Free Websites for Local Shops

[R22B]

I’m looking to make some money on the side, therefore, I need to get my name out there and build my portfolio. I won’t lie, I took an epic pay cut to work where I am now just so I can work with vehicles and although I’m happy, it’s definitely biting me in the ass haha.

What I’m looking to do is design and create three websites total for shops in the area (well, at least within an hour radius of the Bethlehem, PA.) It’s been a long time since I’ve developed a website for anyone except for myself (with the exception of where I work now.) It’s something I enjoy doing but as most things, if you don’t move between projects, you can get burnt out on one very quickly.

I work in the automotive industry, and as a fellow auto enthusiast, I know what gets us going and what we like. I can create anything from something that never has to be updated to a fully integrated online store. Although, depending on the work you want done with the store, I may have to charge for that.

What I really want is to help out local garages and stuff like that with either updating their website, completing what they have now or just getting them online. What I want to get out of it is to build up my portfolio and get my name out there.

To be honest, I don’t have anything to show for what I can do with the exception of a few graphics I’ve made for work here… however, since you aren’t paying for anything, what do you have to lose?

PM me if you’re interested or give me a call at 610-417-6827.

MODS: I'm sorry if it seems like I'm pushing where I work with the attachments I uploaded. Its just honesty the only work I have that shows what I can do. You may remove it if you feel like you need to... I dont want to cross any lines here on the forum.

[RyanG]

James, talk to Sheldon next time you are here.... He needs a website

[jcr557]

email sent.

[R22B]

I’ll definitely talk to him the next time I’m there. Does he have an email address I could email him at (or better yet, is he on here?)

[Scapegoat]

can't beat free.... but its one of the "no's" i live by... don't do free work

what do you program in?

[drew]

wow, that's a hell of an opportunity for a local shop. just to give you guys an idea, I just charged $4,500 for a simple 5 page design. and that was for my girlfriends father, not just some random client.

[crazyukrainian]

Originally Posted by drew

wow, that's a hell of an opportunity for a local shop. just to give you guys an idea, I just charged $4,500 for a simple 5 page design. and that was for my girlfriends father, not just some random client.

did it give blowjobs too? cause otherwise that's like 2 hrs of work.....

[R22B]

Originally Posted by Scapegoat

can't beat free.... but its one of the "no's" i live by... don't do free work

what do you program in?

I prefer PHP by all means, but I <3 ASP.NET just as much (just plugins/host/bull****/host price isn't worth it)

[jcr557]

dunno if you got my email or if your interested, but let me know. my email is jcr57rt@aol.com

[Scapegoat]

Originally Posted by drew

wow, that's a hell of an opportunity for a local shop. just to give you guys an idea, I just charged $4,500 for a simple 5 page design. and that was for my girlfriends father, not just some random client.

so you're stiffing your g/f and her dad?

i just programmed a 15 or so page website and small forum in drupal for 1800...

4500 just for a design? ...

[Scapegoat]

Originally Posted by R22B

I prefer PHP by all means, but I <3 ASP.NET just as much (just plugins/host/bull****/host price isn't worth it)

open source ftw! i'm getting into python/django and have fallen in love... i can build just about any kind of web app in a weekend.

[R22B]

Originally Posted by Scapegoat

open source ftw! i'm getting into python/django and have fallen in love... i can build just about any kind of web app in a weekend.

Haha! I've never really messed with python or django. I want to try out RoR, but I'm not worried about it right now.

[drew]

Originally Posted by Scapegoat

so you're stiffing your g/f and her dad?

i just programmed a 15 or so page website and small forum in drupal for 1800...

4500 just for a design? ...

not JUST the design obviously. i'm also doing all of the coding and implementation as an ASP contractor. $4,500 is a very resonable price, if you're doing 15 page sites for under 2 grand then i'm going to assume you're not doing any of the graphic work? just coding a pre-exisiting design?


either way, you wouldn't catch me coding 15 pages of basic HTML for 1800

[crazyukrainian]

graphic work isn't hard..... and you said yours was simple

the point is: yes, the shops are getting a good deal, but not THAT good. they can get simple designs with content management for a few hundred bucks

[Scapegoat]

Originally Posted by drew

not JUST the design obviously. i'm also doing all of the coding and implementation as an ASP contractor. $4,500 is a very resonable price, if you're doing 15 page sites for under 2 grand then i'm going to assume you're not doing any of the graphic work? just coding a pre-exisiting design?


either way, you wouldn't catch me coding 15 pages of basic HTML for 1800

you said design, not coding... i don't do much design myself, so i can understand where the price comes from... but still, 5 pages is still not worth 4500 for design and coding.

of course, i work in open source and you do not I realize it is more expensive to develop in ASP due to... well, everything costing money... where as in open source, if there is an issue i come across, i can most likely find a solution for free.

I still can't believe you got 4500... i have trouble w/ 2k sometimes from people, you get what you pay for... and websites don't get built over night, and a good one isn't built cheaply. most clients just don't understand it.

[drew]

Originally Posted by crazyukrainian

graphic work isn't hard..... and you said yours was simple

the point is: yes, the shops are getting a good deal, but not THAT good. they can get simple designs with content management for a few hundred bucks

hard? not if you have the knowledge and talent, but not just any random person can do it. honestly, you guys are kind of irritating me because this is a field i've been in for a long time and i know what i'm talking about. a logo design alone can run $1,500 ( usually more like $500 though ) factor in development and design for an entire site, coding, implementation, and exchange integration (i'm also setting up the exchange server for them) ... yeah, $4,500 is a resonable price, i actually undercut other bids they had, in fact i originally estimated $3,600 but my my girlfriends father told me to invoice for $4,500 since that's what the next cheapest quote they received was for.

[drew]

Originally Posted by Scapegoat

you said design, not coding... i don't do much design myself, so i can understand where the price comes from... but still, 5 pages is still not worth 4500 for design and coding.

of course, i work in open source and you do not I realize it is more expensive to develop in ASP due to... well, everything costing money... where as in open source, if there is an issue i come across, i can most likely find a solution for free.

I still can't believe you got 4500... i have trouble w/ 2k sometimes from people, you get what you pay for... and websites don't get built over night, and a good one isn't built cheaply. most clients just don't understand it.

yeah, and honest to god had this been a few years ago I probably could have gotten another 1-2 thousand. it's been REALLY flooded as of late, especially with **** like high school students advertising on craigslist for ****ty 5 page designs for like $300. it's insane, hell some places are still getting winning 3k+ bids for TEMPLATE sites.

[Scapegoat]

i've been meaning to reconsider my pricing... i base estimates off of $45/hr... i should probably up

the site i did was for a family/friend (married to cousin) and i quoted 1800, the other bid was 7500 for half the work, and done in dreamweaver I built a template for drupal and set everything else up. I still think for 5 pages 4500 is a little much... but then again i don't know what went into the site really.

[crazyukrainian]

you can do a normal (not ****ty, not amazing) simple site for a few hundred based on 30-40/hr.... do amazing with 80/hr and i still dont know why a logo takes 1.5k..... do you sit there and stare at it for a day? :P

srsly though, that seems mad inflated...... even if charging normal rates and spending serious time (i guess you bill all the time you spend talking to them about it, and presumably the customer likes to talk a lot? i mean thats the only way i see that figure being realistic)

[drew]

Originally Posted by Scapegoat

i've been meaning to reconsider my pricing... i base estimates off of $45/hr... i should probably up

the site i did was for a family/friend (married to cousin) and i quoted 1800, the other bid was 7500 for half the work, and done in dreamweaver I built a template for drupal and set everything else up. I still think for 5 pages 4500 is a little much... but then again i don't know what went into the site really.

well i did all the graphic work in ms paint and then coded it in basic HTML in textpad, havn't been able to test it for compatibility on firefox cause AOL tech support wont tell me how







i kid