programmer web designer help!?

Question

Where can i just talk to someone to get an idea how much it would cost to develop a relatively complex and daily updated website? i would work on it myself, but just need a basic website to start with. as time and money permits i will be adding to it. It would be an encyclopedia of sorts but for a specific subject (dont want to go in more detail). people can add, and there will be blogs, comments section. photos and videos.

any ideas. I live in schaumburg, IL near Chicago.

I just want to know the costs, where to go, just where to start pretty much.

Answer 1

You do not need a designer in your local area.
You do need a designer you can trust.

I'm willing to help you understand the concepts of the requests you want so you can understand tha various costs of each feature.

I can also discuss development practices that your developer should use. (For example: CSS)

If you want, then I can discuss this with you in detail via E-mail, my email address is: [e-mail].

I can also discuss various costs about how websites work with the web so you'll understand more about what you are getting into.

I'm also willing to help consult you in regards to your site so that you know what and how to ask questions of the developer you choose.

Answer 2

(1) I suspect you can find website designers in your area...That's pretty populous, as I recall, and I think you'd do best (most folks would) with a webmaster nearby, so's they can meet face to face. A website's a pretty significant expenditure. I think that's important enough not to be a long-distance job, at least, the initial contacts.

(2) An estimate's a pretty hard thing to do. Think about it. Is the web designer working hourly, or is it to be a contract for the whole job? Is the web designer going to give you just a template, which you'll copy for each page?

Is the web designer expected to be available in case you mess up one of the copied templates? Should you, instead, go to a "prepared template" route like, say, Google Page Creator? What would YOU charge if YOU were going to do it, and HOW would you charge: by the hour or by the job? Hard to guess in advance, que no? Estimating is a skill in itself, beyond the page development itself.

Support your locals! Good luck!

Answer 3

This isn't a direct answer to your question but I personally would look into using a Content Management System. Most of them have plugins that offer the functionality you are looking for.

For example, Drupal is a free CMS (linked below) that offers modules (linked below) such as a wiki plugin (Liquid Wiki Engine among others), blogs, galleries, and many others.

Good luck!

Answer 4

There are a lot of developers and designer that charge according to their experiences.. Developers who have experience of numbers of years that definitely cost you expensive as compare to those who have a very little experience.