where is the best place to find a web designer?

armabelle

Hi all. Need a web developer or web designer for a project. Where is the best place to look for one outside boards? Is there a website that is good to solicit these types of services?

thank you kindly in advance

M.T.D

There is a thread for this on the design forum


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055802922
Put the details of what you require there.
You will usually get a quick response.

armabelle

M.T.D wrote: »

There is a thread for this on the design forum


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055802922
Put the details of what you require there.
You will usually get a quick response.

that thread is for people looking for designers through boards. I was looking for some advice as to where I could find one outside of boards. I did bold that part but it didn't do me much good.

Graham

Do you want a full/part time on-site designer, an off-shore designer, a design house/shop?

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

Do you want a full/part time on-site designer, an off-shore designer, a design house/shop?

a local freelance web & graphic designer

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

a local freelance web & graphic designer

local to........

full-time/part-time super duper all singing all dancing or micro-budget level?

Actually, thinking about it the answer is going to be the same. There's no significant site for soliciting freelance Irish web designers.

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

local to........

full-time/part-time super duper all singing all dancing or micro-budget level?

Actually, thinking about it the answer is going to be the same. There's no significant site for soliciting freelance Irish web designers.

Yes I am sure there wouldn't be but was thinking that someone could help me with some options for websites that have services in general that might include such services as I am seeking. Would classifieds be a good place to look?

M.T.D

Just to clarify. You are looking for a web designer / web developer in Ireland that does not have an account on the most popular forum site in Ireland.
Is there a particular reason for this?

Is there a reason why doing a search for web designer Ireland in Google would not give you the list you want. I would have thought most "freelance" web designers would have a website or web presence of some kind.

armabelle

M.T.D wrote: »

Just to clarify. You are looking for a web designer / web developer in Ireland that does not have an account on the most popular forum site in Ireland.
Is there a particular reason for this?

Is there a reason why doing a search for web designer Ireland in Google would not give you the list you want. I would have thought most "freelance" web designers would have a website or web presence of some kind.

They can have an account. I just don't want to to work with someone who uses boards to get their clientele. No harm there I hope.

uck51js9zml2yt

armabelle wrote: »

They can have an account. I just don't want to to work with someone who uses boards to get their clientele. No harm there I hope.

Google is probably your best friend in this case unless you expect people whose livelihood is web development to recommend a competitor.
I can't imagine any here relying on boards as their sole source of income.

armabelle

Adrian Hot Sneaker wrote: »

Google is probably your best friend in this case unless you expect people whose livelihood is web development to recommend a competitor.

Yes please. That would be awfully nice of you

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

Would classifieds be a good place to look?

Sweeping generalisation alert:

No

mneylon

http://www.creativeireland.com/ *might* be a place to look as well. I'm not sure how active it is these days.

armabelle

Blacknight wrote: »

http://www.creativeireland.com/ *might* be a place to look as well. I'm not sure how active it is these days.

thanks, what about Adverts.ie and gumtree? are those only good for buying & selling things in Ireland?

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

thanks, what about Adverts.ie and gumtree? are those only good for buying & selling things in Ireland?

You will find most web-designers advertising in the classifieds are a mix of pocket-money web designers, part-time web designers, students, template re-hashers and very very very occasionally professionals who may have recently gone out on their own.

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

You will find most web-designers advertising in the classifieds are a mix of pocket-money web designers, part-time web designers, students, template re-hashers and very very very occasionally professionals who may have recently gone out on their own.

Oh ok thanks for the tip. What are template re-hashers?

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

Oh ok thanks for the tip. What are template re-hashers?

The vast majority of classified-ad web designers would be template re-hashers. They buy an existing design from one of the website template providers (e.g. Themeforest), replace the dummy content/photos with yours and charge you a few hundred euro for the job.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, it should mean you get a higher standard of website at the really budget end of the market. On the downside your design won't be unique and it's still quite easy for an amateur to take a well designed template and make a complete balls of it as they insert your content. Your site may also be constrained to some degree by the original number of pages/navigation etc of the template you're using.

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

The vast majority of classified-ad web designers would be template re-hashers. They buy an existing design from one of the website template providers (e.g. Themeforest), replace the dummy content/photos with yours and charge you a few hundred euro for the job.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, it should mean you get a higher standard of website at the really budget end of the market. On the downside your design won't be unique and it's still quite easy for an amateur to take a well designed template and make a complete balls of it as they insert your content. Your site may also be constrained to some degree by the original number of pages/navigation etc of the template you're using.

Oh ok but wouldn't most web designers work off templates if they were offering all the functionality of a CMS for a decent price? I mean, last time I was quoted on my previous website, custom web design & development was much much more expensive if it was not going to be template based. Also, I tried to make a wordpress template look like I wanted once and had very little luck. I could change the logo and text in some parts but for most things I wanted to do I had to hire a developer to help me as they required CSS knowledge and HTML.

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

Oh ok but wouldn't most web designers work off templates if they were offering all the functionality of a CMS for a decent price?

A decent price for a custom design is going to be very different to a decent price for replacing content in a template or tweaking an off the shelf WordPress/Drupal theme.

To use a non web-development metaphor, if you're looking for a carpenter to make a coffee table a decent price for assembling an Ikea flat pack is going to be very different to a decent price for a custom piece made by a skilled cabinet maker.

armabelle wrote: »

Also, I tried to make a wordpress template look like I wanted once and had very little luck. I could change the logo and text in some parts but for most things I wanted to do I had to hire a developer to help me as they required CSS knowledge and HTML.

Sounds like you're looking for a basic html/css 'tweaker' and a theme rather than a web developer. There's millions of them around, you shouldn't have a problem finding someone locally that can help you and the small ads for part-timers may well be a good source.

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

A decent price for a custom design is going to be very different to a decent price for replacing content in a template or tweaking an off the shelf WordPress/Drupal theme.

To use a non web-development metaphor, if you're looking for a carpenter to make a coffee table a decent price for assembling an Ikea flat pack is going to be very different to a decent price for a custom piece made by a skilled cabinet maker.



Sounds like you're looking for a basic html/css monkey and a theme rather than a web developer. There's millions of them around, you shouldn't have a problem finding someone locally that can help you and the small ads for part-timers may well be a good source.

Why do you refer to such a person as a "monkey"?

Your analogy seems rather unfair in the sense that I can assemble IKEA furniture and shouldn't need to pay anybody. I cannot customize a template as I don't have those skills. I would prefer to have a custom website with all those functions but how much would that cost compared to using a "theme" if I wanted a CMS website? If the price is similar then I could consider it. Do you only offer custom-built websites then?

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

Why do you refer to such a person as a "monkey"?

I did change the terminology but you'd obviously quoted my post at that point. It's not a particularly skilled task usually only requiring a rudimentary understanding of html/css.

SpaceCowb0y

You have found me!! How can i help

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

I did change the terminology but you'd obviously quoted my post at that point. It's not a particularly skilled task usually only requiring a rudimentary understanding of html/css.

Oh Ok, I thought HTML and CSS was something you have to really learn. I didn't really think it could be so easy as IKEA furniture. Maybe I should just learn it myself then and then I can build my own websites.

Anyway, what kind of work do you actually do? So you don't work with Wordpress and Joomla etc?

armabelle

SpaceCowb0y wrote: »

You have found me!! How can i help

Ok I will bite. I need a website. I have some cash to pay for one but I am limited in my investment. What services do you offer?

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

Your analogy seems rather unfair in the sense that I can assemble IKEA furniture and shouldn't need to pay anybody. I cannot customize a template as I don't have those skills. I would prefer to have a custom website with all those functions but how much would that cost compared to using a "theme" if I wanted a CMS website? If the price is similar then I could consider it. Do you only offer custom-built websites then?

The analogy is quite fair in this day and age where a large percentage of recent school/college leavers have sufficient html/css skills to tweak a template.

A basic template/off-the-shelf theme based CMS site should cost you in the (probably low) hundreds of euro price range, a completely custom job could easily be in the thousands and naturally there are many levels between the two. Essentially they will all do the same job it really depends on what you're looking for and what your budget allows.

armabelle wrote: »

Do you only offer custom-built websites then?

I'm not offering anything other than friendly advice. Apologies if this all sounded like a pitch, it's not.

Graham

SpaceCowb0y wrote: »

You have found me!! How can i help

armabelle wrote: »

Oh Ok, I thought HTML and CSS was something you have to really learn.

You do have to learn but like anything there are varying degrees of learning/knowledge. A few days/weeks learning would should be sufficient to amend a template, maybe more to amend a template well, to build one from scratch would take several years worth of experience.

awec

As an aside, I think I'd have an easier time putting my trust in someone hired off boards if they have a decent post count than someone random off one of those freelance sites.

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

You do have to learn but like anything there are varying degrees of learning/knowledge. A few days/weeks learning would should be sufficient to amend a template, maybe more to amend a template well, to build one from scratch would take several years worth of experience.

Ok so if site X that comes from a template costs hundreds and site Y that is custom costs thousands. What is the benifit of the Y site given the fact that somebody is paying so much more? Is it just that you have an original design?

armabelle

awec wrote: »

As an aside, I think I'd have an easier time putting my trust in someone hired off boards if they have a decent post count than someone random off one of those freelance sites.

which freelance sites?

mneylon

awec wrote: »

As an aside, I think I'd have an easier time putting my trust in someone hired off boards if they have a decent post count than someone random off one of those freelance sites.

Why?
Just because somebody has posted thousands of times on boards.ie doesn't mean they're going to be able to design a decent website ..

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

The analogy is quite fair in this day and age where a large percentage of recent school/college leavers have sufficient html/css skills to tweak a template.

But I am a school leaver and don't have HTML and CSS skills should I feel bad?

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

Ok so if site X that comes from a template costs hundreds and site Y that is custom costs thousands. What is the benifit of the Y site given the fact that somebody is paying so much more? Is it just that you have an original design?

You have an original design that is specific to you, your requirements, your target market and your future plans.

Only you can decide which is appropriate for your business. If you're a one-man plumbing operation, a custom site is probably going to be OTT for your needs. If you're a reasonable sized recruitment agency you'll probably be looking for something more than a basic web presence or vanilla CMS.

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

But I am a school leaver and don't have HTML and CSS skills should I feel bad?

Not if it wasn't taught at your school, no not particularly. Nothing to stop you learning though.

uck51js9zml2yt

SpaceCowb0y wrote: »

You have found me!! How can i help

You're OK, the OP doesn't want anyone off boards;)

armabelle

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I am a secondary school leaver but don't know HTML or CSS. Should I feel bad now?

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

Not if it wasn't taught at your school, no not particularly. Nothing to stop you learning though.

Is HTML and CSS learned in secondary school in Ireland?

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

You have an original design that is specific to you, your requirements, your target market and your future plans.

Only you can decide which is appropriate for your business. If you're a one-man plumbing operation, a custom site is probably going to be OTT for your needs. If you're a reasonable sized recruitment agency you'll probably be looking for something more than a basic web presence or vanilla CMS.

I totally understand that. If your business is well established, does reasonably well, you may need something more personalized but the cost difference is pretty steep. I just don't have that kind of money (thousands as mentioned above) but I do need a site. So now that you know more, do you think I should just get a template re-hasher? I mean for under a thousand euro, ther is no way to go custom right?

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

I mean for under a thousand euro, ther is no way to go custom right?

I wouldn't say there's no way, it's just less likely.

Without knowing what custom elements you're specifically looking for it's next to impossible to say.

I'm guessing you have some requirements that you think can only be met with a custom solution. If you can share them you might get some more specific suggestions.

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

I wouldn't say there's no way, it's just less likely.

Without knowing what custom elements you're specifically looking for it's next to impossible to say.

I'm guessing you have some requirements that you think can only be met with a custom solution. If you can share them you might get some more specific suggestions.

Think I understand. Could you give me an example of "custom elements" please Graham?

Graham

armabelle wrote: »

Think I understand. Could you give me an example of "custom elements" please Graham?

Outside of a custom design/layout, custom elements could include:

Booking/appoinment facilities (e.g. hairdresser, vet, restaurant).
Ticketing (clubs, conference organisers etc).
Coupon facilities.
Mailing-list building/newsletters
Online commerce/store
Messaging
Customer support

armabelle

Graham wrote: »

Outside of a custom design/layout, custom elements could include:

Booking/appoinment facilities (e.g. hairdresser, vet, restaurant).
Ticketing (clubs, conference organisers etc).
Coupon facilities.
Mailing-list building/newsletters
Online commerce/store
Messaging
Customer support

I actually had a think over the weekend and don't need any "custom elements". Just maybe normal 4 or 5 webpages but I would like a custom design for my site. whats the going rate for such a site nowadays?

yes there

Am I the only who thinks this guy is trolling???

armabelle

yes there wrote: »

Am I the only who thinks this guy is trolling???

Are you the guy who sent me PM's for web development work?

Buford T Justice

armabelle wrote: »

Are you the guy who sent me PM's for web development work?

Aren't you the one who knows the usernames?

armabelle

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Aren't you the one who knows the usernames?

What the heck are you talking about? I have used boards many times to get information and people have been great, kind and willing most of the time but now it feels like I need to hire someone off this thread or else I am trolling. Feel free to not participate in my thread if you have a problem with me.

Sparks

[Mod Note]This is exactly the kind of thing that caused the original forum rule banning this topic to be drafted.
Thread closed.