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In a comment that will probably be laughed at, I'll just ask this: what kind of a site can I expect with a $500-$1000 price range? Surely something can be built

In a comment that will probably be laughed at, I'll just ask this: what kind of a site can I expect with a $500-$1000 price range? Surely something can be built for that much money.

jeffepp 16y ago
At that point you are better off finding a partner. I am sure something can be built on that budget, but it better be very simple!
hvs 16y ago
Honestly, not much. Like another commenter said, that's about 1-2 days of a developer's time. You can't get much done in that amount of time. I would recommend finding someone who has the expertise that shares your vision and make them a partner.
Travis 16y ago
No need to laugh. But you should seriously adjust your expectations. For a US firm, $1k will get you a website with around a dozen pages. Probably from a template. Maybe with a contact form or email signup. If you outsource, $1k will get you the above with maybe a single database interaction. E.g., you could probably expect to make a to-do list, with user login and password updating. Maybe it would even email out the tasks when they're due. But not much more than that. Figure it this way -- a kick ass US programmer will charge about $1k for a day's work. You can't get much built in a day. And for outsourcing, I can only speak to my experience, but they tend to take 4-5x longer (per hour basis) than I do. So the hourly is much cheaper, but the quality and efficiency are much worse (note: that's an obvious generalization... but the parent comment is exactly the type that will tend to get screwed on outsourcing due to lack of domain expertise.)
- scorpioxy 16y ago
  $1k for a day's work? Really? Wow. Some people on this website considered it weird when i said that $15/hour is a low rate when you ask for freelancers who can code more than your run-of-the-mill php page. I am not talking about US vs non-US, that makes no difference to me. I expect to pay a premium for service from knowledgeable people regardless of their nationality. Why don't people do the same when it comes to software? Or am i completely off base here?
alexwyser 16y ago
I am a non-US freelancer web designer and developer. Personally, for $1000 I would provide a custom design and develop a database-driven website (using HTML/CSS/Javacript/PHP/MySQL) with a decent backend. This means you can get almost any kind of website that does not involve advanced things like automatic personalization based on user's activities (except maybe basic recommendations). So you could start a website like HN or Reddit (but not Digg which produces a different homepage for each user based on their preferences). $1000 is not much for a skilled developer in any country, but its worth more to someone from outside US. About the process of outsourcing, I would recommend not going with anyone using sites like rentacoder or odesk. Instead ask for references from people you know (offline or online), a lot of people on HN have worked with a freelancer, and would probably be able to suggest someone more reliable. If all else fails, find someone on the HN Contractors spreadsheet. PS. Since I am a designer/developer myself, you can email me at alexwyser@gmail.com if you need any help.

In a comment that will probably be laughed at, I'll just ask this: what kind of a site can I expect with a $500-$1000 price range? Surely something can be built for that much money.

jeffepp 16y ago

At that point you are better off finding a partner. I am sure something can be built on that budget, but it better be very simple!

hvs 16y ago

Honestly, not much. Like another commenter said, that's about 1-2 days of a developer's time. You can't get much done in that amount of time. I would recommend finding someone who has the expertise that shares your vision and make them a partner.

Travis 16y ago

No need to laugh. But you should seriously adjust your expectations. For a US firm, $1k will get you a website with around a dozen pages. Probably from a template. Maybe with a contact form or email signup. If you outsource, $1k will get you the above with maybe a single database interaction. E.g., you could probably expect to make a to-do list, with user login and password updating. Maybe it would even email out the tasks when they're due. But not much more than that. Figure it this way -- a kick ass US programmer will charge about $1k for a day's work. You can't get much built in a day. And for outsourcing, I can only speak to my experience, but they tend to take 4-5x longer (per hour basis) than I do. So the hourly is much cheaper, but the quality and efficiency are much worse (note: that's an obvious generalization... but the parent comment is exactly the type that will tend to get screwed on outsourcing due to lack of domain expertise.)

scorpioxy 16y ago
$1k for a day's work? Really? Wow. Some people on this website considered it weird when i said that $15/hour is a low rate when you ask for freelancers who can code more than your run-of-the-mill php page. I am not talking about US vs non-US, that makes no difference to me. I expect to pay a premium for service from knowledgeable people regardless of their nationality. Why don't people do the same when it comes to software? Or am i completely off base here?

alexwyser 16y ago

I am a non-US freelancer web designer and developer. Personally, for $1000 I would provide a custom design and develop a database-driven website (using HTML/CSS/Javacript/PHP/MySQL) with a decent backend. This means you can get almost any kind of website that does not involve advanced things like automatic personalization based on user's activities (except maybe basic recommendations). So you could start a website like HN or Reddit (but not Digg which produces a different homepage for each user based on their preferences). $1000 is not much for a skilled developer in any country, but its worth more to someone from outside US. About the process of outsourcing, I would recommend not going with anyone using sites like rentacoder or odesk. Instead ask for references from people you know (offline or online), a lot of people on HN have worked with a freelancer, and would probably be able to suggest someone more reliable. If all else fails, find someone on the HN Contractors spreadsheet. PS. Since I am a designer/developer myself, you can email me at alexwyser@gmail.com if you need any help.