how much will this cost?

UnhappyBunny · Jun 12, 2008

Hi not sure if this thread is best here or somewhere else but here goes...

I have been sitting on a business idea for a couple of years now, an idea I had a while back and just didnt know how to take it forward. I am confident I now have the time to invest in this project but I have no idea where to start, I sound a bit clueless, I probably am, but Im sure that given the time this idea will work.

I cant go into details but I need a website producing that where customers can register to acess their own secure space where they can edit details and accept their own payments via paypal through it - it has to be very user friendly for the customer and allow text to be edited, photos to be uploaded. hope that makes sense, don't want to give too much info about the site.

Anyway is this a lost cause if I have no background at all in web design, I need to have this completely done from scratch, all I could provide would be the text i want on the site - the graphics, and the whole site would have to be developed and Im guessing its not a simple job, it really does need to look and act the part.

What im really wondering is how much as a rough guide would a site of this nature cost me? and does anybody know of anywhere to go for funding of such a business idea? I have zero cash to put into this - all I basically have is the idea.

All I can compare it to is somebody coming up with an idea for say facebook or myspace (although it isnt that type of site) and wanting to move forward but all they have is an idea?

any guidance appreciated x

Diggerboy · Jun 12, 2008

Is there any similar business on the web that you can compare your idea to, even vaguely?

Try getting a list of approximately similar sites and then do a search for software (preferably Freeware, but that's a longshot!) that tries to do what those businesses do.

You might be surprised how many independant packages there are out there that have been developed for the sort of thing you're talking about. May not be 100%, but see what you can find, then it's a case of finding a developer (I've found plenty of willing volunteers on here) to sort out the rest of the coding to suit you.

You may find you'll have to spend a few quid here and there to get what you want, but maybe not as much as you'd think.

Also, if you do find a software package to suit, don't assume it can automatically be modified, as many software businesses protect their coding. If you find something that (almost) suits make sure you end up with all of the files and can access the script for tailoring it to suit you!

Hope that's of some use.

UnhappyBunny · Jun 12, 2008

Thanks for the reply
yeah I have found two similar sites, how would I find out what software would do along the lines of what they do?

Diggerboy · Jun 12, 2008

Best way I can think of is think about what those sites do - eg. Classified ads, social networking, chat rooms, etc.

Think "generic". Search for a few different types along those lines. Most of the providers have a demo or live versions to play with on their sites - have a look and consider how those existing ones could be modified to suit.

Eg. If you find the "bare bones" of a generic social networking package, work with it and list what you'd need to add-in to approach what you're after. You'll find the more you explore, the more ideas you'll get and the more refined you can make those ideas. Then, when you end up with a concise list of what you want, that's when you haul-in a developer to get to work (under a confidentiality agreement, if you're worried). A lot of the software houses will also offer a development service at an hourly or project rate, but I've found this route to be pretty costly in general.

mke · Jun 12, 2008

First, UnhappyBunny, take a look at the source code. There is a line of tabs at the top of your browser. Most have File then Edit then View then others. Click on View. From the drop down list, choose Source or Source Code or view Source, something like that.

There will be a tag which says <head> and enclosed within it and another one that says </head> will be loads of stuff which looks like gobbledegook. It's not. It's gobbledegeek.

There may well be an acknowledgement to a development team in there, such as Joomla, Drupal, Xoops, Nuke, Mambo, to name a few of the better known community templating applications.

These are all Open Source and free. Take a look at Joomla for your purposes. It may just be what you need. You don't need to be able to code once it is properly installed and there are hundreds, at least, of free templates for it so you can get very near to the look and feel you would want.

Rich325 · Jun 12, 2008

Hello UnhappyBunny,

If you are new to websites, a quick way to find out what can be done is speak with a good web developer. Show them the sites you are interested in and ask how much would it cost to develop a similar site. Basically, anything is possible using computers and the internet, so it should be do-able.

There are several good people in UKBF who will be reading this and they may post a note to declare their interest with links to their sites where you can browse and see who you would like to work with. Try the thread started by Steve Woods

The next important thing you will need is a good domain name. Costs about £5 a year and very easy to register.

Right now the most valuable thing you have is the idea, so keep that secret. Consider a confidentiality agreement before giving this info out.

If you have a good idea then the feelings of optimising and enthusiasm are great aren't they. Keep going and you may need to re-register as HappyBunny!!!

Cheers

,
Richard

UnhappyBunny · Jun 13, 2008

Thanks for the advice everyone
Rich its funny you mentioned Steve Woods - I had actually comer across his details and already chatted to him about the project. So far so good, and looks promosing i might be able to move this project forward - may change my name to excited bunny for now.
thanks again x

Mat_D · Jun 13, 2008

It sounds as though this would be a very expensive project to have written from scratch. However, as has already been pointed out, existing open source software may well offer what you need.

I'm happy to offer free advice by PM!

wheeler · Jun 14, 2008

Hi thanks for starting the thread!!! I found some great resource here...

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how much will this cost?

UnhappyBunny

Diggerboy

UnhappyBunny

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mke

Rich325

UnhappyBunny

Mat_D

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