So a lot has changed in the world of web development over the last 10 years. If someone is new to this world things can be extremely confusing. I decided to put together some thoughts about entering in to website development. There's a lot to learn so don't get frustrated or give up easily. One thing that will help ease your frustrations and fears in trying something new is learning how to outsource. As you learn about the basics of HTML, CSS, Jquery, FTP, and maybe even PHP, outsourcing will be your best friend.
The first thing you'll need to begin to grasp is design. Unless you're a graphic designer already, this is a world all its own. I've never been good at it so I let those that are have it. I only know one or two designers personally but I'm connected to hundreds of them through freelance websites like Guru.com and Odesk.com. There you'll find professional website designers mixed in with legitimate freelancers for hire. The sites lay out the hiring procedure and it's very simple. The hardest thing about hiring someone is letting go and trusting a stranger. Once you do it a few times, it will get easier.
Once you have the design you want, for yourself or for your client, you can simply send the design (usually a Photoshop file) to another freelancer to code it out. These "coders" can create straight HTML and CSS for you or integrate code into WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or other content management systems like LightCMS. Usually freelancers charge about double the price for coding into one of these systems. My personal favorites are Wordpress and LightCMS.
Just a side note here - if you don't want to go through the design and coding process you might think you could simply download and install a free template. There are hundreds of free WordPress templates and the paid templates are usually between $35 - $50. If you can buy one of these "out of the box" and use it unmodified, it's totally worth it. But if you or your clients want some significant customization you're better to go ahead and outsource. Modifying a template can be extremely frustrating.
If you decide to hire a freelancer you'll still probably need some HTML and CSS knowledge because most of the time when you get a design back, you'll need to make some changes. Likewise for the content, hiring a freelancer is an option but you'll likely need to make some changes too. The beauty is that the bulk of the work will be done and you get to do the best part of the process - launching the site.
Though you could pay someone to launch the site, it's really worth your time to do it. It's so easy. Most of my clients think there's some kind of magic that happens to get a site launched. When in actuality its as simple as dragging and dropping files. Setting up a domain and hosting is easier than setting up a Facebook page, but it can be scary the first time you do it.
Some will argue that using freelancers is just to unreliable and that you waste a lot of time waiting. I completely disagree. Consider this. Say you have a client that wants a $5,000 website. If you did the site yourself you'd spend 50 hours administrating, designing, coding, creating content, and launching the site. You'd make $100 an hour which is a very good living if you can do it consistently.
Now imagine that same situation - $5,000 site with the same general timeframe. Realistically you're going to spend about 15 hours in administrative tasks - meetings, emails, domain registration, client training, editing, and hiring freelancers. You'll spend about $1000 in freelancing - design, coding, and content. But you'll make $4000 for your 15 hours of administration! That's about $267 an hour and you have an extra 35 hours to spend however you want - that's very good!
The first thing you'll need to begin to grasp is design. Unless you're a graphic designer already, this is a world all its own. I've never been good at it so I let those that are have it. I only know one or two designers personally but I'm connected to hundreds of them through freelance websites like Guru.com and Odesk.com. There you'll find professional website designers mixed in with legitimate freelancers for hire. The sites lay out the hiring procedure and it's very simple. The hardest thing about hiring someone is letting go and trusting a stranger. Once you do it a few times, it will get easier.
Once you have the design you want, for yourself or for your client, you can simply send the design (usually a Photoshop file) to another freelancer to code it out. These "coders" can create straight HTML and CSS for you or integrate code into WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or other content management systems like LightCMS. Usually freelancers charge about double the price for coding into one of these systems. My personal favorites are Wordpress and LightCMS.
Just a side note here - if you don't want to go through the design and coding process you might think you could simply download and install a free template. There are hundreds of free WordPress templates and the paid templates are usually between $35 - $50. If you can buy one of these "out of the box" and use it unmodified, it's totally worth it. But if you or your clients want some significant customization you're better to go ahead and outsource. Modifying a template can be extremely frustrating.
If you decide to hire a freelancer you'll still probably need some HTML and CSS knowledge because most of the time when you get a design back, you'll need to make some changes. Likewise for the content, hiring a freelancer is an option but you'll likely need to make some changes too. The beauty is that the bulk of the work will be done and you get to do the best part of the process - launching the site.
Though you could pay someone to launch the site, it's really worth your time to do it. It's so easy. Most of my clients think there's some kind of magic that happens to get a site launched. When in actuality its as simple as dragging and dropping files. Setting up a domain and hosting is easier than setting up a Facebook page, but it can be scary the first time you do it.
Some will argue that using freelancers is just to unreliable and that you waste a lot of time waiting. I completely disagree. Consider this. Say you have a client that wants a $5,000 website. If you did the site yourself you'd spend 50 hours administrating, designing, coding, creating content, and launching the site. You'd make $100 an hour which is a very good living if you can do it consistently.
Now imagine that same situation - $5,000 site with the same general timeframe. Realistically you're going to spend about 15 hours in administrative tasks - meetings, emails, domain registration, client training, editing, and hiring freelancers. You'll spend about $1000 in freelancing - design, coding, and content. But you'll make $4000 for your 15 hours of administration! That's about $267 an hour and you have an extra 35 hours to spend however you want - that's very good!
About the Author:
With outsourcing you have so many opportunities available to you. Take for example the guys at Big Hand Brand. These are professional webs designers that have built a sustainable business using a combination of their own skill and outsourcing. You can do this too with minimal effort - just get started.
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz