What would you charge?

[Hammerhead]

A friend asked me an interesting question about my store that I wasn't able to answer, so I thought I'd ask here to see what you folks thought.  I understand there are market variances in pricing ranging from Manhattan penthouse to Bombay basement, but I'm looking to get a sense of what a project such as the below would cost if I were to have to pay someone to do it for me all over again.

• Joomla  / Virtuemart install
• Customize template to match company colors and logo
• Populate store with 20,000+ SKUs of items consisting of data fields from vendor CSV file (UPC, descriptions, quantity available, etc.) plus upload main and thumbnail images
• Program the system to update both price and availability based on a daily batched text file downloaded from supplier
• Establish content sections/categories, populate with FAQs, store policy, privacy policy, etc.
• Install and configure opt-in mailing system for newsletter direct marketing
• Install and configure a coupon system (promo items, featured vendors, etc.)
• Install and configure a customer 'wish list' system
• Install and configure a form-based 'contact' page for customer inquiries
• Install and configure a 'help desk' system to address customer service issues
• Configure smaller plugins in various areas such as ReCaptcha and SSL for sensitive data

Well, you get it... a fairly normal Joomla/VM install.

Just wondering what such a project would bill for these days.

[911websiterepair]

may not be possible with 1.7/2.0

need to know what payment and shipping methods your client wants to use

need to know if the components need are compatible for 1.7/2.0

[Hammerhead]

may not be possible with 1.7/2.0

need to know what payment and shipping methods your client wants to use

need to know if the components need are compatible for 1.7/2.0

Point taken.  Let's assume a J1.5 / VM 1.5x install.  I've changed my original post to reflect this.
Payment via PayPal and Authorize.net
Shipping via USPS & UPS

[911websiterepair]

then your only unknown is the format and integrity of  the file you need to import from the distributor. A good developer will want to see that before they can quote.

as in your last post, all is possible for 1.5.x and 1.1.9.

[Hammerhead]

Anyone else?  Just trying to get a sense of what this is worth, so I can prepare a friend for what he might have to spend for something similar...

[911websiterepair]

then your only unknown is the format and integrity of  the file you need to import from the distributor. A good developer will want to see that before they can quote.

if you can present this, ok by email or pm,   i could give you a reasonable quote. but it is important to know the format and integrity of the product file before anyone quotes

[Hammerhead]

then your only unknown is the format and integrity of  the file you need to import from the distributor...

I have received your PM and know your view. I'm asking for OTHER opinions at this point.


Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk

[stinga]

Difficult to say really without more details.
What modules are you going to use?
Most of this does not look too hard and would not take too long to alter.
I have never quoted, so I have no idea how long it would take, I would charge 20UKP an hour.
I suppose I should try an install and see how long it takes.

[Hammerhead]

Difficult to say really without more details.
What modules are you going to use?
Most of this does not look too hard and would not take too long to alter.
I have never quoted, so I have no idea how long it would take, I would charge 20UKP an hour.
I suppose I should try an install and see how long it takes.

Ah, well part of it is figuring out which modules to use and seeking customer approval where more than one option exists.  Not sure what you feel is missing from the above spec - what did I leave out?

I'm trying to do two things - first, estimate what my site might be worth in terms of the development work I've done; secondly to communicate to my friend that there's more to an Ecommerce site than meets the eye so he can prepare himself for what to spend for what he wants.

Like anything else, there's a value to the amount of time we've invested in knowing HOW to do all this, plus the time spent understanding client needs, project/business objectives and so on.  If all we'd be doing is evaluating a project with a stopwatch based on the time we spend clicking a mouse, then I suppose it'd be only a couple hundred bucks.

But you could make the same argument about a brain surgeon... after all, he's only cutting a few things here and there, right? ? ?  Is it not about knowing WHAT to do, WHERE, WHEN, HOW and WHY, among many other qualitative and quantitative elements that makes a professional worth what he charges?

My point in all this...

If you don't want to pay for professionalism, be prepared to get what you pay for.