Hiring a freelance web designer

[editor]

I need to hire a freelance web designer, and I'm not entirely sure where to start.

What I need is someone to code the visual elements of a few web pages (image placement, headers, CSS, etc...) and then I'll take the code and insert the appropriate database calls to pull the correct information from the database.

I've looked at Sitepoint.com's Marketplace forum, and I see some things that are kind of what I'm looking for, but nothing's quite right. Has anyone had any experience with hiring people through services like E-lance and Guru?

I know I could just go for a local web designer, but I only need three pages. Also, the local designers want $3,000-$5,000 and my budget is an order of magnitude less than that.

I've also thought about college students, but most of the ones I've met don't strike me as reliable.

Any ideas?

[Mr. Chenevert]

I've used various freelance websites with mixed success.

One main issue I had was the freelancer was taking on too many jobs at once and it seemed like deadlines were never being met. After I offered her slightly more money (literally $2/hour more) she agreed to work solely for me for a fixed period of time.

So in essence I got the bait and switch. She bid her hourly rate low to get the work, but then re-negotiated her rate based on availability. However, in the long run, I was still only paying $13/hour for a well qualified programmer who produced high quality work. All in all, I was very pleased and would do it again tomorrow if needed.

Let me know if you need more specifics.

[editor]

I've used various freelance websites with mixed success.

One main issue I had was the freelancer was taking on too many jobs at once and it seemed like deadlines were never being met. After I offered her slightly more money (literally $2/hour more) she agreed to work solely for me for a fixed period of time.

So in essence I got the bait and switch. She bid her hourly rate low to get the work, but then re-negotiated her rate based on availability. However, in the long run, I was still only paying $13/hour for a well qualified programmer who produced high quality work. All in all, I was very pleased and would do it again tomorrow if needed.

Let me know if you need more specifics.

Thanks for the insight. How did you get in touch with the freelancer? Did you use a service, or just a web search? Was she local, or out of the country?

Is it customary for them to bill by the hour? I was hoping to pay a flat fee of $100 per completed page.

[Mr. Chenevert]

If you are very specific with your needs, you should be able to quote a flat fee. The site I had developed was a proof of concept and thus I choose to go the hourly route since my requirements were not solid.

I used www.odesk.com in that particular case. She was out of the country but spoke very good english.

[editor]

I took your advice and signed up with oDesk.com. Here's the ad I placed:

I need a freelance web designer to rehab www.ChicagoArchitecture.info. I need three pages recreated - the main front page, the contact page (http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Contact.php), an article page (example: http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building.php?ID=357), and a list page (example: http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Archit...3/List/CAI.php)

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Chicago Architecture Info is a web site devoted to architectural photography and information.

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I'm looking for something more modern than what I have. Not necessarily all Digg-ified, but certainly closer to Web 2.0 than what's there now. Gradients are nice.

<br>

> Pages must be valid CSS/XHTML coded in PHP, with external an CSS file, not just Photoshop files.

> AJAX is not necessary. I want it to look good first and foremost.

> Must be compatible with Safari, Firefox, and IE7.

> Text blocks should be filled with Lorem ipsum placeholder text. I'll code the database fills on my own.

> The locations of images, thumbnails, logos, and photographs should be replaced with placeholders.

> Shades of blue color palette to match TheHAIF.com is required.

> Web 2.0 style preferred, but not necessary. If you have something creative and unusual, I'm up for it.

> Must allocate space for 728x90, 336x280 and 160x600 advertising banners on each page.

> Main page (index) should have a prominent featured building, plus places for a few other buildings, and links to various site features like the Top Ten list, Search, Contact, and other items already on the main page.

> List page should have space for a thumbnail of each building on that list page, plus space for name, and brief statistics about the building.

> Contact page should display postal address and telephone contact information, but in a de-emphasized manner. Web form contact method should be most prominent.

> Article page should have room for a number of photos (300 pixels wide, up to 20 photos), plus ways to link each photo to an option to license the image or purchase a print. Each article page should have an area for statistics about the building, a building description (when available), building notes section (when available), a Did You Know section, a Quotations section, a user comments section, and a building rating mechanism.

> Upon payment, the code and design will become the property of the Artefaqs Corporation.

I went with the flat-fee model. Within two hours I had three offers. By this morning I'm up to 11. People from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Russia so far. This may work out after all.

[Mr. Chenevert]

Awesome. Let me know how it works out.

[editor]

Awesome. Let me know how it works out.

Well, after ten days I ended the search. I ended up getting about 20 candidates. They were all horrible. They would send me lists of web sites they designed, and half the links would be 404, or they were sites I know they didn't design because I know who did. Some of them even claimed to design the same web sites as each other. A lot of them pretended to be located in the UK to make themselves more attractive, but it's not too hard to prove they're just another kid in Pakistan.

I'm going to have to come up with something else.