, if you are selling products of greater value and "prestige" then you want to have a site that highlights those products and provides the information, image quality, and marketing tips that will sale that product just like if you were in a brick and mortar. A good example is the site Instance posted above.

Research it out some and in my opinion - do some study groups or peer reviews on your site as well before launching. Sort of like a beta run with false items to see if others feel it works for the products you are selling.

Remember - you wouldn't try to sell milk on a cloths hanger. It is the same online as well.

90 Seconds? That is a long time. I read one where the stats was 46 seconds. That is still a long time. Usually when shopping, first impressions are within just the first few seconds. A lot of times, I won't even stay on a website if it does not load by the time within a few seconds. (it just makes me think how slow the checkout process might be)

Yeah I think that example wasn't a good one either. it breaks many rules of a successful website.

and an all flash site? that's great for 1999

Sometimes people get stuck in a catch 22 position. They want a website to generate money, and they can't release a decent amount of funds to develop a website until they've made money.

I browse a few business forums, because as a web developer myself I'm always looking for new clients and checking out the competition. I've seen people post on these business forums, requesting a full on estate agent websites with the ability to manage properties, on a budget of £300. For that amount of money I would work around 2.5 days...which isn't long enough to develop that sort of website. Yet people respond to the original poster saying they can develop the site for £100, or £150 if they require a unique layout. So without thinking about it the original poster says "Wow! thats a great deals, I'll save £150".

What the person doesnt realise is that theres a high chance that he'll be hiring someone like me to develop the site again in 6-12 months for a much larger fee.

Like it's already been said, when it comes to someone time, you get what you pay for.

Couldn't agree more. :agree:
Take, let's say this one (http://www.bulgari.com)as a brilliant example how the website, not only the content itself, sells.
That website will not sell me anything.

Includes music with no option to mute it.
All flash
Second site (click the English) opens in a new window with no control buttons, address bar etc. And badly sized (menus in the most left and most right are cut half)


I am actually surprised a brand like Bulgari has a crappy website like that.

That website will not sell me anything.

Includes music with no option to mute it.
All flash
Second site (click the English) opens in a new window with no control buttons, address bar etc. And badly sized (menus in the most left and most right are cut half)


I am actually surprised a brand like Bulgari has a crappy website like that.I'll go one better. It refused to open the actual Web site for me at all. I went into the source code, pulled up the site map (absolutely the worst site map I've ever seen in my life), surfed to a page, and after a loading screen loaded for about a minute, I was treated to a black page with menu items and no content (even when I selected menu items).

That is an utterly worthless site.

"...you get what you pay for"

I think you guys have a great point here - the question from the the point of starting a business is : what is the right balance ?

How much time does it take to develop the initial website for a new business ?
Obviously depending on the amount of pages, e-commerce yes / no ... but maybe as a guideline ? What do you guys think ?

"...you get what you pay for"

I think you guys have a great point here - the question from the the point of starting a business is : what is the right balance ?

How much time does it take to develop the initial website for a new business ?
Obviously depending on the amount of pages, e-commerce yes / no ... but maybe as a guideline ? What do you guys think ?It's not a matter of how many pages you need developed. If a designer is good, you develop one page, and creating more pages from there requires a couple minutes of time each.

It's a matter of what you want to accomplish with your site, and this might require a small number of hours (say 5-10) or a larger number (say 50-100). Comparing the time necessary to create one site against another is almost always going to be an apples to oranges comparison, and I wouldn't trust any answer to your question that tries to lump all Web site development into a single ballpark range, or that tries to simplify the development process down to an hourly segmentation that's supposed to apply to everything online.

100% agree with you on that Paul not to mention you stated it just exactly how I was going to state it. ;)

What they don't realize is that they will get some outdated TemplateMonster template (and that's not the worst), a lot of hassle while the web site development will drag on for weeks or months. How I know? We were hired to complete/finish/redesign such web sites a lot of times.

Sometimes I wonder (please, don't take this personal - anyone), why wouldn't you show up at Porsche dealership and ask for cheap car because you don't have money?

Sometimes people get stuck in a catch 22 position. They want a website to generate money, and they can't release a decent amount of funds to develop a website until they've made money.

I browse a few business forums, because as a web developer myself I'm always looking for new clients and checking out the competition. I've seen people post on these business forums, requesting a full on estate agent websites with the ability to manage properties, on a budget of £300. For that amount of money I would work around 2.5 days...which isn't long enough to develop that sort of website. Yet people respond to the original poster saying they can develop the site for £100, or £150 if they require a unique layout. So without thinking about it the original poster says "Wow! thats a great deals, I'll save £150".

What the person doesnt realise is that theres a high chance that he'll be hiring someone like me to develop the site again in 6-12 months for a much larger fee.

Like it's already been said, when it comes to someone time, you get what you pay for.

maybe scriptlance is best option if you just want CHEAP work