Recommendations on professional web dev?

[jamesbjenkins]

Hey all,

As has been discussed on a recent thread, my smugmug hosted portfolio site is looking really tired, and is in need of a professional overhaul. I have the smugmug site, and also a self-hosted wordpress blog site with a ProPhoto theme on top of it. Now, what I'm looking for in this thread is feedback on two points:

1) In your experience, what's the best strategy for maintaining a "front door" for your business, while also providing an easy-to-use and private interface for your client's proofing galleries? Some of the options I'm considering (in order of preference) are: A) Converting my current blog site (link in my sig) into my main website and downgrading my current website into little more than a proofing site with a clean and concise homepage; B) Leave my current blog more or less as is, and completely refresh my current website to be much more elegant and streamlined; C) Leave my blog as is, and move my website to another host and then get a professional web dev to do their thing.

2) I need recommendations of professional web devs you've either used or you personally know people who have used them. My budget is fairly flexible, but I would REALLY prefer to stay less than $1500 or so, depends on the dev obviously.

I've done everything on my sites myself to this point. But, thanks to Bitter quite bluntly reminding me how often we all complain about people not hiring a professional when its necessary, I need to hire a professional.

And...go.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Try shopping local, and look for other area business websites (non-photography related) that you find inspiring, then ask them who they used.

I like to use local talent whenever possible. :thumbup:

 

[jamesbjenkins]

I like to use local talent whenever possible. :thumbup:

There you go again, nailing me to the wall. I'm sure there's quite a bit of local talent.

Any thoughts on the first question?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Sorry about nailing you again. I do advocate networking and using local businesses, because it helps you get your name around, and get their name around. You never know when that web dev needs some specific photos.

Like if I make a cupcake pendant for the s****y (swànky) new cupcake place, and the owner wears it all the time, people will compliment her on it, and I get a reference

It's not always possible to find the talent you are looking for, but it's with a shot.

As far as the first question, I opt for (C).


Good going swear filter! You turned swànky into shįtty!

 

[jamesbjenkins]

Hello?

I know there are more opinions out there than just Bitter...

 

[tirediron]

Hello?

I know there are more opinions out there than just Bitter...

But do they matter?

 

[rexbobcat]

But do they matter?

No

 

[PhotoWrangler]

I use Creative Motion Designs. I bought one of their templates, and some day I'll get around to paying them the extra fee to customize it with fonts, colors, and sizing etc... Its $100 a year for hosting and I have a main site, a mobile site, and an iPad site - as well as a built in shopping cart, statistics, and their customer service is stellar.

I know that's not the information you were looking for, but it's my two cents worth.

 

[Psytrox]

Perhaps you could sneak around your local university/college, around the IT/meadia faculties. Often you'll find a lot of hidden talent around those areas. Often universities and colleges have a board where companies can hang up fliers for recruiting new employees. Maybe you could hang up a flier there spesifying what you want. With a budget like that you would definitively get a lot of interest, especially around students.

 

[jamesbjenkins]

But do they matter?

Feedback from competent professionals always matters.

 

[jamesbjenkins]

Perhaps you could sneak around your local university/college, around the IT/meadia faculties. Often you'll find a lot of hidden talent around those areas. Often universities and colleges have a board where companies can hang up fliers for recruiting new employees. Maybe you could hang up a flier there spesifying what you want. With a budget like that you would definitively get a lot of interest, especially around students.

I want what you're smoking if you think I'm going to pay a student four figures for ANYTHING.

 

[Psytrox]

Perhaps you could sneak around your local university/college, around the IT/meadia faculties. Often you'll find a lot of hidden talent around those areas. Often universities and colleges have a board where companies can hang up fliers for recruiting new employees. Maybe you could hang up a flier there spesifying what you want. With a budget like that you would definitively get a lot of interest, especially around students.

I want what you're smoking if you think I'm going to pay a student four figures for ANYTHING.

The whole point of using students was to get new ideas. Often when you use webdesigning companies they use templates, alter colours and such to fit your style. More often the not, they have a set of intenernal templates that they use over and over again. So yes, you'll get a webpage, which will most likely be a mediacore website,, which does its purpose. Then you may aswell keep the one you have.

Students that would take on this challenge would do the job because its of great interest to them, their passion. Im not saying that the webdesigners at some company isnt passionat about what they do. But they most likely have to push out X amount of websites per day/week, resaulting to websites being less creative.

After all, creativity is the mesage you want your clients to invision. Which I belive you'd have a higher successrate of achieving using a student studying some media subjects at a uni/col. Ofcourse, a student will most likely spend 3 times as long making the webpage in comparission to a proffesional webdisigner, but when its finished, I'm prety sure it would be closer to what you really want.

As far as pricing goes, im not saying that you should pay an uneducated webdesigner 1500 USD, maybe just 500 USD, Im sure most student webdesigners would be thrilled! Perhaps agreeing that he can use the webpage in his portfolio when he finshes his degree. Cash on delivery. Don't pay up front and you have to accept the finished product before you pay him anything. Don't see how that can go wrong. If he doesnt live up to your standards, either find another student, or higher a proffesional.

 

[jamesbjenkins]

Hadn't considered that. ^

I'll take a look at the possibility. Thanks.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Perhaps you could sneak around your local university/college, around the IT/meadia faculties. Often you'll find a lot of hidden talent around those areas. Often universities and colleges have a board where companies can hang up fliers for recruiting new employees. Maybe you could hang up a flier there spesifying what you want. With a budget like that you would definitively get a lot of interest, especially around students.

I want what you're smoking if you think I'm going to pay a student four figures for ANYTHING.

The whole point of using students was to get new ideas. Often when you use webdesigning companies they use templates, alter colours and such to fit your style. More often the not, they have a set of intenernal templates that they use over and over again. So yes, you'll get a webpage, which will most likely be a mediacore website,, which does its purpose. Then you may aswell keep the one you have.

Students that would take on this challenge would do the job because its of great interest to them, their passion. Im not saying that the webdesigners at some company isnt passionat about what they do. But they most likely have to push out X amount of websites per day/week, resaulting to websites being less creative.

After all, creativity is the mesage you want your clients to invision. Which I belive you'd have a higher successrate of achieving using a student studying some media subjects at a uni/col. Ofcourse, a student will most likely spend 3 times as long making the webpage in comparission to a proffesional webdisigner, but when its finished, I'm prety sure it would be closer to what you really want.

As far as pricing goes, im not saying that you should pay an uneducated webdesigner 1500 USD, maybe just 500 USD, Im sure most student webdesigners would be thrilled! Perhaps agreeing that he can use the webpage in his portfolio when he finshes his degree. Cash on delivery. Don't pay up front and you have to accept the finished product before you pay him anything. Don't see how that can go wrong. If he doesnt live up to your standards, either find another student, or higher a proffesional.

^^^students do that often around these parts. Suggestion, don't give him root admin rights to your web host, set him up an admin password on a level he can upload and work on it

 

[MLeeK]

I use PortfolioSitez for my website. It costs me $5 per month for the website. I do all of my proofing in person. If I MUST upload a gallery I make my own and upload to the root of my site. So you'll need a proofing option...
As nice as SmugMug is, zenfolio is a WHOLE LOT CHEAPER-with just as much functionality. I do know that PortfolioSitez offers a flex cart option, but I don't know how good, bad or indifferent it is and I don't know the pricing on it compared to others.
I know a lot of photographers purchase sites thru BluDomain as well.