How do you plan in developing a site?

[Vincent]

If you have an idea, have the right domain in mind, how do you go about turning it into a site?

What process do you take?

And if you're not a developer, a content writer, a logo designer, how do you get the right people to help you? What are the different steps?

Can someone share their experience?

[draggar]

Depending on the idea either Wordpress or Joomla.

Logos are easy - all you need is MS Paint and if you want ideas or are lazy, Google Images can be your friend.

[dcristo]

Learn how to use wordpress, its pretty damn important for website development.

[Tia Wood]

If you have an idea, have the right domain in mind, how do you go about turning it into a site?

What process do you take?

Are you talking about the process from a business perspective or from actual development perspective?

[Vincent]

I have this million dollar website idea. To complete it, it requires more than wordpress. It's a database-driven website, codes of php and mysql, and others. To complete a site, the project needs a team. Programmer, content writer, marketer, seo gurus.

But how do I look for help. And say I find someone who is interested. How do you negotiate and discuss, so that things will go forward?

And if I don't have enough fund, how do I form partner? Are there any established guidelines that make it easy?

[Tia Wood]

This is hard to answer.

Wordpress can actually handle just about anything. So can Joomla. It's not limited to click and publish. One could actually develop and use Wordpress or Joomla as a platform. It actually cuts down on development costs and time. If you don't have enough to fund, I would suggest learning how to develop under those platforms.

However, if you feel your idea is worth developing then you need to document a business plan and try to get funding from an investor or a bank but you are going to have to put in some level of risk and show that your idea is likely to work.

It's also possible to employ a developer on revenue share but these types of developers are hard to find and you need to have a great plan.

The three possibilities: learn it yourself, attract an investor or revenue share with a team are your best options if you have no funding.

[Sapphiro]

Obodeal, I understand how you feel because I'm developing a "huge project" all by myself as well. (But at the same time I intend to teach my friends in these areas so as to help me out in future)

I'm interested to know more about your project, pm me know if you're keen to share! ☺

[Gerry]

revenue share

Very, very underused method and one many do not seem to fully understand.

For the life of me, I can not understand a developer wanting 200 or 300 bucks now up front

vs

a lifetime percentage of the revenue stream.

About 6 years ago, I offered to do this with a developer. Heck I offered to do this just a couple of years ago as well. And no one is interested.

The results...if someone had accepted the offer I made several years ago (@25%), they would have made at least $1250 per year over the past 6 years (that's averaging from startup until now, 2011.)

Instead the wanted $750 upfront - but had no real understanding of the project or the offer.

I could not find anyone who wanted to go with a percentage (nor anyone with a clear understanding of how the project was to function) and ended up teaching myself Joomla.


Had I found someone to go along a revenue share, they would have made $7500.00+ over the current lifetime of the product.

What I am finding is too much need for instant gratification vs. a real business strategy from most. Actually, no strategy is more like it.

[Tia Wood]

For the life of me, I can not understand a developer wanting 200 or 300 bucks now up front

vs

a lifetime percentage of the revenue stream.

Because it's a higher risk. Not only does one need to be confident in the website's idea enough to take off and offer some type of worthwhile revenue share but both the owner and the developer need to be on the same page about development, responsibilities, growth, etc. It functions more like a partnership which can complicate things.

Not only is there more risk involved but there is more responsibility, more checks and red tape. All before even seeing a dime in revenue because it could take awhile to get that going.

It could be said the other way around. Why wouldn't someone just invest the 200 or 300 hundred dollars for development versus shelling out their revenue for the life of the website? It's an investment, not a lottery ticket.

You may not have paid money for your project but you did pay for it in time by learning yourself. You invested in your idea. Most people who have approached me in the past for revenue share development did not want to invest time or money. They basically wanted a partner to do it all so they could sit back and collect on their lottery ticket because they weren't totally confident in their own idea/dream and wanted someone else to take all the risk.

[Vincent]

I'm not rich, not yet, lol. And if I hire a developer, how would I know which one is qualified.

And I have the right team to help, how do I structure the financial part? Divide the pie so that everyone is happy?

Namehoney, can you show me the most complicated wordpress site available on the net? I attended few seminars on business planning, have a little sheets, so I'm aware of the risks and investor options.

Doc, maybe the developer is not confident with your project. And this seems to be the the case in a lot of startup projects. Maybe mine as well. And part of it, like Namehoney mentioned, is a well structured business plan. In your case, it's a good thing for you. You get to keep everything to yourself.

Sapphiro, I feel you, you must be working hard in a one-man project. I'll keep you in mind. Let me first think more about it before I can present the idea to anyone.

Draggo, designing is not that easy, at least for me. After taking photoshop, and still I have layouts not too great look, not final fine tuned logo. Good thing is I have ideas. I'm learning.