How much to pay for a pro photography website?

[AmberSimpkins]

I don't know if anyone has seen my website but it was aweful. The colours are poor the set up is lousy, but I am aweful at website design. A friend said he would do a website for me, he does it on the side and usually charges $50/hour. But I am looking at 40hours of work at $35 dollars per hour. On the flip side there are templates out there for flash sites that are $150 or so, but won't look as good.

Is this a good deal, or am I getting over charged? I didn't know websites were so expensive. Has anyone used a template? Or should I just skip that idea and go for something really well done?
Any suggestions...

Amber

 

[TsunamiFury]

on how much you like his work, him, and if YOU think it is worth it. Its hard to find out. There are college students that will sell you state of the art flash websites for 150 dollars just to get something in a portfolio. But morrally your a nick and diming the pros there. That price is pretty darn high. I design my own stuff using FREE css templates that work out great, but I also have the software and some of the knowhow. 40 hours for a photosite is WAY overbid tho. There are guys in my design class that can do top notch stuff, top top with animation and everything, in 10 hours.

--



I'd take the right eye over the right equipment any day.

 

[tdpg]

Designing a website is the easy part, designing a website that's easy to maintain is difficult. You don't want to be locked into a design that requires you to go back to the original designer for every little change. Also, keep in mind that most designers can't program and most programmers can't design. You'll need a designer who can layout the "eye candy" as well as a programmer who can develop the database/commerce side. If you want a professional site (business) than it's better to pay someone who can do it right the first time. Lots of people can slap together a site in a few hours but to do it right requires a lot of planning. Bottom line, I don't think $50/hour is bad if you like his work and he can do both the design and programming. Forty hours ($2000), amortized over a 3-5 year life of a design is less $400-$650 per year for a tool that works 24/7 for you. Just my US$0.02.

Lee

--
'Our mission is to leave behind a better unit then that which we came into.'

CMSgt John Altizer
DaNang, 1969

 

[Rick McCarty]

Even $50/hr is pretty inexpensive. So (assuming he's good) if he's going to charge you $35/hr, you're getting a steal.

There are a lot of low $ skills advertised out there, but as the adage says, "you get what you pay for". It is not unusual in this business to pay $75/hr to $100/hr (and up, if you want the very best). It's not that much different from photography. A $20 11x14 "custom" print isn't going to include a whole lot of PP effort in the deal (if any).

Many of the cheaper design skills will heavily leverage templates and other reusable content to keep their labor costs down - they will customize these within fairly narrow parameters (and often they can produce a very nice result). On the other hand, if you want to step outside those bounds, you can be talking about beaucoup hours (and estimating effort is not always an exact science in this business). You may have already done this, but I certainly would recommend that you review some other sites your friend has created and how many hours each took. You also will need to figure in maintenance into the equation - is this going to be something you'll feel comfortable updating yourself?

I don't know if anyone has seen my website but it was aweful. The
colours are poor the set up is lousy, but I am aweful at website
design. A friend said he would do a website for me, he does it on
the side and usually charges $50/hour. But I am looking at 40hours
of work at $35 dollars per hour. On the flip side there are
templates out there for flash sites that are $150 or so, but won't
look as good.
Is this a good deal, or am I getting over charged? I didn't know
websites were so expensive. Has anyone used a template? Or should
I just skip that idea and go for something really well done?
Any suggestions...

Amber

--
http://www.pbase.com/mccarty

 

[George Law]

Andy did my website (he did give me a deal; we're in the same BNI group) and I'm very satisfied with it. He spent time with me discussing what I wanted and built the way I wanted it.

It's a new site, only been running for three weeks. Take a look at it, let me know what you think.

George
http://www.images123.com

 

[Jeffrey Lazo]

Check out

http://www.bigfolio.com

as well!
--
--
Jeff
http://www.prodpi.com
.igital Prints on new Fuji Crystal Archive Super Type PD Paper:.

 

[jst80]

email me and I will refer you to a talented webdesigner who is always willing to do some sites.

 

[dpbel]

Not to take the OP's thread away but....I absolutely love your non-traditional wedding poses that you use on the site. Very nice. Just thought I'd add that and yes, nice site also

 

[George Law]

that means a lot to me.

George

 

[AmberSimpkins]

Thank you for all of the info. It was great. I really like the ten bricks websites, they are awesome. And yours too george was really well done. Thank you again. I think what he is charging is in line with the industry, I just don't know if I am going to go ahead with it or not. The templates are so much less.

Amber

 

[Kelly Shipp]

Hi Amber,

I understand your concerns. It's easier to purchase the templates, but you'll likely need to hire someone to make changes, unless you plan to make the changes yourself(?). There are a lot of choices out there and it really depends on what you want. Do you really want something that is uniquely "you", something you have full control over, something that no one else will have, etc.?

Also keep-in-mind that designs get old, and you'll eventually want to change it, sometimes more often than you may think.

I've been a web developer/designer/engineer since the early 90's, both as a profession and also have a side-business. Feel free to contact me directly and I'll be happy to give you a quote. As you may assume, I'm also a photographer, so being a web engineer and a photographer, I have a great sense of understanding and appreciation of the art and how it's represented on the web.

Hope this helps.