Thread

Hi folks,

Please spare my head if this thread is placed in the wrong forum.

Our former developer never got as much as half done with a custom-made CMS for our website before going bankrupt, so I am looking into different options. EE looks terrific and a buddy of mine (frontend guy) mentioned it would be an easy task to implement EE in the existing design/CSS. He guessed 8 hours work, but that sounds too good to be true in my ears - especially with the module setup on the frontpage. He gets away with charging +$150 per hour, so I am not very keen on using the buggar for this job.

Anyway, this is not an “I am searching for a developer” thread. I am aware of the section for jobs and the coin slot, which I of course intend to use in due time. I am rather looking for other estimates on the workload.

How long would you estimate it would take an experienced EE developer to implement EE into this site http:*//tinyurl.com/3yluth?

Besides the existing design I would need a Wiki template created plus a Forum template (pure CSS that follows the existing design/setup), both on individual subdomains. The existing CSS is on one hand nice - on another not too great, since it isn’t completely cross-browser friendly. Would love to get that fixed too.

The site is in Danish, so do tell if you have a hard time understanding something. Sounds likely, ehh?

Ohh, I only asked my buddy for an estimate on an EE integration “as is”, meaning not with the extra task mentioned above. Otherwise I would think, he would have guessed a bit more than 8 hours.

Anyhoo.. I’m so looking forward to finally getting a dynamic website, so I would really, really appreciate a few estimates.

There is NO WAY it can be done in 8 hours. Changing from one CMS to another is a big job and should not be taken lightly.

I am not a designer at all, but my rough estimate (with no changes to funcationality or look) would be a month. And that assumes the implementer knows ExpressionEngine.

Thanks for the response, Erin.

Well, a month seems like a very, very long time. I am not a webdesigner either, but I do know a bit of XHTML plus CSS. The design is there and the CSS is there, ready to use (although not working in Safari), the images are sliced etc. The XHTML is there. What needs to be done (or seems so to me) is basically to implement EE tags into existing code, setting up templates in the admin system etc. That part I would assume an expert in EE can do within around 3-4 days. As mentioned, that was the part my buddy estimated would take him around 8 hours.

Then there is the Forum and Wiki templates. The CSS is not ready for these sections, but following the simple structure of the other parts of the website, the developer won’t have to reinvent the wheel - just some tweeking. I would guess the worst part is making the CSS completely crossbrowser friendly and getting the module setup on the frontpage to work. I’m considering redesigning the frontpage a tiny bit (the article teasers) and change it into a more flexible structure, al depending on what developers have to say about the modules.

Thanks Victor. Auch.. I thought he was off by a few hundred percent (some days), but not in the thousands.

By the way:

The website has a “Get a quote” function, which is 3 pages paginated with validation on all fields. This part would ideally be simplified into just one much simpler page. Might ease the process a bit. Besides that it is all simple content and I would “just” need the template + general functionality put into EE. I’ll put the pages/content on myself.

Ohh, I forgot to mention two tasks though. URL rewriting is one. I understand there is a module that simplifies the process. Number two is that I need the developer to teach me how to put up 301 redirections to keep the Search Engine “goodwill”.

What needs to be done (or seems so to me) is basically to implement EE tags into existing code, setting up templates in the admin system etc. That part I would assume an expert in EE can do within around 3-4 days. As mentioned, that was the part my buddy estimated would take him around 8 hours.

Not everything in EE maps nicely to way you have things set up, so if you have to some changes or some manual DB work, then that will dramatically add to the time. I have been working on getting my gallery going for almost two weeks now. Granted a lot of that time was learning CSS, PHP and EE, but sometimes things don’t work they you expect. EE is not a silver bullet solution, regardless of what you hear. It *is* an absolutely fabulous piece of software with world-class support, but the developers made their own choices that may not match your expectations. I have found that you *can* do everything you want, it just sometimes takes a little work. Which is why I estimated a month.

the developer won’t have to reinvent the wheel - just some tweeking.

Famous last words!!!

I would guess the worst part is making the CSS completely crossbrowser friendly and getting the module setup on the frontpage to work. I’m considering redesigning the frontpage a tiny bit (the article teasers) and change it into a more flexible structure, al depending on what developers have to say about the modules.

Making things work well in all browsers is not as easy at it seems.

Hi Heindorff,

I’m closing this thread because its a bad way to judge the needed work. Getting feedback based on a URL and several informal written paragraphs is not a good way to judge the amount of potential work involved which is why you’re getting such inconsistent feedback. At best the people responding to this thread (no offense) did what I did… went to the link, checked it out in a browser or two, and possibly viewed the HTML source code. That probably took 3 minutes, maybe 5 if they were really thorough. Then they thought about all the developer horror stories they’ve heard of or lived through and came back to warn you about your buddy and his estimate. And, in a sense, they are right to do so since its important to be thorough in selecting a developer.

If this project is indeed important to you, take the time to fill out the project survey (zipped word doc) and then browse the Pro Net and get feedback from a developer or two you’re seriously interested in working with or use the Job Board. Give it to your buddy and give him the opportunity to do a real evaluation of the project.