Freelance Programming Sites? 50
CarrotLord asks: "I have some small, fairly well-defined programming projects that I need done, but I don't have time to do them myself. So, I've been looking into sites like Get a Freelancer and ScriptLance. Does anybody have any experience of these types of sites? Specifically, I'd like to hear your recommendations and advice, as well as your experiences. My concerns include: getting very poor quality work; communication and language barriers and also losing control over the work that I've paid for -- if I'm paying for some work, I want it licensed on my own terms."
No teeth... No reins. (Score:4, Insightful)
Stick to the locals, at least you have more business rights that way.
supporting locals (Score:2)
Stick to the locals, at least you have more business rights that way.
Doing this you also support local businesses and people. Keeping currency in the area thus helps the local economy.
FalconRentACoder (Score:5, Informative)
Didn't have any problems, so I can't speak to their dispute resolution system. Got what I paid for first time around, perfectly smooth, etc.
Hi, Chris!
Re:RentACoder (Score:2)
Seperate and Monitor... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Seperate and Monitor... (Score:3, Insightful)
Any developer worth his salt would have no problem overcoming any such restriction.
It the strictest sense, you may be correct. It will be harder to get a copy of the code. Harder in the sense that it may be harder to make a left turn by taking 3 rights, but in no way is it difficult.
Re:Seperate and Monitor... (Score:3, Funny)
One HUGE advantage of this is that the client can easily build the project himself. If I decided to use a new library I have to set it up on the build machine for them. If I got hit by a bus tomorrow while carrying my workstation the client would have everything that they need to continue on with the project (minus one software developer).
Jon
Re:Seperate and Monitor... (Score:2)
You could also let them compile the code on your server and use remote desktop so you can see them working with the code, and then block the ports to make it harder for them to remove information from the computer.
I'm not a good programmer but I know that even if you compile code on a server the source can still be local so all you'd need was a compiler of your own to compile it own on your own machine. As for any sort of remote desktop there's no way I'd install anything like it on my own computer so
sitepoint.com (Score:5, Informative)
Elance (Score:3, Informative)
One thing to keep in mind is that you
Big Mistake (Score:3, Informative)
Never agian
Craigslist (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Craigslist (Score:2)
Yes - but beware of generic responses. I posted an ad for a Ruby on Rails programmer, and got 20-30 responses from generic web design companies (most of which had never even heard of Ruby on Rails), and 1 response from an actual Rails programmer. About half of the responses were from large companies (many of them off-shore) and about half were from smaller or independent programmers.
craigslist is a great tool. Just be really specific about what you're looking for so you avoid the junk responses.
Re:Craigslist (Score:1)
"Hello sir, my name is [xyz] and I am a
"We offer cheap logo design services"
etc.
Re:Craigslist (Score:2)
Bit of a spam problem, alas. But not nearly as bad as Monster or ComputerCareers.
Rentacoder (Score:5, Informative)
The only drawback of the site was a whole bunch of bids from places like Romania and India, which did not even bother to read the project description (e.g. project required a specific PHP module, and the letter said "If you're looking for a great ASP/ASP.NET team, you've found one!")
But those are easy to ignore.
Cake and eat it too? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Cake and eat it too? (Score:2)
Re:Cake and eat it too? (Score:2)
Be specific (Score:5, Interesting)
Also specify how the project will be tested before being delivered to you. The end of the project can be the most frustrating. I have decided it's often easier to take ownership of the whole thing and do the little items (spelling and grammar in the UI) rather than trying to pass it back to them.
Finally, think about IP issues. If you think the project (or your whole company) will ever be bought by any large company, they will ask questions about where the code came from in due diligence. Get some assurances that the code they created "for you" is not yanked from some open source project.
rentacoder.com (Score:4, Informative)
They have a safe escrow system in place for the projects, and their arbitration system is good (I actually had to use it once when a coder didn't do the work I paid for). I got my money back, and all was well.
Re:rentacoder.com (Score:2, Informative)
From someone who bids on scriptlance (Score:1)
The way it usually works is:
1) I bid the cost of doing well written, documented, and supported code in a reasonable amount of time.
2) Watch as Indian companies bid ridiculously low development costs, and time using exceptionally poor English (even by
3) Watch as a "ebay clone" goes to the shop bidding 2 days and $200.
4) Wait a month.
5) See the poster of the original project looking for some one else.
Honestly your best bet would just watch the comments for people like me. I'm in Eastern C
Re:From someone who bids on scriptlance (Score:1, Interesting)
Quite a few of the projects I found that I could do didn't pick anyone. Just about every listing had several people that would bid $10 on a $100 project saying they could do it for $500, or something along that line. There were also tons of responses that simply said "See PMB" (Private Message Board) which left me thinking "What's so special about your bid that you can't say it in front of t
Re:From someone who bids on scriptlance (Score:2)
I can't speak for others, but often I will give contact infomation for past clients, and a semi-detailed overview of how I would do what they want.
Experience (Score:5, Insightful)
My Dad sells stuff on line and a few of his products are things that people have asked for that only cost $200 from a freelancer then he has sold about 20 copies and made the money back.
That being said his main product took about 6 months to make and other people keep on asking for resale rights (he does commission). He says no and they chuck a fit saying we'll just get a freelancer to make it and wipe you off the market. They get freelancers and say copy this. They always fail because 80% of the product is the little things that are done automatically to make it nice and easy to use.
Now there are also a couple of things to watch out for:
* Lots of freelancers don't care about copyright. They use other projects in your and your in other projects.
* Start of with a small contact and if your happy then get the same person to do the bigger one.
* Freelancers come and go. They might not be interested next time.
* Use an escrow service the first few times. It good for them and for you.
Re:Experience (Score:3, Insightful)
I've done some work on RentACoder for fun when the project was interesting and could be done easily in my spare time.
The parent is right. I'm in the US with a good job as a developer and I do freelancing as a way to get experience or just do different stuff than I do at work. Don't expect that the same person will be available the next time you need work done. It's different for someone who relies on it for a living (but I doubt any skill
Stay in "the network." (Score:5, Insightful)
Why use some big, impersonal job aggregator, never even meeting the programmer in person, when you could just go down to a coffee shop and meet with a friend-of-a-friend? Keep the money local, and help build "the network." The network is how those who know what they are doing leverage the abilities of other skilled people. Massive aggregator sites break down the network and overly corporatize it, leading to impersonal interactions and lack of accountability.
Re:Stay in "the network." (Score:2)
PAY UP... U get what U pay for... (Score:2)
programming projects that I need done,
but I don't have time to do them myself."
So, what is scratching your itch worth?
"So, I've been looking into sites like
Get a Freelancer and
ScriptLance.
Does anybody have any experience of these
types of sites?"
We've had a look at GetAFreeLancer.com &
got the impression, from prices observed,
that much of the work might go to places
like India.
"Specifically, I'd like to hear your rec's
and advice, a
If you want control, hire local (Score:2)
Too good to be true (Score:1)
Regardless, I'd love to see how the "facebook clone" that got sold for $50 ended up.
itmoonlighter/guru (Score:2, Informative)
The thing that struck me most was that it was well thought out; the way you can register a profile, search for work packages, and the escrow service to get paid - particularly valuable to me as I am in the UK and the things I was looking for were mainly in the USA.
Having said all that, my day job suddenly got better and I
coder speaking (Score:2, Insightful)
When I had some spare time I'd sometimes bid on a project. I never actually got one though. The employers usually want a lot of work done for very little money.
I see a project and think about it. To do a real good job, would require about 10 hours. Max bid: $100. That's $10 an hour (7 euro?) BEFORE taxes. I'd make more working in a supermarket. In the end, you see someone getting this job f
Re:coder speaking (Score:2)
What really gets me are the plain out lies people put just to get a contract (ie asking 30 dollars when it just isn't humanly possible to get a job done in less then 10 hours).
If you're a freelance programmer looking for real jobs (ie, jobs that allow you to actually eat once in a while) you have to know real people. Also if you're an employer, beware. Don't go fo
Re:RentACoder.com (Score:1)
Currently doing freelance (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Currently doing freelance (Score:1)
I'm currently (as I've said) on a project, but depending on the size and timeline of your project I could possibly fit you in. I do quality work and am good at communicating my needs to implement your project in a non-local environment.
What about sysadmins? (Score:2)
get to know your hired guns (Score:3, Informative)
Portfolio Building (Score:3, Interesting)
Freelance Sites aren't all bad (Score:3, Interesting)
Project Bids outsourcing website (Score:1)
Rentacoder is also fairly good and we've had a few small projects completed by coders from there too.
WizBids.com (Score:1)