Quote:
Originally Posted by Usha Starchild  Im not against having a desing company do the site, but I will need full time staff to take care of it once its up and running. I want to hire 2-5 people to build it, I'm just looking for local talent as I am in China and want to be able to meet with them every few days.
I'm just curious as to what type of programming would be needed so I can find the right people. Zeste do you have MSN? |
Yeah am on all major messengers.
I'm not trying to talk you out of it or anything, just trying to drop the facts on you so you can best proceed.
I presume you know what you want, as far as what you want the site to "do". I also presume you have a budget in the back of your head, and also a budget for operating costs for hiring people to manage the site what it is built.
Really, in a nutshell, here's what I'd say your best plan is:
- Meet with a company who can build a site like this. I am sure there is local talent. Meet with them and go over your project in depth. They can give you a cost estimate to build the whole thing WITH the features in mind that you want easy to use, automatic "admin" functions so you can administer the site yourself once it is built.
- Then, you can hire some savvy people who work for you administering the site, using the interfaces and admins that the company built. These people aren't hardcore programmers, but they run the "control panel" that you made when you built the site, so basically they are using online forms/wysiwyg editors to add/edit/delete products or database entries or whatever.
- Then, if you need more programming, fixes, additions or adjustments, you go back to the original company.
The problem with you just hiring a few designers and programmers to build it is that your missing a key component, the "general contractor"... to put it into housing terms: you are the home owner and want your awesome new house built, and right now, you want to just hire the subcontractors (framers, electricians, roofers) yourself. But, you don't really know how a house is built on a technical level, you just know what you want in the end.
That's where the General Contractor comes in. He knows how to take your vision, and then orchestrate with the subcontractors to get it done so it is technically and structurally sound.
Even if you want to hire your own programmer and such, you will also need to find a "general contractor" to oversee it, because there is an endless amount of technical hurdles and things you'd never ever think of, and it's their job to make sure it all gets done and done properly.
There's nothing worse than being knee-deep in a complex database driver site (which yours definitely is) and start running into problems that are not part of the "regular" set of problems.
If you want to PM me your "vision" for the site and a realistic budget, I can probably tell you what to look for and what type of programmers/designers/"supervisors" to look for.
It's "web 2.0" nowdays... a professional commercial websites should be no less complex and complete than if you were building a new commercial building or a new house. The days of just "slapping it together" are getting farther and farther behind.