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Put up post to BUY design help -- NO REPLIES -- help!
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- Jerry Roberts
- Sr. Rocketeer
- Posts: 148
- Thanks: 0
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A few days ago I posted a request for help to design my site, help I would pay for.
Not one reply.
I sent a request to one of the two designers listed in the showcase area. No reply.
Is this RT community simply unresponsive to this sort of thing or are there no freelance designers here?
I just need to know if I'm wasting my time.
I spent the $90 for the subscription with hopes to find someone who knows not just Joomla, but the RT product as well.
So, I'll ask again -- and if it's OK I'll ask it here (instead of The Marketplace) as maybe a moderator will take pity on my post and tell me if there is or is not design talent available...
Is there anybody here in the RT community available to customize a theme?
Thanks for reading.
Jerry
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- prim
- Preeminent Rocketeer
- Posts: 17290
- Thanks: 217
- If you don't get any offers from the members here then you may want to try this site: www.joomlancers.com/
- Please reply with a direct link to the issue & create a new thread for each new issue.
A template is only as good as the content that goes into it
- DanG
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- JEM
- Preeminent Rocketeer
- Posts: 17917
- Thanks: 4
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If a designer did not reply to your PM:
A) Perhaps they haven't logged in in a while, although mail is usually sent to notify you if you've received a reply or PM, it can be disabled.
Although there are many sites in the showcase, some are made by users who do not do client work; they are just showing what they've done.
C) They may be too busy to take on new clients.
No, the RT community is not unresponsive, The Marketplace is designed to bring users and developers together. You post a request, developers look at it. If they feel their skills can satisfy your needs, they'll reply.
IMO, If your request is too vague, or over the top, you may not get a reply.
I took a look at your post.
I've looked at Akiraka, Mixxmag, and Hyperion. I don't need to totally reinvent the wheel on this, but I need someone to build the infrastructure, test out the bells and whistles, and get me to the point of loading content for the first issue -- which I'll do.
Build the infrastructure?
Does that mean set up Sections, Categories, Menus, Modules, perhaps some dummy Articles that you can edit later?
Are you a beginner with Joomla, will you need direction every step of the way, or once it's set will you be on your own?
Or, do you have several feature in mind that are not part of the basic template.
E.g., a forum, a gallery, custom forms, shopping cart, some type of commenting or community system?
These all take time and depending on what you add, extra time to install, configure, test, and debug, if necessary.
So you need to give more detail for the final outcome, will it take someone five hours, or twenty-five hours?
Without details, it's hard to decide what the project entails.
Really good CSS skills are a must, plus a sense of overall aesthetics. I need to build an online business-oriented magazine, targeted to 25+ (maybe even 30+).
As far as CSS skills, beyond some basic color changes, how much do you want to change the template, minor tweaks here and there are simple, customizing all the graphic elements is not. Well, for some developers it would be but it takes time, and time equals money.
What exactly do you envision your site to be, how much would it vary from the original design?
These are all questions that will need to be answered before you start your project and better listed in detail before someone decides to respond. - Thanks,
jim
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- Roeland_A!
- Preeminent Rocketeer
- Posts: 10193
- Thanks: 71
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:arrowu: This is an excellent explanation, it is not that the community here does not take notice. The list of things you want done (it is rather broad), would for me be a reason to just read it and not reply to it. Most people here will probably do the same. Why respond if you do not have a very good reason to respond (only respond when you are actually able and willing to do the job). In my perception the job you want done is going way beyond twenty-five hours of work and not many people have that much time available to do it. To me, to be honest it looks like you want a fully cusomized template, although you state that you do not want to reinvent the wheel.
Hope that helps you a bit in the right direction when posting about a job that you want done. - *Karma comes in many forms, my personal favourite is the random saucepan from the sky* J.Spencer 17-02-2009
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- Ragdata
- Elite Rocketeer
- Posts: 614
- Thanks: 0
- Software Engineer
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Basically, James hit the nail on the head.
I saw your post within hours of you making it - and honestly, it was so vague that it gave me the impression that you didn't have a clue what you were after. If you can't articulate your requirements well enough from the outset, it says to a Dev that you're going to be impossible to please despite their best efforts.
We want clearly-defined objectives. - Ragdata's Rubber Duck
www.ragdata.net/
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- JEM
- Preeminent Rocketeer
- Posts: 17917
- Thanks: 4
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Roeland and Ragdata, thanks for the input.
Jerry, I've been a member of countless forums over the past 10 years of so.
RT, IMO is in the top two or three.
Here, professionalism and honesty are at the top of the list when it comes to replying to posts, and in this case, a bid for a project.
I don't thing you'll find a developer here willing to risk his reputation promising you the moon and not being able to deliver.
On the other hand, as Ragdata stated, 'We want clearly-defined objectives'.
On the outset of a project, goals have to be clearly defined.
For anyone working on a project, once it's started, nothing is worse, or more unfair, than getting an e-mail stating 'I need just one more thing', or 'By the way, I want or need this, can you do it for me' .
That puts the developer in a tough spot, sure they can add this or that beyond the original plan or quote to satisfy you, but at a cost to themselves, but as Roeland stated, 'In my perception the job you want done is going way beyond twenty-five hours of work.'
So a clearly defined set of goals for a developer is really the key to get the ball rolling.
Along with the knowledge that once the goals are defined, if you want something over and above the original quote for the project, in all fairness, it will probably cost you more. - Thanks,
jim
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- Jerry Roberts
- Sr. Rocketeer
- Posts: 148
- Thanks: 0
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Gentlemen,
I appreciate your replies and I'll take your counsel into consideration, making a more specific post this evening -- to the best of my technical ability to do so. That said, here's a couple of points I'd like to offer.
-- A simple note, stating, "That's a little broad, can you be more specific?" would have been welcome after the first post. It took a second (actually third) post to get people talking back to me. Actually, Kat did reply and pointed me to the showcase designers and I didn't hear back from the one I contacted. In any case, there are only two. I had to essentially "call out" the mods to get what is above. To your credit, you all came running and jumped in. That gives me confidence that I can get issues addressed here. Thanks.
-- Part of what I do is customer service training. A customer doesn't always know how to express what he/she wants -- especially in design or technical terms. I'm not a coder. I'm also new in the RT realm and don't yet know what the extensions do or how to control them. In my business I ask questions to get a clearer picture of what the customer is going for, not sit back and wait for him/her to fully explain something they may not be able to explain. I tried to outline in general terms what I was shooting for. Specifics come with those questions that a designer would ask.
After digging a bit and seeing little activity in The Marketplace I'm guessing that there is no significant freelance business being conducted here. If that's accurate, it's fine with me. I can always try out Joomlancers as Prim suggested, Rent-A-Coder, or others like that. I just wanted to see if I could find someone who already understands the RT extensions and any other unique characteristics of the RT themes that may exist.
Again, thank you for your time in replying. I'll have a more detailed post up later.
Regards,
Jerry
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- Steve S.
- Rocketeer
- Posts: 50
- Thanks: 0
- Turf Equipment Mgr.
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Could you Dev's put together and make a list of criteria for people interested in a "project" and make it a sticky? That way...
- You would get more specific info that you want & and the general expectations of the person regarding the "project".
I think it would help both parties out...
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- Jerry Roberts
- Sr. Rocketeer
- Posts: 148
- Thanks: 0
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As stated earlier, my first effort was to get into discussion with designers, who would then ask me questions and I'd answer, with both parties gaining a clearer picture of the potential for a transaction. This is pretty normal for any creative pursuit. I've worked with ad agencies and this is the process. You don't lay the complete, detail-by-detail requirement on the table the very first time you engage.
Now, to what I'm looking for. Please keep in mind that I am not a coder, nor do I completely understand all of the functions of RT themes and their extensions.
1. I wish to create an online business-oriented magazine. Themes currently being considered are Mixxmag, Akiraka, and Hyperion. I want a clean design. A few special effects, such as the image rotater in Mixxmag, are okay.
2. Like print magazines with a unique cover for each issue, I will want to create a unique home page for each issue. Archives would feature Jan 2009, December 2008 and so on, with readers clicking a link to go to that respective home page for that issue, then navigating to the stories from there. Maybe this is easy and you can just tell me how to do it.
3. I will explain the nature of the content and you can tell me the right modular setup for the home page -- how it will look best.
4. Logo would have to be placed and IE6 fix applied.
5. Background color of the theme to be adjusted to match overall colors desired; some background elements may need to be deleted.
6. Want basic functions such as video, audio, file downloads, photo gallery configured, and I'd want to have the designer walk through these with me to ensure that I can use them.
7. I'd like an ad management system so I can sell and present ads effectively.
8. The navigational system set up (I'll provide menu items). I can actually do this, if necessary.
9. Adjusting the body font and font sizes, in case it's too small in the theme selected.
10. Going into CSS and adjusting module hilites to match overall scheme. This is basically adding different colors if the theme only allows for light and dark gray, black and one other color.
I have average Joomla skills, having operated a 1.0 site for about a year and a half. I've handled most modules and loaded content. I do not know much about CSS and how to achieve a better overall look and feel. I can make simple adjustments to themes in the CSS or other template files, if it involves multiple choice or getting instruction from a coder.
Other than the serious CSS work to change the L&F, I could probably do much of what I'm asking here, but time is an issue. I'd really like to be done in two weeks and I don't have the time to do the work myself. That's why I'm here.
So, now you have some idea of what I'm asking. If you have questions that will help me to tell you more -- especially issues that may now be beyond my comprehension and I don't know that I need them handled -- please ask them.
As Steve S. said above, if you had some criteria posted, then this process would be easier.
For now, if anybody is interested, I'd like those questions, plus some samples of what you've done in the past.
Thanks.
Jerry
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