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help with budget
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 12:23 am
by new2php
Hi all.
I'm doing some preliminary budgeting and would like to know what you would charge to do the backend programming for a site with the following features? (I'm looking for a range; something like $8K-$12K for example)
- Forums
- Chat rooms
- Polls/Surveys
- Article submission/moderation/commenting
- Multi-Level Admin
- Calendars/Events
- Site Search
- Public file upload/download System
- File/Asset Management
- Secure online ordering
- Listserver
- Registered Users Directory
- Maintained through a web interface, site must be extremely flexible!
Thanks for your help!
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 9:35 am
by daven
Could you toss a bit more information up?
1. Will this be a one time development or would ongoing maintenance/modification be required?
2. Would premade utilities be acceptable (ex: phpBB for the forum), or would all code have to be proprietary?
3. Could you provide some specifications for the various features?
Having the above information would greatly aid creating an accurate cost estimation.
One final question: Is your request merely soliciting numbers for your budgetm or are you asking for serious bids for the job?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 11:42 am
by new2php
>Could you toss a bit more information up?
>1. Will this be a one time development or would ongoing
>maintenance/modification be required?
One time development, ideally.
>2. Would premade utilities be acceptable (ex: phpBB for the
>forum), or would all code have to be proprietary?
That?s a good question. I would prefer proprietary code, but how much would this affect the cost?
>3. Could you provide some specifications for the various features?
I?ll try as best I can... (below)
>One final question: Is your request merely soliciting numbers for
>your budgetm or are you asking for serious bids for the job?
At this point in the game, I?m trying to get numbers for a budget. I?m trying to see if it?s realistic to think we?ll be able to do all those features.
As for the specifications:
- Forums
Nothing too fancy or complicated. Registered users may post topics or reply to them. Threaded replies would be preferred.
- Chat rooms
Web-based chatting between registered users, with some chat room topics specifically set to correspond to submitted articles
- Polls/Surveys
Administrator should be able to create polls for specific pages on the site or for articles. Participation in poll shouldn?t require registration.
- Article submission/moderation/commenting
This will be the majority of the site?s content. Administrator should have a WYSIWYG web-based editor and be able to add several different bits of info to each article (like title, topic, display date range, etc). Articles should be able to have attached images. For longer articles, the system should split the article up into multiple pages.
- Multi-Level Admin
Three levels of access for different administrators
- Calendars/Events
Calendar should have date/time, description, and location info for each event, and user should be able to browse through the calendar based on any of those criteria
- Site Search
Searchable articles, forums, and calendars
- Public file upload/download System
Users should be able to upload a file to a public download area.
- File/Asset Management
Browser-based management of all site content
- Secure online ordering
This site is not intended as a store, but we want the ability to process credit cards securely.
- Listserver
Opt-in email lists for registered users
- Registered Users Directory
Where registered users may look each other up (phone #, address, etc)
Thanks again for your help!
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 12:52 pm
by daven
If you are trying to keep costs low, I suggest using something like phpBB for the forum (this site runs phpBB), and majordomo for the listserv. I am fairly certain there is a good chat program out there, but I cannot think of one off of the top of my head. The benefit to these programs is: A) they are free, B) they are open source, and C) they are very good.
Other things: obviously, use PHP with MySQL on a linux server (yet again: free!!). And it might be worthwhile to get something like Dreamweaver or (blech!) MS Frontpage for the WYSIWYG editor (they are only a few hundred dollars), and having the generated files uploaded. Coding up an editor is a major pain, and unless there is someone out there with one premade, it will add quite a bit to the total cost.
One other thing that would alter the cost a lot is whether you would permit telecommuting or if the developer had to be in residence.
My personal cost would probably be somewhere in the $6-$9K range, dependent upon exact requirements, timeframes, etc. I would be willing to travel and work in-house, but hotel/travel expenses would be in addition to the aforementioned fee.
--Daven. Not too proud to call himself a PHP whore