How much $ ? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

mrap1 · 11-25-2003, 07:28 PM

There is somebody who wants me to create a website for them. I have absolutely no experience in this. I've made this plainly clear to the person, however, I'm the only computer oriented person that they know. Basically, I'll start by reading an html book and learn as I go along. So, how much should I charge for this? I anticipate that it'll be a small website with less than 10 pages at most. Do I charge a setup fee for creating the site, and a monthly fee for updating it? I expect that I'll have to update it fairly frequently, as this person is a musician, and one of the purposes of the site it to state where and when he'll be playing.

I would also appreciate any tips on where to register the site, and where to host it. I was looking at godaddy's option but the lower tiered plans put a cap on the bandwidth, would 2 GB a month be enough?

sailor · 11-25-2003, 07:37 PM

Where to start...

It depends on what the website is for. If it is something important, do him a favor, and refer him to someone with more experience.

If you want to learn, go learn HTML and CSS. Learn how to do it the right way, standards compliant, not by using all kinds of nasty hacks. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are a *good* thing.

Godaddy has pretty cheap domain name registration. I dont know about hosting, I run my own webserver. Ill let someone else answer that one. As for the bandwidth, it really depends what is on the site and how many hits it gets. For a small personal website, 2GB should be fine.

mrap1 · 11-25-2003, 07:49 PM

He hasn't told me everything that he wants on the site but I anticipate that he'll want a little biography section where he can give his history, he'll want to put some info up regarding the history of the type of music he plays, and where he'll be playing on future dates. He'll probably also want to put contact info so that people can contact him to schedule apearrances. From what I've read up to in the book, I think I can put all of this together using a couple of tables. Would it really need to get more complicated than that?

Note, I haven't gotten up to the chapter that contains CSS, so I don't really know what it is.

Jam · 11-25-2003, 10:58 PM

well for a simple site.. you need to better at artwork then at coding... you need to make a viually appealing deisgn then chop it up... CSS are good... also, TABLES TABLES TABLES... farmes/iframes == the devil...

ive made a bunchof people sites.. but i never charge, however I only worry about the site... i get them to create the content and worry about hosting...

as far as bandwidth, how many people will be visiting... if its like a local band.. 2gbs is enough.. if its like, metalica.. or the evil RIAA probably more

sailor · 11-26-2003, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jam161
TABLES TABLES TABLES

No, no NO. Tables are bad. That is what CSS is meant to replace. Tables for layout are NOT standards compliant, and more practically, are a pain in the ass to code and read. Anything you can do with tables, you can do with CSS, and much easier and cleaner.

You are right about frames and iframes, though, stay away from those.

Jam · 11-26-2003, 12:59 PM

you cant do anything good with css that tables are for... css is for controlling fonts and alignment... do you make sites graphicly? YOU NEED TABLES unless you use flash... TABLES TABLES TABLES, css isnt even the same category as tables... my guess is you just dont know the true power of tables... CSS is meant to replace changing fonts everywehre... you can put a class on one div or table to change it.. and you change the style sheet and it changes in all your documents... but you need a table to make a layout

mrap1 · 11-26-2003, 08:31 PM

So yeah, I don't know enough about either tables or CSS to chime in, so back to my original question: How much should I charge for my service. Would $50 a month be too much? For that price I would include registering the domain, monthly hosting costs, and generally maintaining and updating the site.

Oh, and I plan to design and show him the site before I charge him anything. That way, if he's not happy with my work he doesn't lose anything, and at worst I gained a new skill which leaves us both happy.

split lickety · 11-26-2003, 09:19 PM

yes, IMO $50/mo is too much.

try thinking in terms of one payment to design and get the site running and maybe smaller payments for each update you have to do. with a site like this all your work is done up front, the design, layout etc. after that minor site updates updates are usually a snap(i'm assuming it will be mostly text updates or a pic or 2 added). as far as a monthly maintenance fee goes there really is nothing to maintain. basic html websites run on their own just fine.

setup costs? the domain should be a yearly registration - $10 or less most places. and if you are only going to have a 2gb/mo(transfer) or so account you can get that for around $2/mo. hopefully your buddy can scrap the $24 for a years webhosting all at once. total yearly cost for this site - around $35.

Jam · 11-26-2003, 10:11 PM

why not just get them to update the site... any one can do it, especialy if you just give him a news script(or her)

MSD · 11-26-2003, 10:27 PM

www.nxserve.com
www.hytekhosting.com

The best two hosts I've found

split lickety · 11-26-2003, 10:34 PM

as i said in another thread webhosting does not have to cost much.

i'm paying $10/mo for 50gb transfer on one site and i also have a free site that is 1gb in size and the host claims unlimited transfer. i've never hit a limit yet and i have a good deal of traffic(porn).

the best deals in webhosting can be found @ http://www.webhostingtalk.com - you can post your needs and have webhosts bid for your biz.

mrap1 · 11-26-2003, 10:59 PM

I guess $50 a month is a bit much, I'll probably go with something like $30. The thing is this guy doesn't even have a computer, so teaching him how to update it is out of the question. Also, I'm sure that he'll want me to update it at least 2 or 3 times a week with his playing shcedule, so I know he'll be bothering me quite often.

I'll be sure to check out those links you guys gave me for more info on webhosting.

sailor · 11-27-2003, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jam161
you cant do anything good with css that tables are for... css is for controlling fonts and alignment... do you make sites graphicly? YOU NEED TABLES unless you use flash... TABLES TABLES TABLES, css isnt even the same category as tables... my guess is you just dont know the true power of tables... CSS is meant to replace changing fonts everywehre... you can put a class on one div or table to change it.. and you change the style sheet and it changes in all your documents... but you need a table to make a layout

It ABSOLUTELY is. Look at my site (www.theravenel.net). Done in ALL CSS, not the first table on there. A List Apart makes webpages (they recently redid Slashdot) that are full CSS. CSS does *everything* tables can do, its just that most people are too lazy to learn it, even though once you know it, it is infinitely easier than table hacks. CSS is made to seperate content from structure--HTML was never even designed to be a structure language, and ideally, you shouldnt have the first bit of structure in it, only your content.

Jam · 11-27-2003, 09:52 PM

http://www.freeforminteractive.com/

can you make that in all css?

**not my site**

sailor · 11-28-2003, 06:59 AM

Absolutely. Its nothing more than some tables with images in them, something that could be done in CSS just as easily.

Not to mention thats a poorly designed site in the first place. Not only does it not render correctly in Mozilla, but it is also a huge site (around 70k for something so small) and it <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freeforminteractive.com%2F">doesnt validate</a>.

11-25-2003, 07:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
mrap1 Insane Location: NY	How much $ ? There is somebody who wants me to create a website for them. I have absolutely no experience in this. I've made this plainly clear to the person, however, I'm the only computer oriented person that they know. Basically, I'll start by reading an html book and learn as I go along. So, how much should I charge for this? I anticipate that it'll be a small website with less than 10 pages at most. Do I charge a setup fee for creating the site, and a monthly fee for updating it? I expect that I'll have to update it fairly frequently, as this person is a musician, and one of the purposes of the site it to state where and when he'll be playing. I would also appreciate any tips on where to register the site, and where to host it. I was looking at godaddy's option but the lower tiered plans put a cap on the bandwidth, would 2 GB a month be enough? Last edited by mrap1; 11-25-2003 at 07:52 PM..

11-25-2003, 07:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
sailor beauty in the breakdown Location: Chapel Hill, NC	Where to start... It depends on what the website is for. If it is something important, do him a favor, and refer him to someone with more experience. If you want to learn, go learn HTML and CSS. Learn how to do it the right way, standards compliant, not by using all kinds of nasty hacks. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are a good thing. Godaddy has pretty cheap domain name registration. I dont know about hosting, I run my own webserver. Ill let someone else answer that one. As for the bandwidth, it really depends what is on the site and how many hits it gets. For a small personal website, 2GB should be fine. __________________ "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." --Plato

11-26-2003, 10:34 PM	#11 (permalink)
split lickety Banned Location: eugene, OR	as i said in another thread webhosting does not have to cost much. i'm paying $10/mo for 50gb transfer on one site and i also have a free site that is 1gb in size and the host claims unlimited transfer. i've never hit a limit yet and i have a good deal of traffic(porn). the best deals in webhosting can be found @ http://www.webhostingtalk.com - you can post your needs and have webhosts bid for your biz. Last edited by split lickety; 11-26-2003 at 10:40 PM..

11-28-2003, 06:59 AM	#15 (permalink)
sailor beauty in the breakdown Location: Chapel Hill, NC	Absolutely. Its nothing more than some tables with images in them, something that could be done in CSS just as easily. Not to mention thats a poorly designed site in the first place. Not only does it not render correctly in Mozilla, but it is also a huge site (around 70k for something so small) and it <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freeforminteractive.com%2F">doesnt validate</a>. __________________ "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." --Plato Last edited by sailor; 11-28-2003 at 07:04 AM..

11-25-2003, 07:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
mrap1 Insane Location: NY	He hasn't told me everything that he wants on the site but I anticipate that he'll want a little biography section where he can give his history, he'll want to put some info up regarding the history of the type of music he plays, and where he'll be playing on future dates. He'll probably also want to put contact info so that people can contact him to schedule apearrances. From what I've read up to in the book, I think I can put all of this together using a couple of tables. Would it really need to get more complicated than that? Note, I haven't gotten up to the chapter that contains CSS, so I don't really know what it is.

11-25-2003, 10:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
Jam Junkie	well for a simple site.. you need to better at artwork then at coding... you need to make a viually appealing deisgn then chop it up... CSS are good... also, TABLES TABLES TABLES... farmes/iframes == the devil... ive made a bunchof people sites.. but i never charge, however I only worry about the site... i get them to create the content and worry about hosting... as far as bandwidth, how many people will be visiting... if its like a local band.. 2gbs is enough.. if its like, metalica.. or the evil RIAA probably more

11-26-2003, 12:59 PM	#6 (permalink)
Jam Junkie	you cant do anything good with css that tables are for... css is for controlling fonts and alignment... do you make sites graphicly? YOU NEED TABLES unless you use flash... TABLES TABLES TABLES, css isnt even the same category as tables... my guess is you just dont know the true power of tables... CSS is meant to replace changing fonts everywehre... you can put a class on one div or table to change it.. and you change the style sheet and it changes in all your documents... but you need a table to make a layout

11-26-2003, 08:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
mrap1 Insane Location: NY	So yeah, I don't know enough about either tables or CSS to chime in, so back to my original question: How much should I charge for my service. Would $50 a month be too much? For that price I would include registering the domain, monthly hosting costs, and generally maintaining and updating the site. Oh, and I plan to design and show him the site before I charge him anything. That way, if he's not happy with my work he doesn't lose anything, and at worst I gained a new skill which leaves us both happy.

11-26-2003, 09:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
split lickety Banned Location: eugene, OR	yes, IMO $50/mo is too much. try thinking in terms of one payment to design and get the site running and maybe smaller payments for each update you have to do. with a site like this all your work is done up front, the design, layout etc. after that minor site updates updates are usually a snap(i'm assuming it will be mostly text updates or a pic or 2 added). as far as a monthly maintenance fee goes there really is nothing to maintain. basic html websites run on their own just fine. setup costs? the domain should be a yearly registration - $10 or less most places. and if you are only going to have a 2gb/mo(transfer) or so account you can get that for around $2/mo. hopefully your buddy can scrap the $24 for a years webhosting all at once. total yearly cost for this site - around $35.

11-26-2003, 10:11 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jam Junkie	why not just get them to update the site... any one can do it, especialy if you just give him a news script(or her)

11-26-2003, 10:27 PM	#10 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	www.nxserve.com www.hytekhosting.com The best two hosts I've found

11-26-2003, 10:59 PM	#12 (permalink)
mrap1 Insane Location: NY	I guess $50 a month is a bit much, I'll probably go with something like $30. The thing is this guy doesn't even have a computer, so teaching him how to update it is out of the question. Also, I'm sure that he'll want me to update it at least 2 or 3 times a week with his playing shcedule, so I know he'll be bothering me quite often. I'll be sure to check out those links you guys gave me for more info on webhosting.

11-27-2003, 09:52 PM	#14 (permalink)
Jam Junkie	http://www.freeforminteractive.com/ can you make that in all css? not my site