I'm a software developer who's been doing web stuff lately (both PHP and JSP work) and I've got a question about getting some design help. In the past, I've used in-house designers who were working for the same company I did... so there wasn't any sort of direct fee involved.

For the last few months, though, I've been working on my own with another guy (also a developer and NOT a designer). With the sites we've done, we either had a designer the client wanted to use or we used the guy we used to work with (he's a friend and does some moonlighting). Well, we won't be able to use him as much as our volume increases, so here I am.

First, I've been lurking for a few weeks now and have seen a lot of great hosting-related designs here. We're not a hosting company, so they don't apply to us but I know there are some talented artists in these parts.

Anyway, I'm wondering what sort of COSTS and TIME to anticipate for the following...

1. A ONE-PAGE custom template that is NOT for a hosting company and does NOT use Flash. Assume a "mainstream, corporate" site. It would be based on parameters/input specified via us from the client and there would likely be an iteration or two to "fine tune" it based on feedback.

2. Exclusive rights to use the template (i.e. our client doesn't see the same design somewhere else).

3. We get the PSD.

In addition, how much more would we expect for...

4. The images are sliced and the template is turned into HTML/CSS.

That's what we received in the past and, for us as developers, it works great because we can easily go in and add our code to build the dynamic portions of the site.

Note that we wouldn't be looking for the whole "marketing and brand management" type of thing -- strictly a single design based on what the site calls for.

I'd like to hear from people who do this full-time... while I know there are a lot of folks out there who do this on the side for some beer-and-fun money, I'd like to know what to expect from someone who's doing it all the time.

Ideally, we'd find a couple/few designers that we could go to regularly as we get development projects. Before that, though, it would be good to know what sort of time/cost to expect.

Thanks for any and all feedback,

J

Hi,

I do this as my primary source of income, around 2-3 templates a week is what I currently do (on my own) - and if it were me buying these services, I would expect it to be fully coded and ready for content to be added (and not a dodgy coding job with some automatic 'slicer' program) - I wouldn't expect the psd unless I specifically asked for it, expecially depending on when payment is - most people prefer to hang onto the psd (sometimes even the coded template as well) until after being paid - otherwise if problems occur both sides can claim they created it!

You'll find a lot a generic templates that people try to offer, even ones which were origionally created for an entirely different company and they havn't even bothered to change the name when they show you! :rolleyes: But for a template such as the one you want, I think you would be best off contacting a few designers and putting your budget to them - I know a lot of people who won't even consider anything below $150-$200 for a template, if you expect quality and ongoing assistance (say you need something changed later down the track) it may be wise to pay a little more.

That said - don't get ripped off in the process! ;)

As for time, if you have to wait anymore than a week for the completed design - i'd start to worry - the actual grapics should take the longest (allow 10 hours or so, you have to let the creative juices flow ;)) and the codeing should not take any more than an hour.

I'd just like to go on record and vouch (for what it's worth) for platinum. I've seen some of their work, and its always quality stuff. (Disclaimer - Platinum and I aren't acquainted or affiliated in any way. Neither has Platinum agreed to pay me anything for this comment... It is giving of my own free will.)

There is another designer that usually frequents WHT, and that is Cascompany (that's his nicname here), but I haven't seen him active lately. You can search the board here to get his contact information though.

There are others, but the above 2 are the ones I recommend without fear of being made to look foolish. Not that I need help with that most times... :D

Good luck in your search!

Hi There,

I am available to work on any custom templates that you might need.
I have completed many here for people and work for a web design company Netzero Ltd.

You can view my personal portfolio at www.daledesign.co.uk. Rates for a custom template is $200. For that you will receive the .psd, all the fonts used, html and css for the main page and one interior page. The time frame for this would be 48 hours.

Regards,

Oli :)

Can we mail you via your mail link? :)

Thanks for the good information. Those prices and turnaround times don't sound unreasonable, given that we'd typically be looking for an "exclusive" custom template, slicing, html/css, etc.

I can understand a reticence to hand over the PSD and I'm sure most clients (and certainly us) understand that you will get that only after full payment. It's a key thing to have, though, should you want to make changes down the road.

I've got several good links to follow now and will likely be in touch with some folks around here when the next gig comes up.

Yes, chewnet (or others), you're welcome to email me if you like... or just post something in this thread with a link to your site and portfolio.

Thanks again.