Cost to develop a Crowd funding website?
- Thread starter doodah
- Start date
If you were recreating a website (service), like KickStarter, why would you bother?
You would need a unique selling point, which distinguishes your (KickStarter copycat) website from KickStarter.
Remember, KickStarter already has a following and gets many visitors. It took them years to reach this point.
How would you persuade punters to visit your website, instead KickStarter?
I'm not saying you shouldn't do this...I'm just wondering why I would use your website to raise funding for my startup VS using KickStarter (which will probably be able to raise funds faster, due to the higher visitor numbers)?
You'd trust a project as large as Kickstarter to a freelancer? It's your funeral
Why not? The freelancer may have access to a bunch of other developers? In other words the client makes the contract with the freelancer (payments in steps, upon reaching milestones), and the freelancer may use other developers to code certain parts of the site.
I agree that if one person were to work on a big website, it may take far too long to complete the project.
Personally though, if I were spending £10k on anything, I'd much rather deal with a company and be able to have face-to-face meetings, as the website is coded.
Soldato
All of that would be the problem of the person who hired you. As the developer your job is to meet the requirements of the system.
Soldato
I agree, I would be charging in the region of £25-30k for a project more bespoke than Kickstarter.
Of course, but as a developer would you not ask the client why they are copying an existing website? Surely, this would be the "right" thing to do?
How long would it take you to complete the project...roughly?
Associate
- Joined
- 23 Aug 2012
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I've asked many clients why they want to reinvent the wheel, usually they are so hell bent on doing it they just don't care, I tell them once its yours and signed off I'm nothing to do with it. Two years later the domain has expired and the site is no more, oh well.
Soldato
With a project that size I would want:
2-4 weeks planning / wire framing / database structure plan
2 weeks design time to match wire frames
4-6 weeks for the client to set up bank / sagepay / paypal / merchant id etc
4-6 weeks development using MVC / SVN
2 weeks client testing
after client testing additional time for tweaks / changes / additions
Time based on 7.5 hours a day.
Also with a project that size, a deliverable would agreed, anything more asked for along the way would be charged extra, it's very easy for goal posts to move on large projects and easy to blow budgets.
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Caporegime
Planning DB before developing the domain is so 1990's
Also .. wire frames?!
Also .. wire frames?!
This is a major problem with a project this size.
As things develop, the client could well have ideas on how to improve the website and make things better to distinguish themselves from the "original" website (in this case, kickstarter). I've been on both sides and it despite the increase in time/money, the changes/improvements become essential.
The main issue with doing the copycat website, is not the physical creation itself. The problem is getting customers to the site. You need a heck of a lot of luck and there are no guarantees that it will ever "take off". In many cases, poorly implemented ideas take off, while the well designed websites dont.
You only have to look at Craigs List, to know that bad web design can take off. While well designed websites/software my vanish into obscurity.
I imagine that an expensive advertising campaign would be required to get this kickstarter website off the ground.
Soldato
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the feasibility of doing such a large project in many small iterations. Surely the development team can release an iteration for client inspection, the client comes back with "I want herp added" to which you can reply "Well we can add that in the next iteration and it will cost you X extra".
Soldato
Hopefully that's where wire framing comes in to play, you are essentially planning the project out on paper with a story board. You can then walk the client through what happens when you click "this" button etc.
It's at that point you want the client to put ideas forward, not when you are mid way through the project.
If you do not make it flexible enough from the get go, you are going to run in to a lot of problems further down the line when you want to expand and add extras.
That's exactly what would happen.
The danger here of course, is that initial estimate (which the client would've been given for the whole project, at the very beginning...say £10k), would be blown out of the window.
Another point is that in software development (especially on large projects), time frames/schedules are rarely adhered to, especially when the client makes changes to the original specification.
So, a 4 month project could actually take 6-8 months to complete (to client's final/altered spec). From a business perspective, for the client, having paid more money with a delayed delivery date - the customer will not be a happy bunny.
It would be a brave developer who gives a cast iron guarantee to the client on completion dates, because I strongly believe that the date will not be met and I also believe that the client will make significant changes to the final spec of the website while it is still in development. (I know this, because I would definitely make changes mid-development).
And we haven't even considered the fact that the client is then going to have to compete with the original KickStarter website, which already has a following. Read: spending big money on advertising, to gain traction.
Hehehe. The chances of client not making changes mid-way through the project, when the project is so large and taking big investment, is very unlikely.
Probably the best way forward would be to divide the project up into 10 chunks and charge for each chunk. If you complete 5 chunks and the customer asks you to ditch 2 chunks, then you still get paid for them.
Soldato
Thanks for the input gentlemen.
Caporegime
Thesnipergecko - you've got it all arse backwards. Iterative development is specifically to tackle the problems you are highlighting. The client will, and should be welcomed to, make changes to the design throughout the development of the application. To tell them they must do all design up front is a failure. i.e. It will result in nothing but a failure.
Granted, the first iteration or two (or even three or four) will not deviate from the larger plan - the shorter the iterations the less of them will change. But as things come together, there will be many things that come up that just could not be seen at the start of the project. Working to small iterations means this will not be distruptive. You'll only be working on the next most important piece, and if your iterations are short enough, any change can wait until the next iteration anyway.
Technical problems arise, usability issues that couldn't be seen even with a magic crystal ball will crop up, they cannot be avoided no matter how much you scare the client into doing all design up front.
Granted, the first iteration or two (or even three or four) will not deviate from the larger plan - the shorter the iterations the less of them will change. But as things come together, there will be many things that come up that just could not be seen at the start of the project. Working to small iterations means this will not be distruptive. You'll only be working on the next most important piece, and if your iterations are short enough, any change can wait until the next iteration anyway.
Technical problems arise, usability issues that couldn't be seen even with a magic crystal ball will crop up, they cannot be avoided no matter how much you scare the client into doing all design up front.
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Soldato
I'm not saying "all" changes must be made up front, at least with a clear wire frame the developer and the client can see the big picture before any programming is started, it's at that stage the idea's start to flow in.
Wire frames should then be adjusted and time scales / releases should be discussed.
Caporegime
"wire frame"... why waste time with that? Just develop the actual application. Why are you delaying programming? That's just delaying the release, and ultimately, the return of investment. Also: "Time scales" .. urgh.
Associate
Interesting thread.
Ive dabbled with PHP and MySQL plus web design for over a decade, done a ton of custom stuff for myself but also called in other people when big iron was called for.
LOL'd at the "thought websites cost £400 now days - lulz" comment was made. Bit like walking into the Ferrari dealership and saying "Lulz - £200,000 pffft! Look at this KIA thing here, its got 4 wheels too and its nowhere near that silly price!!11".
If this hasnt been nailed yet and you are serious and still looking for someone to do it try Dan or Paul at www.Webformed.co.uk
They are building a bespoke system for one of my clients (big driving school, online booking, automatic diary management, CMS, payment gateway system)
Having worked with Dan on this project for nearly a year I see full well how what a client thinks of is always about 20% of whats really there - and when the client see's stage 1 he has a few "oh I forgot / how about this" ideas which mess things up a little as things go but thats the way of the beast.
Ive dabbled with PHP and MySQL plus web design for over a decade, done a ton of custom stuff for myself but also called in other people when big iron was called for.
LOL'd at the "thought websites cost £400 now days - lulz" comment was made. Bit like walking into the Ferrari dealership and saying "Lulz - £200,000 pffft! Look at this KIA thing here, its got 4 wheels too and its nowhere near that silly price!!11".
If this hasnt been nailed yet and you are serious and still looking for someone to do it try Dan or Paul at www.Webformed.co.uk
They are building a bespoke system for one of my clients (big driving school, online booking, automatic diary management, CMS, payment gateway system)
Having worked with Dan on this project for nearly a year I see full well how what a client thinks of is always about 20% of whats really there - and when the client see's stage 1 he has a few "oh I forgot / how about this" ideas which mess things up a little as things go but thats the way of the beast.