How long to set up a WP site

by 65 replies
74
How long does it take for you to get a WP site up and running?

I paid a guy $600 to get my site (see sig below) to get the sites layout situated and to the point where I can start marketing the site and adding content.

I think I may just be a little impatient (if I am just tell me) but I wasn't thinking it would take weeks? I haven't seen hardly any updates, and what you do see I did myself without knowing what I'm doing.

He doesn't respond to my emails in a timely manner either so when asked for updates and why I haven't seen any changes of course I'm not getting a response.

So what's the deal? does it really take that long? Is it possible he's doing a lot of stuff in the back where I can't see it and then all of a sudden BAM! it's all done and uploaded or what?
#website design #long #set #site
  • What timescale and deadlines were you given by your developer for this work to be done?
  • To answer some of your concerns. WP is a quick and easy platform and it shouldn't take more than a couple of days to get what you want. That said, developers work on more than one site at a time and will normally give you an indication when they will deliver. And no, his not doing a lot of stuff which you cannot see.
  • Thanks for the responses!

    I didn't think it was supposed to be more than a few days. I'm not asking for much customization and I certainly thought it would up and running by now.

    we'll see, time is money and I'm spending to much of it waiting on it.
    • [1] reply
    • So you weren't given any timescales or deadlines?

      If that's the case, how can you then expect the site to be done within X days / weeks?

      How is your developer working? Did you agree a schedule e.g:
      - working to an agreed project proposal,
      - have produced 2 / 3 design mockups based on project proposal and your requirements
      - produced final design mockup based on your feedback / amends
      - produced Wordpress HTML / CSS / PHP theme from final design mockup
      - uploaded theme to staging (private) web server environment for you to preview
      - minor amends to theme from your feedback
      - testing & QA
      - completed theme ready to go live
      - theme put live on web site

      Is this the only project the developer's working on? Whilst the work itself may be, for example, 16 - 20 hours, that doesn't mean he / she will do that in one go.

      Equally, I'm not defending your developer here one bit. Paying all the money upfront, and having a developer who isn't responding to your questions in a timely manner sounds bad - so I hope you're able to sort something out.

      If you haven't done all of the above, you need to do it now. Set a schedule of work with deadlines, get your developer to agree to it, and work through it (assuming your developer is still in contact from time to time and working on the project).

      Any honest developer will be happy with a 50% upfront, 50% on completion (before go live), or if the project's value is higher, 33% or 25% increments at agreed milestones and deadlines. They should also provide - as a minimum - a proposal summarising what you want, along with a broken down schedule of works. This gives you the confidence that the developer's understood your requirements, and gives everyone mini goals to aim for to ensure the whole project comes together.


    • [2] replies
    • I don't think it takes much time to install and design a wordpress site. Its up the commitment of the developer. I strongly believe that its one day task
    • Ya, unfortunately I did pay $600 up front. He's working (or supposed to be) on my main site/project and I haven't seen any real updates other than the front page layout which I'm sure is a template from somewhere.

      I didn't mind paying the money upfront as he only asked for 50%, I felt comfortable with him when I paid it and told him to kick @ss and get it done so we can continue on with the main site/project.

      Lesson learned that will never happen again!
  • WP is a quick and easy platform and it shouldn't take more than a couple of days to get what you want. That said, developers work on more than one site at a time and will normally give you an indication when they will deliver. And no, his not doing a lot of stuff which you cannot see.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Buildings and Contents Insurance
    managed services solutions
  • The primary motivation to use wordpress should be that it's end-user installable and configurable. The default "5 minute install" is supposed to be taken literally. Any control panel worth its salt gives you a zero-conf install via Fantastico or similar.
  • I usually start to design the theme on a test site first with 50% paid, get the clients approval and then get the rest of the payment before installing it on their site.

    This usually done in about 2 days and for a lot less than $600. But then the 'O' administration is paying hundreds of millions for a site redesign so maybe rates are going up.
  • Thank you everyone for the comments. I'll be sure to know what to expect next time.

    I was able to get the developer to start making something happen. I can assure you he will not receive any more work from me as I've got a lot of site projects on the 'to do' list once this one is done.

    Can any of you recommend another WF member who kicks @ss on creating great WP sites in a timely manner? I'll never have the time to do it myself, I'm come to terms with being the outsourcing king. I've already got several thousand dollars into pockets of some of the writers here on WF and have already received some great stuff. As I continue to move along I'll need to position myself with the best of the best so any recommendations on great WP developers would be great.
    • [2] replies
    • If I was you, I would stop the project, & get a full refund. I gaurantee you will have future problems given that you had a problem on a simple installation.

      Plain & simple, given that Wordpress is pretty much ubiquitous now, anyone who charges for a Wordpress "INSTALLATION" is ripping you off.
      Installing the Wordpress platform on your domain with "ANY" of the major hosting networks, should be done for free.

      Now, charging for a "THEME" install & customizations of that theme is what should be charged for.

      I took a look at your theme, & "POSSIBLY" what your vendor is having trouble with is either customizing your theme. It's not really clear at all what the work performed is supposed to be. But if you are talking about "Wordpress Installation" it is literally 10 minutes or less. there are separate parts to all of it - the platform installation, the theme installation, customiing the theme, adding features. That's about it.

      As I stated, get a refund & get someone else ot get the job done yesterday. I develop custom wordpress sites & designs as well. And I NEVER charge for installing wordpress. It makes no sense.


      • [3] replies
    • I offer Wordpress themes and Wordpress Installation.. Please visit my minisite website for more information
  • WP is QUICK but according to developper He may be busy and have a lot of orders
  • Try the "Warriors for Hire" forum:
    Warriors For Hire - Programmers, Website Designers, Graphic Artists
  • Installing Wordpress takes few minutes and any updates with the theme and the plugins take few days
  • The major issue with WP is theme customization and or programming some php to add new widget positions and stuff, but it should be 7 days tops, you can install and setup a WP blog in under 20 minutes, quicker if you use automation tools.
  • I agree with many here: sure, installing WP takes but a few minutes, but what about all the plugins, widgets, themes (even the free ones - you have to find the ones best for the job), customization, etc.?

    If I'm using my time to build someone's else site, I want to get paid! Too many free riders in this world.

    BUT, it seems your guy is unreliable, and to me, that's bad. Period. Since you paid him already, remain diplomatic. Afterwards, unless he did an AMAZING job, get rid of the dude.
  • Hi, I build simple wordpress sites. It takes 24hrs for the domain to pointed to the name server and about 1.5 hrs to get the blog up and running and Im not fast. Another hour to get all the best plugins in place and google analytics.
    Obviously as mentioned above somewhere, if he is running a business he may have a lot of clients and a backlog of work. Its all about communication really.
    Also you are paying a lot of money!

    Andy Beveridge
    • [1] reply
    • Some WordPress users, for SEO reasons, choose to display a paragraph of static content on their home page. If you want to do this I made it simple to implement.
      • [1] reply
  • for a simple wp installation, you go to your hosting control panel, find the area where you can install different scripts ( in cpanel it is called fantastico ) find wordpress and click the button.
    fill in the form and within a couple of minutes you have wordpress installed.

    or,
    go to wordpress.org, download the program, unzip it, read and follow the instructions and even a novice can have it installed in about 30 minutes.

    now, as others have said, customizing it, adding widgets, themes etc. can take
    some time and will have a bit of a learning curve.

    if this guy is only installing the basic program and maybe just installing a theme, then you are getting completely ripped off.

    yes, if you do not want to do it yourself, then you have to pay someone to do it for you. however, you should not have to pay outrageous amounts for that service.


    luck,
    robert
  • What a shame you didn't come to me first. I can show you how to do it yourself or do it for you for 1/10 the price. sorry this happened to you.
    James
  • guys, an update, I was able to get him going. It took a little threatening of a refund demand but he sincerely apologized and I think has done an amazing job since.

    rest assured I won't be using him again, but rather outsourcing to a proven WF member next time.

    If you'd like to check out the site, come by and tell me what you think. I always good use some helpful critiques

    Payment-takeover.com

    Thanks everyone
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Hi. Site looks essentially good, but there are errors on it and none of the pictures are showing up. Possibly this is something that you did after the design, but if not, I'd give him a call. I'm glad everything worked out. Rip offs hurt us all - on both ends.
    James
  • I charge $1200 for top notch Wordpress site setup for SEO, plugins install/configure and theming, including admin-customizable layouts.
    I take 2 days to make it happen - but usually can do it in about 4 hours.

    Screwing clients is never an option. I hope the guy will deliver up to his fees.

    Gleb
    • [1] reply
    • Memberwing you might want to take a look at that paragraph. I'm not entirely sure thats what you meant. I don't think on the face of it it speaks well that you do a "top notch" wordpress site in 4 hours. In fact a seasoned webmaster would skip right over your theming services. When I pay $1200 for a wordpress setup with theming I don't want a modified theme I want some custom coding , some counsultation on designs and a design tested across several browsers and resolutions that both is and looks unique.

      Whats the rush amigo? showing the customer a few mocks, do a detailed interview so you know what the customer wants etc could take an hour or two of that time by itself.
      • [1] reply
  • Hi motiv8td,

    I have a few blogs and usually they are up and running within 3 to 4 days...can be less, but my designer has other projects on the go. $600 seems to be a tad too much to pay. I would always recommend being very specific before you start and prepare a terms of reference with clear milestones - this should avoid much of the confusion. I also add a penalty clause to ensure they deliver on time.

    I agree with jficarro - site looks ok but does not seem to load pictures too well.

    I hope this helps. Good luck.
  • I was going to defend the guy but then I saw your site and the following

    Zinmag-redux theme designed by Web Hosting Geeks


    He didn't change a thing. Your site now looks like every other site that uses the theme for $600.
  • nontemplates,
    Every client is different with different perceptions, goals, priorities, schedules and business models. Good consultant don't have time for bottom fishing and neither are his clients.
    Expertise, reliability and efficiency seems to work well for everyone.

    Gleb
    • [1] reply
    • What in the world did my post have to do with bottom fishing? I mean we can dance behind sales verbage but we both know its pure crap to claim you can come up with a unique design, custom code it without ripping into an existing theme, consult with the client enough to know their business and their wants, give them helpful options and USUALLY (which means more often than not) do that in four hours.

      BUt hey if you want to sell that against common sense and general accepted practices in the web design world thats your option.

      Incidentally $1200 IS considered bottom feeding to some of the best theme designers although granted they put more than 4 hours of their expertise into their artistry.
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Setting up a WP site doesn't really take that long. Setting up wordpress just takes 5 mins

    Designs/Coding can take 1-3 days depending on the extent of the designs that you need.

    This is based on my experience
  • i am using firepow2 for making blogs
  • firepow2 is very useful and it takes just few minutes to start your wp blogs up and running, if u do not want to spend on hosting they have there own hosting the price is bit expensive for newbie $117 per month
  • Thank to those of you that actually gave some feedback on the site. I know there is an issue with the pictures and that is something I'm having taken care of.

    Other than the pics on the front page, did you guys/gals see any room for improvement?





  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • To set up a basic wordpress blog it takes me 5 to 10 minutes, if I've got a theme ready to use. It's hosted at hostupon where I can set up a blog in cpanel automatically.

    After that, I go to admin and I change the following settings:
    - writing : Update Services
    - discussion : An administrator must always approve the comment
    - permalinks : Custom Structure = /%category%/%postname%/

    Then I go to Pages, Links and Posts.
  • Hi Motiv8td

    May I know what is your initial requirement to the developer for this $600 project?

    Did he provides content? Create plugin? Modify the theme? Did you ask for special feature?

    I mean $600 is not a small sum to many. I suppose it is not just for installing Wordpress and a ready made free theme.
  • My designer worked for 2 days to give me a exactly what I wanted. Now I use the same theme on all the sites I run. It takes me 25 mins to install everything, themes, plugins, change options etc and to get the site running.
  • HOLY CRAP! "weeks"??

    No, I am a designer and I do this sort of thing every day. My record time (lots of coffee *wink*) is from start to finish was 1 day. However I have never worked on any site, wordpress or no, that took me any more than roughly 10 days (and that is a friggin long time).
  • The most it has taken me was four days for 1 site.

    now i can install a basic wp site in about a day and half.

    that's with out content.

    Now with good content i have written about 2 weeks to 4 weeks.

    Just depends on how much time have to write , and how fast you are at writing.
    • [1] reply
    • The right sidebar is not lining up correctly in IE 7.0 - haven't tried any other browsers.

      Jonathan
  • Many hosts offer a 1-click Wordpress install, and WordPress is very easy to update and add new themes, plugins, etc.... as long as the permissions are set right on the account!

    I do WordPress installs as a side and I do the whole thing, including loading a premade and free template, for $300. If the customer wants more than basic training, then that's extra.

    $600 is too much for a WordPress setup, IMO.....
  • too much to be truth. but there it is. i would recommend you to buy ready premium template rather then hire person for that much.
  • Certainly doesn't take that long to create a site using WP. I installed them on my own, setting them up isn't that hard....customization may be another issue though.
  • someone mentioned about fantastico. Yes, it's very easy with fantastico if you use the hosting service with cPanel.

    It maybe hard when you set it up first time but you can just keep using the same wordpress setup for the new wordpress site. Just copy the whole directory structure and make a zip file out of it. Then move to a new directory and within the new directory , delete or rename the wp-config.php file. Then visit using the browser, you will be able to initiate a new installation process.

    by this way, you can have all the themes and plugins with the new installation, too.
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • I feel you're being shortchanged. The fact of his being too-casual in replying to you is a giveaway. I paid a guy 30% of what you paid and on reflection, wasn't happy with what I got at all. He was taking advantage a bit. Chalk it up to experience...
  • It's very easy and quick, thing to do is to not worry too much initially about which them to use just get started and get some content up. Search on this forum for best WP plugins, install those and then worry about desing later. Content is more imortant.

    S
  • I can do a wordpress site with 10 plugins and a free theme in 8 hours for $100 - check out Niche Blog Sales

    I think that your guy is ripping you off.
  • It is just couple of days work for me and as far as i think $600 is too much. I usually make wordpress theme in $50-$100
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • I can install a Wordpress theme in an hour. Get it working in a day. With all the bells and whistles in a week.
  • $600 for just an install is a rip. I use odesk to monitor our contractors. You get screenshots of their desktop and it logs the time they spent on the project. It's so worth it.
  • I agree with some of the comments on the first page. It really depends on how much custom set up he is doing for your WP site/blog. Also how much workload he has and what type of time scale you guys worked out.
  • I am absolutley rubbish at anything technical and stuff but FYI it only took me 1 day to figure out WP, install the template I wanted and modify it to suit my needs. In my opinion you've been had! I would demand a refund!

    Stephen
  • well... i setup this page for 1 day only... and some other website just 3 hours including adding some ads.
  • Less than 10 minutes.
    Have you logged in to C panel of your web hosting account.
    Once you log in you can see a link named fantastico. It is a easy to use software to install wordpress with very few clicks.
    You don't need to upload anything to server if you are following these steps.
  • yes $600 is very much. I charge on $50 with that.
  • To install and design a wordpress site is a quick and convenient process. It largely depends upon the commitment of the developer. You can achieve it in couple of hours.
  • 5 minutes maybe?
  • [DELETED]
Join the discussion

Next Topics on Trending Feed

  • 74

    How long to set up a WP site

    How long does it take for you to get a WP site up and running? I paid a guy $600 to get my site (see sig below) to get the sites layout situated and to the point where I can start marketing the site and adding content.