: How should I handle a client with a partial site already built who wants me to take over? I'm new to this site and making webpages that aren't only run locally on a single computer. I'm

@Barnes591

She already says she has a place to host the website, but was asking if I could make it using wordpress and then give her the source code. Is this possible?


Sort of. You can create a free site on wordpress.com but you can't export the look and feel of it...just the content. Alternately, if you have PHP and MySQL hosting, you can download WordPress from wordpress.org and create a self-hosted site. Those can be transferred, including the Theme (look and feel) as well as the content in a variety of ways. However, your target server has to be able to run PHP and MySQL for this to work and transferring a WordPress site is not the simplest action in the world for the uninitiated. It involves copying the wp-content folder and exporting the complete database.


What's the normal procedure when someone says "make me a website, I've already got a few half-baked webpages"?


There isn't a single "normal" procedure because with or without half-baked web pages, you still need to take the time to assess the client's capabilities and needs and design a solution appropriate to the situation. Lots of people just ask (or exclaim) "just use WordPress!" but, while it's a versatile tool, WordPress is not appropriate for every application, situation, and/or client. You need to figure out who's going to keep the site updated (both in terms of content and software if a CMS is in play), what the necessary features are going to be both today and into the future, budgets, timelines, and more.

This is what makes webmastering something of an art and not a science. You are simultaneously called on to be a designer, developer, artist, philosopher, prognosticator, therapist, accountant, and sometimes an executioner.

So my advice in your specific situation is to pretend that you are building a new site from the ground up and make your client aware that you will need to conduct a project analysis before any real work can begin. How you charge for all of this is up to you. Personally, I have a flat fee that I charge for the project analysis portion that is payable up-front and then I produce an estimate based on the analysis for the site building that of course varies depending on the job specifications.

Vote Up Vote Down