Finding a decent freelancer/small-scale agency

[Russinating]

I'm looking for a freelancer or small-scale agency to develop (not design) a website that's a personal project/business of mine. I know freelancer sites exist but they seem too unprofessional/unreliable, and after getting quotes from a few Bristol-based agencies found via Google it seems like they're the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

So does anyone know of any good mid-range agencies or freelancers? Or are freelancer sites actually better than I think they are and worth a shot?

 

[Russinating]

A brief albeit a small/rough one...

I require the back-end web development for a new start-up website. Without going into detail the website is essentially a version of www.myhammer.co.uk but for a niche market.

I have been sitting on this idea for over 2 years (annoyingly even before MyHammer came on the scene, although this does help me explain things now!) and even got quite a way into developing the site from scratch in PHP last year. My coding ability however is limited and also inefficient, so the project was halted and I'm now looking for a more experienced and skilled freelancer to complete the project from scratch.

Language
I have no preference over the language used, though PHP would be preferred if there's a choice simply due to web hosting options and my basic understanding of the language.

Key functions (as per MyHammer):
- Fully fledged user login system with profile, account management and two user levels/types
- Business login (as above) with public profile and business directory
- Admin login to enable management and administration of all public posts etc
- Job/project posting including image upload
- Job/project bidding including image upload
- Business feedback and review system
- Virtual credit purchasing via debit/credit card/PayPal and invoicing via debit/credit card/PayPal
- Basic forum (happy for PHPBB or similar rather than a bespoke build)

Optional functions/to follow once live:
- Banner advert management/scheduling/purchasing etc

Design
A site template will be provided along with colour schemes and style guidelines. The primary work is the back-end coding along with any UI design that compliments or is tied into this.

 

[Russinating]

Well the quotes I've been getting from some bigger agencies that I've emailed are between 15-20k, and freelancers etc seem to be around the 5k mark.

I know 20k would get me a "better" site but of course that does also mean that it'd need to make 15k more, and it would require me to get a loan as well.