Astronomy Website Critique

Weyoun the gowd damn Dominion Vorta who certainly didn't dance wrote:

www.dancingborg.co.uk/astronomy.jpg

Newcastle is one word.

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
Contact Me - http://www.goddamn.co.uk/tobyink/?page=132

In message <p%Gbc.7$Xh6.3 (AT) newsfe2-gui (DOT) server.ntli.net>, Weyoun the gowd
damn Dominion Vorta who certainly didn't dance <blah (AT) blah (DOT) blah> writes

My client is a small business, 2 people. They run a mobile observatory
for school kids to stargaze with and learn about astronomy.

They do not currently have a website.

The site will have monthly updates with "this month's" astrological
events such as eclipses, meteor showers, which planets you can see etc.

'Astrological' ....... as in star-signs, crystal balls, etc? ;-)

There are multiple sections taking up approximately 15-20 pages.

I will be doing it to be HTML 4.01 compatable with CSS for the layout
and menus, Photoshop created images, minimal use of javascript (though
should any be necessary, there will be appropriate <noscript> tags to
display the same content but with slightly reduced capability (this may
not be necessary though).

To allow for expansion later, if necessary, the page will be made as PHP.

Client already owns domain name and PHP enabled web hoster, but is
looking for someone to design a site.

I am going to charge between £50 and £100 ($80-$170 USD).

Thoughts, opinions, comments welcome please about the design, concept
or anything I may have missed.

www.dancingborg.co.uk/astronomy.jpg
Is what it would look like on a 800x600 screen although I will make it
as scalable as possible.

TIA.

Looks OK, although I can't see the drop-down menus working for all
users.

However. Don't forget the legal aspects of using pictures with clearly
identifiable schoolchildren in it -- especially if it's a commercial
operation.

You're probably going to have to get release forms from the parents and
the schools.

(But then again, I'm not a lawyer.)

regards


--
Jake

Toby A Inkster wrote:

Weyoun the gowd damn Dominion Vorta who certainly didn't dance wrote:


www.dancingborg.co.uk/astronomy.jpg


Newcastle is one word.

lol ok

jake wrote:

You're probably going to have to get release forms from the parents and
the schools.

(But then again, I'm not a lawyer.)

the client gave them to me - i assume he had permission to take the m,
the pics are his property.

In message <v7Ubc.4$bP5.0 (AT) newsfe1-gui (DOT) server.ntli.net>, Weyoun the gowd
damn Dominion Vorta who certainly didn't dance <blah (AT) blah (DOT) blah> writes

jake wrote:

You're probably going to have to get release forms from the parents
and the schools.
(But then again, I'm not a lawyer.)

the client gave them to me - i assume he had permission to take the m,
the pics are his property.

Sure. But I'd be inclined to check .........

He probably owns the copyright to the pics, but publishing them is
another thing altogether.

regards.
--
Jake

On Sun, 4 Apr 2004 16:23:29 +0100, jake <jake (AT) gododdin (DOT) demon.co.uk> wrote:

In message <v7Ubc.4$bP5.0 (AT) newsfe1-gui (DOT) server.ntli.net>, Weyoun the gowd
damn Dominion Vorta who certainly didn't dance <blah (AT) blah (DOT) blah> writes
jake wrote:

You're probably going to have to get release forms from the parents
and the schools.
(But then again, I'm not a lawyer.)

the client gave them to me - i assume he had permission to take the m,
the pics are his property.

Sure. But I'd be inclined to check .........

He probably owns the copyright to the pics, but publishing them is
another thing altogether.

regards.

In my school, all students have a form on file regarding permission to
publicize images. I believe that's pretty standard now. I'd advise you
advise the client to be sure all necessary permissions for publication of
images are in order. Unlike photos taken at a public event, shots of
students in schools are seen differently by the courts - more privacy is
afforded.

I am going to charge between £50 and £100 ($80-$170 USD).


To do the graphic design of the site? All the graphic designers we use
charge us $400-600 (US) for a site layout/template

£50-£100 for concept design, programming, uploading, search engine
registration (where applicable).

Hmmm if you do a good job you'll get lots of work, but you will become very,
very poor!

How many hours is it going to take you?
How much do you think that your time is worth an hour?
What about capital costs; your training, books, depreciation on your assets?
Tax?

If you are going to charge a fee you may as well make it realisic, and agree
the fee, in writing, before you start. Make sure that you include some
mechanisim to allow the client to add extra pages not in the original
contract, at a cost of course.

Chris Harris wrote:

I am going to charge between £50 and £100 ($80-$170 USD).


To do the graphic design of the site? All the graphic designers we use
charge us $400-600 (US) for a site layout/template

£50-£100 for concept design, programming, uploading, search engine
registration (where applicable).


Hmmm if you do a good job you'll get lots of work, but you will become very,
very poor!

How many hours is it going to take you?

Doing 3 hours a day, a week probably

How much do you think that your time is worth an hour?

Well charging more seems a bit much. My first customer that I had, I got
because I offered it for £100 instead of the £400 he had been quoted.
She wasn't going to do it at all until she met me.

Small businesses often can't afford a price of £250 - £1000 for a
website, some don't turn over that much profit within the first 2 or 3
years of starting. £100 is enough to keep me happy (it's not my main
job) and getting 3 or 4 contracts a month, I make a bit of extra money
and those clients usually reccommend me to friends.

What about capital costs; your training, books, depreciation on your assets?
Tax?

Never had any training and I have 3 books, 1 is a pocket guide to HTML
4.01 that lists all the tags and what they do (£9.95), "The Complete
Guide to HTML 4" (£19.99) from 1999 and the other is "The Complete
Refence guide to website design" (£34.99). I paid these off years ago.

The only asset I use is my computer and whilst I'm planning on buying a
new one for Photoshop and video editing, my current one is fine for
website design. Although it depreciates in value, it still does the job
just as well. The new one will be out of the wages that I earn from site
design.

If you are going to charge a fee you may as well make it realisic, and agree
the fee, in writing, before you start.

Always do

Make sure that you include some
mechanisim to allow the client to add extra pages not in the original
contract, at a cost of course.

Yes, I offer that facility, but I also show, if asked, how to update the
site themselves, at a basic level (updating a logo or some content) but
as for the PHP or ASP coding behind it. That way if they ever need any
reasonable amount of work done on the site, I can update for £5 a page
HTML and £15 per 50 lines of ASP/PHP.

The only asset I use is my computer and whilst I'm planning on buying a
new one for Photoshop and video editing, my current one is fine for
website design. Although it depreciates in value, it still does the job
just as well. The new one will be out of the wages that I earn from site
design.

I must be missing something! You are charging between £50 and £100 for
this site and you are going to buy a computer capable of video editing
out of that!!!

Have I missed the point; is that your price per page? If so all becomes
clear. :-)

Chris Harris wrote:

The only asset I use is my computer and whilst I'm planning on buying
a new one for Photoshop and video editing, my current one is fine for
website design. Although it depreciates in value, it still does the
job just as well. The new one will be out of the wages that I earn
from site design.


I must be missing something! You are charging between £50 and £100 for
this site and you are going to buy a computer capable of video editing
out of that!!!

Lol no, if I do about 4 contracts a month, that's between £200 and £400
a month extra. Do 3 or 4 months of that and I have myself a new computer.

Have I missed the point; is that your price per page? If so all becomes
clear. :-)

per site. BTW if they want something done entirely in PHP/ASP such as a
shopping site or members-only section etc then I charge around £500-700.
The £50-£100 sites are all static pages in HTML designed as a brochure.