Re: FN-FORUM: How long will it take to do this well?

date posted 18th June 2007 15:28

Mark Pawelek wrote:
> How long will it take to do this well?
>
Define what you mean by 'well'. This is potentially as bad as the word
'just' as in "Just make changes here"
> Web-site redesign (20-25 pages) for dynamic website. This is a financial
> news site for small company with about 1000 users - visited by about 100 of
> them each day. The database is fairly fixed and the technology decided upon
> (asp.net 2) and most of the site is working. There is no flash and not many
> graphics. The designer will need to create a concept for the entire site
> (current pages and pages being added) and apply this concept to each
> individual page.
>
>
Normally a designer would be employed to create the concept, the
graphics and css and a number of example templates. Your developer would
then be used to integrate the look and feel. Do not mix those roles up.

What hopefully has happened is that the developer has correctly
seperated out the presentation from the dynamic content and it should be
easy for your developer to plugin any new design.

Warning bells go off when you here "most of the site is working " as
this implies any work the designer does would have to depend on the
developer to finish.

The other thing that comes out of your statement is a slight concern
that you want the designer to develop the branding for the site and
indirectly the client. If you do, get a design agency on board.
> How long will it take a designer to do this?
>
Depends how clear the brief from the client is.
> What would be a good rate of pay to offer (hourly)?
>
Was going to say around £40 an hour buuut this may be high or low. What
I do know is that the job is reasonably small so a higher rate will
apply. Then I realised I was a developer and had no idea what rate good
designers charge.

> Is it reasonable to expect the person to come into the office with their own
> portable computer and design software?
>
I never understand this. Why? What benefit does it have? Do you want
him/her to work slower? Most designers I know have huge screens. So you
want to cripple them and drag them onsite? Treat them like an outside
design agency and get them in when they have something to show you.


Good luck!