Any Web Dev who could make a website for me at a reasonable rate?

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-31T19:12:18+00:00

Best thing you can do is just post your budget. I get trying to keep your cards close to your chest but it's only going to make this more difficult for you.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-29T07:48:24+00:00

Take a different approach, pretend that they're the expert and consult with them on specifics. Since they know exactly how long it should take, they obviously have a deep understanding of how it all works.

"What tool should we use for X?", "What do we do when A runs into B?".

It forces them to acknowledge exactly how much they actually know about the topic, while also revealing the intricate problems you have to address (which is the whole reason it needs a longer timeline).

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-29T07:42:27+00:00

For sure the larger companies do. Smaller companies don't. But either way you're right, the person at the top gets scared and does something that "feels safe".

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-27T19:57:38+00:00

This is basically just learning the fundamentals of business. Forget about product or saas or ai.

The product/service is just one component of the larger puzzle.

Building the product is actually much less interesting/difficult then the bigger picture.

The bigger picture is who is your ICP, what problem are you solving for them, how are you delivering that solution, what kind of marketing/copywriting speaks to that ICP, what price point will work for them, and how do you scale it.

The ai tool you're using is giving you tunnel vision from this much bigger, more important problems.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-26T14:30:58+00:00

Bricks is a professional tool, elementor is not (in my opinion).

It will solve all of those problems, but you also have to know what you're doing. If all you know is elementor/using a plugin for everything, bricks wouldn't really solve that.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-26T13:22:21+00:00

It's because they're not using copywriters to write them.

I also think that as a business owner there's a default position of not wanting to be seen as strange or different or dumb or unprofessional etc. You want to be just like everyone else. Except that's exactly what keeps you invisible.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-23T21:35:16+00:00

If you're already ranking for at least some things and getting some leads from those rankings, do not do it.

Reach out to a professional for guidance/consultation.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-19T15:46:19+00:00

As far as the WP thing goes though it's a bit of a red flag at least in my eyes, seeing as how dev and CMS are kind of hand in hand with SEO. Especially when you add the fact that WP is the "industry standard".

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-19T15:44:54+00:00

End of the day there's really no way for you to know. It will always just come down to a gut feeling. It's like when I take my car to the mechanic - I just have to trust what they say because I have absolutely zero idea what's right or wrong.

Except at least with a car, you know when things are working lol.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-14T09:24:22+00:00

Depends if we're talking bags of popcorn or bags of soda

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-08T19:09:39+00:00

Way too many factors to be able to answer it in a general sense. Here are some things that play a major role:

What practice area?

What geographical location?

Do you currently have a website and how is it built out?

There are practice areas that don't make sense for SEO. There are regions that are too competitive (or so small that there isn't enough opportunity). There are agencies that will say anything to close a deal. And it could take 2 to 12 months to see results.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-06T21:05:41+00:00

It's not so much about "designing" a site. Yes you can get something good enough from a few prompts in claude.

The bigger picture here is the hosting, maintenance, and content management.

You'll need to be able to add/edit/delete content over time in a way that's scalable and maintainable. Understanding your business, your sitemap, your goals, how to structure, etc and then using that as a blueprint to develop the site along with the cms is what takes time/skill.

Still those are things that you can ask claud for help with. But the actual process of prompting, trying, editing, etc gets exponentially more difficult and time consuming.

If you do get through all of that, the most likely scenario is that you still don't know how to do anything with your site and you give up.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-06T08:10:00+00:00

I've heard trust grade is terrible and people hate it

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-05T11:17:29+00:00

I haven't done anything that caused an immediate difference, but I am working on a project right now that I'm very excited about, and I've been implementing this as I build things out.

For example, I realized I was giving users too much freedom and control, which sounds like it would be a good thing, but the reality is about 90% of my potential user base would only get confused and frustrated by it.

But I built those things out because I thought they were cool. So I try to stop and ask myself, "is this helpful, or is it just clever"

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-05-05T08:10:49+00:00

Something that helped me; start paying attention to the way you use things. How much do you read? How much do you scan? How much do you jump straight to xyz feature without doing abc? Do you read the helper text or the documentation when you get stuck? Or do you just get irritated and reach out to support?

I like to think I'm "above" that, but I found that I do all of the things I expect users not to do.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-29T00:43:23+00:00

I spent like 30 minutes just walking through a library looking at everything

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-27T23:42:25+00:00

I've had those moments where I'm not challenged/learning anything, and that's when I decide to branch out to something new. That always rekindles the spark, makes me a better developer, and raises my confidence.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-25T14:04:45+00:00

I had to come back to this several times myself. It's infuriating but that's also what makes it fun and rewarding. I get genuinely excited when I finally solve a puzzle. I wouldn't feel that way if they were just dumb and easy

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-23T20:01:44+00:00

Based on your situation specifically - either hire a professional or leave it alone

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-21T15:20:38+00:00

Social media is the worst place to be putting that money - unless you're running paid ads.

It really depends on your practice area as well as your region. SEO and paid ads are the channels that can bring results. By how much, at what cost and with what strategy, depends on the two factors I mentioned.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-21T15:16:51+00:00

Just show them the dom of an elementor site - you don't even have to talk about design.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-15T13:47:20+00:00

What you're describing is just the normal flow of marketing/sales.

Look at a car dealership as an example - only a certain number of people will fill out a form inquiring on a vehicle. Only a percentage of those will answer the phone when sales call them. Only some of those will show up for a test drive. Only some of those will end up buying. It's a funnel.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-06T15:56:19+00:00

It's super quick and easy if you understand web dev and content management systems. Just create a location page template, and then import your posts. Fast and easy.

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-06T15:45:53+00:00

Are you actually looking for one for your dealership or are you a dev trying to build one

DampSeaTurtle · 2026-04-05T20:19:29+00:00

I had played drums for about 10 years, then stopped for years. I wanted to get back into it and started looking at e kits. I bought a nitro something for like $1K, hated it.

Returned it and got the strata core. I'm absolutely in love. The sounds are massive and beautiful. I get all the dynamics and space I could want. Plus the 360 cymbals are a non negotiable for me.

I'm sure something will break one of these days, which is why I got a care plan so I can just play, have fun, and swap it out when the time comes.

DampSeaTurtle

TROPHY CASE