What's fair compensation for css/html template?

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Fantana
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What's fair compensation for css/html template?

Post by Fantana »

Hi guys, new here, found this forum and thought it might be the right place to have my question answered

On the current site I'm contracting, the person I have doing the coding recently suggested that the css and html template be completely redone. From the beginning, we were working out of a cheap, bought template and just moddifying and adding as we went for the sake of moving things along. That, and I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to design the site initially and needed to speed things up to get the product out. It's bloated crap, sure.

So yadda yadda yadda, the programmer says he can't go any further without gutting the template and writing it from scratch. He already knows how it should look and behave from the current site as it stands today. Considering he will have to do zero designing, and has reference to work from (both the original and his own code he's added), what would be fair compensation for redoing this facet of the site?

Thanks in advance to any who can help. We were at each-others throats over this today.
Gargoyle
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Re: What's fair compensation for css/html template?

Post by Gargoyle »

really depends on how complex the layout is.

we usually pay around $2000 for the html/css programming part for any given photoshop layout (usually consisting of the basic site layout and the various boxes and bars etc. on subpages).
josh
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Re: What's fair compensation for css/html template?

Post by josh »

Fantana wrote:Considering he will have to do zero designing,
An html/css coder typically is going to already expect that and stressing the point probably wont help your negotiations. $2,000 is spot on for me. Theres Indians that can do it for $100 but I can't speak for their services. Sometimes a slicing job requires multiple skillsets. Like if its a template for an existing software. If you need someone with specific skill sets, be prepared to pay all their bills for a few weeks.
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superdezign
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Re: What's fair compensation for css/html template?

Post by superdezign »

The fact that this is a template you are using and that your coder is having difficulty taming it implies that you are doing more than just a mickey mouse website. If he says he can't work within the restrictions of the template, then he probably can't. But, just so you know, he's not the only developer out there. If you think he's pulling your leg or getting diva syndrome, find a replacement.

If he agreed to the original and then changed his mind, I'd question his abilities as a developer.


But if you do plan on keeping him, don't expect him to save code from the previous design. If he said he's going to do it from scratch, then he's probably going to start with fresh, empty files. You'll get a faster loading site this way though, assuming he's good. And, since the code is his own, he can handle it much more easily.
JakeJ
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Re: What's fair compensation for css/html template?

Post by JakeJ »

I'd recommend getting a second or third opinion anyway. Publish something on Craig's List for a metropolitan area similar to your own asking for quotes.
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