Working on a project plan, trying to figure out what kind of expertise to seek
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I'm a "full stack" developer at a small company, though what I'm best at is Java server-side application development. I'm still learning CSS, but am not at the point where I can whip out a beautiful responsive design without a lot of struggle.
I'm tasked with redeveloping our site from scratch on a new CMS (it's currently on an old customized livesite, which our marketing department hates).
I'm really busy this year with application development, so I want to contract out the following:
1. Create a responsive theme based on 4-6 CSS templates. Our internal graphics designer provide mockups and images. We have a design for the landing page that is based on the Bootstrap "Carousel" template.http://getbootstrap.com/examples/carousel/...
2. The only PHP customization that I think I might need would be the ability to pull search results from an external app (our product catalog); not even sure if I'd need php customization for that. I can do minor PHP customization myself, but it would make more sense to hire someone more experienced in PHP for anything extensive.
3. My employer expects the new site to be search engine optimized. I have a report from an SEO consultant that we hired; I need to ensure that we follow the guidelines of that report in implementing the new site.
I've successfully installed Concrete5 on on internal Linux dev box and played around with it, though I will probably want to use external hosting for the production site.
As a developer myself, I'm not going to look for unrealistically low rates to do this.
Before I make a formal job posting, what other types of questions would it be useful to have answers for up front? I apologize if I'm missing anything obvious, but this is the first time that I've been involved with contracting out for a project; everywhere else I've worked everything has been done in-house.
Regards,
Jamie
*Updates in response to replies below*
1. The current site is not at all responsive; the new site will be a complete redesign.
2. As far as browser targeting, I don't think we'd be too concerned about anything older (or more problematic) than IE8. My understanding is that the majority of the users who still cling to IE6 are in China, where many government and commercial websites don't support anything later. I'm sure those users are accustomed to some sites looking a little wonky. We're not looking for a lot of cutting edge whiz-bank features other than the jquery slideshow that the above-referenced Bootstrap Carousel template uses and Javascript menu effects.
3. The contractor would be reporting to no more than two people: myself, as the main technical contact, and our graphics designer, who designs the mockups in Illustrator and would be providing all necessary images, font specs, etc. The two of us work in the same room and collaborate frequently.
4. I'm not sure yet if we're going to do a set fee or go hourly, but that will be decided soon.
5. Timeline: From the time that the contractor receives all necessary requirements and assets (all template mockups and at least placeholder images), I'd hope that we could be finished within a month or so. As far as going live with the site, that's going to depend on our content team. I'd be providing content for the main template; lorem ipsum would be fine for the rest.
6. Training: I'll be responsible for training our content team in how to use Concrete 5. I've already spent some time with the tutorials and will be continue to play around with it, but figure at least a few hours helping me develop a training plan/best practices guides that I can use as a resource.
I'm tasked with redeveloping our site from scratch on a new CMS (it's currently on an old customized livesite, which our marketing department hates).
I'm really busy this year with application development, so I want to contract out the following:
1. Create a responsive theme based on 4-6 CSS templates. Our internal graphics designer provide mockups and images. We have a design for the landing page that is based on the Bootstrap "Carousel" template.http://getbootstrap.com/examples/carousel/...
2. The only PHP customization that I think I might need would be the ability to pull search results from an external app (our product catalog); not even sure if I'd need php customization for that. I can do minor PHP customization myself, but it would make more sense to hire someone more experienced in PHP for anything extensive.
3. My employer expects the new site to be search engine optimized. I have a report from an SEO consultant that we hired; I need to ensure that we follow the guidelines of that report in implementing the new site.
I've successfully installed Concrete5 on on internal Linux dev box and played around with it, though I will probably want to use external hosting for the production site.
As a developer myself, I'm not going to look for unrealistically low rates to do this.
Before I make a formal job posting, what other types of questions would it be useful to have answers for up front? I apologize if I'm missing anything obvious, but this is the first time that I've been involved with contracting out for a project; everywhere else I've worked everything has been done in-house.
Regards,
Jamie
*Updates in response to replies below*
1. The current site is not at all responsive; the new site will be a complete redesign.
2. As far as browser targeting, I don't think we'd be too concerned about anything older (or more problematic) than IE8. My understanding is that the majority of the users who still cling to IE6 are in China, where many government and commercial websites don't support anything later. I'm sure those users are accustomed to some sites looking a little wonky. We're not looking for a lot of cutting edge whiz-bank features other than the jquery slideshow that the above-referenced Bootstrap Carousel template uses and Javascript menu effects.
3. The contractor would be reporting to no more than two people: myself, as the main technical contact, and our graphics designer, who designs the mockups in Illustrator and would be providing all necessary images, font specs, etc. The two of us work in the same room and collaborate frequently.
4. I'm not sure yet if we're going to do a set fee or go hourly, but that will be decided soon.
5. Timeline: From the time that the contractor receives all necessary requirements and assets (all template mockups and at least placeholder images), I'd hope that we could be finished within a month or so. As far as going live with the site, that's going to depend on our content team. I'd be providing content for the main template; lorem ipsum would be fine for the rest.
6. Training: I'll be responsible for training our content team in how to use Concrete 5. I've already spent some time with the tutorials and will be continue to play around with it, but figure at least a few hours helping me develop a training plan/best practices guides that I can use as a resource.
Questions:
1. When you say responsive, are you targeting all desktops, mobile phones, all browers? Could you be more specific?
2. Is the current site responsive at all? This is because it will be wiser to build from scrach as it will be time consuming again
3. Is there any reference site that you like?
4. There would be Add-ons which would be paid ones that might be necessary. Would you consider or would you be happy with current ones available on your site?
Trust these would help you to post the job
1. When you say responsive, are you targeting all desktops, mobile phones, all browers? Could you be more specific?
2. Is the current site responsive at all? This is because it will be wiser to build from scrach as it will be time consuming again
3. Is there any reference site that you like?
4. There would be Add-ons which would be paid ones that might be necessary. Would you consider or would you be happy with current ones available on your site?
Trust these would help you to post the job
How many people is the person you are hiring reporting to? Is there only one point of contact or are there many?
Things that would be interesting to know could be:
- is there a deadline or a time length on your side or will you rely on the dev estimate?
- Are you looking for a fixed quote or an hourly one is ok?
- what kind of tables (number and structure) would the search functionality have to deal with
- what kind of search possibility are you looking for? Just a basic exact keyword search or something more complex.
Of course I assume you will provide potential candidates with the design beforehand as it will have an impact on the quote.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
If you do post this job, I'll definitely apply.