Hello,

I am in the planning stages of building my internet business that will need ASP.

I do not know a lot about webdesign so I am looking for information or an "estimated" price quote from a freelancer.

I will need a login and password page for each of the individuals that will enter the site. Their personal pages will have links to their personal pages-personal profile, account profile, current assignments, outstanding assignments, previous assignments. They will also need the ability to search and self assign by sorting a listing, a pre-screen for acceptance of the assignment and then a confirmation page. When an assignment is completed, they will have the ability to enter it through the online form, which is then sent to an Excel database(is this possible?) I will then need the ability to check the results and update the assignment so that it can then be viewed online with any changes. They will need the ability to cancel or reschedule assignments. There will be pages that show their payment history, faqs, etc.

Another question, can I build most of the site in HTML with Microsoft Front Page and then simply have it transferred and linked to ASP pages by you, the designer? I know a lot of you do not recommend Front Page, but currently it is the only program I know how to use to build the basic layout.

Could I expect this project to cost $100-$500-more? How long would it take to build it ASP if I had the HTML basic layout and design already prepared?

Thanks for any input.
Christina

I'm not posting here because I'm looking for new business (I have all I can stand.) But, as someone who has experience with ASP and web design, I can at least give you some more information. (And that's all I intend to do.)

First off, yes, ASP can integrate with an Excel spreadsheet, although for your particular site it would probably make more sense to use an Access database.

For basic layout, you might want to look at Photoshop in conjunction with ImageReady. I wouldn't use ImageReady for code but it's good for slicing an image into smaller web-type images.

As far as your budget is concerned, I'd say it's pretty reasonable. You're probably looking at closer to the $500 than the $100 mark, but you might get lucky and find a decent ASP coder who will take that on.

Thanks for your advice and input. I will check out Photoshop and ImageReady.
I appreciate it.

Actually, I do have Access, I just need to learn how to use it.

In the long run, I am thinking that I might have a better designed site if I pay somoene to do it.

So, if there is anyone out there that is interested, please respond to this post with some kind of a price estimate. Then when I am ready, I will be sure to contact you.

Thanks!

to add to Adam's post;

Most half decent asp programmers will not be using MS FP so be careful of having something coded, then opening the pages in FP, it does rewrite code so could easily "break" what a third party has done for you.

Indeed... wouldn't use frontpage if you're making a vaguely professional website anyway to be honest.

Shouldn't be a problem to get a good design and the coding required for that budget. I'd probably expect to spend about $250 - $350, if outsourced.

Good luck

Thanks for the advice everyone, I appreciate it.

A couple more questions.

I already have some pages in Front Page 2002 that will need to be incorporated into the site. Is this going to be a huge nightmare for the designer, or is it mostly the other way around (I could not use their asp in front page because of it breaking the code)

Is Access an okay program to work with html and asp pages?

Also, if I primarly build my own site (initially) and then have someone make them asp to work with databases and etc, is this something very simple? In other words, if I build most of the site, images, content, etc. I dont want to pay someone hundreds of dollars for something that was a super simple fix and all they had to do was link the pages together. Anyone know of any Access for Dummies Tutorials out there that truly spells out how to do this?

I may initally go this route and try to build myself, although for a professional site, I know I will have to have it redone at some point.

Thanks!

I already have some pages in Front Page 2002 that will need to be incorporated into the site. Is this going to be a huge nightmare for the designer, or is it mostly the other way around (I could not use their asp in front page because of it breaking the code)

Moreso the latter. FrontPage generates static HTML (for the most part) which ASP programmers can work into their code. The other way around can pose difficulties, however.

Mind you, my experience trying to work with people who use FP is minimal, although I have done this in the past once or twice.

Is Access an okay program to work with html and asp pages?

I'll answer that question with a question of my own.

www.adamwebdesign.ca
www.awardkitchenrefacers.ca
www.kastlefireplace.com

Find the site that uses an Access database, and on which pages.

(I'll reveal the answer once people have had time to guess.)

Also, if I primarly build my own site (initially) and then have someone make them asp to work with databases and etc, is this something very simple? In other words, if I build most of the site, images, content, etc. I dont want to pay someone hundreds of dollars for something that was a super simple fix and all they had to do was link the pages together. Anyone know of any Access for Dummies Tutorials out there that truly spells out how to do this?

To be totally honest, the harder of the two jobs is to learn how to build a proper relational database with Access. Drawing data from a database is relatively simple using ASP, and there are literally millions of samples out there for it. It's learning how to build the various tables, the pratfalls to avoid, things like that that become difficult.

Mind you, if you want to start a business, this isn't the smartest route to take either. It takes a pretty long time to master ASP and Access...I would say most of us out there would have taken between 12-18 months to get to the point where we felt really comfortable with it. It's been over 6 years for me, and I'm still learning new tricks that I can pull.

Hope that helps.