Are Web designers all this bad?!

mr tommo

mr tommo

mr tommo

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Joined
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Stoke-on-Trent
RIght bear with me this is more of a rant than anything.

A friend of a friend offered to do our website for free.

I've set up as a photographer and I need a website up and running.
I designed the site as a psd. file as requested by the web designer, all the site consists of is....

Enter pager - Self explanatory
Main page - Tab across the top, Models/ Events/ Dance/ Advertising/ About us/ Contact us..... Then All I wanted was 4 in your face images laid out, one for each portfolio area, that are all clickable. (Ive designed all this, Im guessing it just needs slicing?)
And for the galllery I wanted to use Shadowbox-js as it doesnt navigate away from our site or open in a new tab.

And that is it, Ive got my own hosting sorted, Bought the domain (need to transfer to host), set up my email accounts.

Now this guy has just totally messed us about.

We met on the first week of september and he told us 2 weeks.
We then had an event planned for the 3rd October so this was his deadline. Luckily this event got cancelled as the site wasn't ready in time which meant we couldn't have ahnded out business cards to show potential clients our portfolio.

Things happened and because Ive been really buisy and off work due to a shoulder injury its slipped my mind.

Then today Ive tried to get hold of him again and no answer, Ive text him asking him to let me know either way as I can just get someone else to do it if he hasnt got time. A big events organinser has contacted me today (who I met over a month ago when I told him to check our website in a couple of weeks), asking whether the site is up yet as he has got 10 big events orgainsed over the next 2 months.

What can I do? Ive decided hes got until tomorrow to get in touch then Im going to just tell him to forget it... the problem is.... Would a web designer take this on as Ive done quite a lot of the work already, and the design. What sort of price would it be and how long would you imagine it would take? Im desperate!
 
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To be honest this is something you could do yourself easily enough - ImageReady will produce a sliced page for you (albeit with ugly code, but it'll work at least), and the instructions with Lightbox (I'm not familiar with ShadowBox) are simple enough that you could edit the code yourself. Plus you'd save yourself the cost!
 
mr tommo said:
A friend of a friend offered to do our website for free.
Click to expand...

That's your problem there. Firstly, don't rely on friends or friends of friends. It should be a business deal, so get a contract laid out as to what you expect and by when. Secondly, you get what you pay for. I can't say how much it would cost, but I can't see why a decent developer could take your ideas and make a site out of the work you have already done.
 
Makhaira said:
To be honest this is something you could do yourself easily enough - ImageReady will produce a sliced page for you (albeit with ugly code, but it'll work at least), and the instructions with Lightbox (I'm not familiar with ShadowBox) are simple enough that you could edit the code yourself. Plus you'd save yourself the cost!
Click to expand...

I aren't fussed about messy code to be honest, The will rarely (if ever) be changed, and when it does it will only be colours/themes. All I will need to do is upload new images to shadowbox now and again. Thanks I'll look into this, Im free all this week!

Messiah Khan said:
That's your problem there. Firstly, don't rely on friends or friends of friends. It should be a business deal, so get a contract laid out as to what you expect and by when. Secondly, you get what you pay for. I can't say how much it would cost, but I can't see why a decent developer could take your ideas and make a site out of the work you have already done.
Click to expand...

I know, never again :(

wush said:
It's a bit premature to ask that if your sample has been a J Random Dude working for free.
Click to expand...

I know, but the guy we use at work is of the same mould, so thats a total of 2 out of 2 total arse's :p

Ignore my thread title though, I was a little wound up :o :D
 
You heard it: Free. All of us who enjoy web design will take on something for free and never find the motivation to finish it properly or produce something we're proud of.
 
Makhaira said:
To be honest this is something you could do yourself easily enough - ImageReady will produce a sliced page for you (albeit with ugly code, but it'll work at least), and the instructions with Lightbox (I'm not familiar with ShadowBox) are simple enough that you could edit the code yourself. Plus you'd save yourself the cost!
Click to expand...

Indeed it does seem like a project you can do yourself, and the best thing about doing it yourself is its another string to your bow and you can learn a little about the site which will make it easy to edit at later dates if you need to.

As for the friend of a friend, to me its kinda obvious he's not interested, I'd forget about him and save yourself the headache
 
I agree with all the sentiments expressed so far, especially about the difficulties arising from informal agreements with people you know. If you've got time off, then I have no doubt you can get this done yourself - if you're vaguely inclined towards computing, then you will have little trouble with HTML - it may have its quirks, but it's extremely simple and intuitive on the whole.

I was wondering earlier whether to offer to do this for you, but I am wary these days of taking on things I don't have time for - if you make the PSD available online though and slap the link up here, I'll sort it out for you if I have the time.

All the best with your endeavour.
 
mr tommo said:
RIght bear with me this is more of a rant than anything.

A friend of a friend offered to do our website for free.

I've set up as a photographer and I need a website up and running.
I designed the site as a psd. file as requested by the web designer, all the site consists of is....

Enter pager - Self explanatory
Main page - Tab across the top, Models/ Events/ Dance/ Advertising/ About us/ Contact us..... Then All I wanted was 4 in your face images laid out, one for each portfolio area, that are all clickable. (Ive designed all this, Im guessing it just needs slicing?)
And for the galllery I wanted to use Shadowbox-js as it doesnt navigate away from our site or open in a new tab.

And that is it, Ive got my own hosting sorted, Bought the domain (need to transfer to host), set up my email accounts.

Now this guy has just totally messed us about.

We met on the first week of september and he told us 2 weeks.
We then had an event planned for the 3rd October so this was his deadline. Luckily this event got cancelled as the site wasn't ready in time which meant we couldn't have ahnded out business cards to show potential clients our portfolio.

Things happened and because Ive been really buisy and off work due to a shoulder injury its slipped my mind.

Then today Ive tried to get hold of him again and no answer, Ive text him asking him to let me know either way as I can just get someone else to do it if he hasnt got time. A big events organinser has contacted me today (who I met over a month ago when I told him to check our website in a couple of weeks), asking whether the site is up yet as he has got 10 big events orgainsed over the next 2 months.

What can I do? Ive decided hes got until tomorrow to get in touch then Im going to just tell him to forget it... the problem is.... Would a web designer take this on as Ive done quite a lot of the work already, and the design. What sort of price would it be and how long would you imagine it would take? Im desperate!
Click to expand...

Don't see how you can be complainig at all if it's been done for free. I mean it's hardly going to be at the top of his to do list is it? No offence intended here, but did you honestly expect updates and a fast turnaround from something your getting done for free?

And to answer your original question, no web designers aren't all this bad - especially paid web designers :)
 
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Or more accurately, pay nothing and get nothing (or at least no expectation of things being done to a tight schedule when the guy probably has other work that actually pays him)

Money talks really - if you'd been prepared to pay something there would be incentive for him to finish the project.
 
Sounds like the easiest option is that you need to sack him and get someone from here to do it. It doesn't sound like that bigger job if you've done all the design work for him already!
 
suarve said:
Don't see how you can be complainig at all if it's been done for free. I mean it's hardly going to be at the top of his to do list is it? No offence intended here, but did you honestly expect updates and a fast turnaround from something your getting done for free?

And to answer your original question, no web designers aren't all this bad - especially paid web designers :)
Click to expand...

I understand this, however... technically its not been for free.

I work for my dad, who owns a photography studio. My dad gives lessons to amateur photographers....this web designer came in a couple of times and paid then got pally with my dad.

So my dad let him sit on a couple of shoots and help out in the studio as he was interetsed in it, for free.

So I got my dad to ask him to do it as he'd done a few favours for him (my dad also got him a couple of jobs too) and the guy couldnt be more helpful at the start.

Then I find out he'd come in the studio again just to show his face and made out that it was me he was waiting for and that was why it wasn't set up.


So, as from today he's officially sacked :p Not that he will be particulalry bother Im sure but he won't be having any more favours from my dad thats for sure.

Before I let him know I just need to be sure of something....

When I bought my domain... www.oneshotphotography.co.uk it used to go through to 123-reg. He saw this, said that he'd change it so it just appeared as pag unavailable.

What has he actualy done there? He was only at the computer for a couple of minutes...

I just want to make sure before I tell him to forget it, that he hasnt got any control over anything?

Cheers for all the responses, and to Makhaira who offered to help if he gets time. Really nice gesture but I don't expect you to do it for free so it wouldn't be fair to expect that. However Im going to have a bash with ImageReady so I might be sticking around for a couple of weeks unfortunately :o
 
This could be really quick and easy with Modx and maxigallery. If you already provided all the copy and the design it shouldn't take long at all. you have standards compliant code and the site would be scaleable.
 
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