adult website help(no not what your thinkin sorta)

[Spun Ducky]

So my brother in law wants a website made and specifically an adult toy website. The issue is this guy has absolutely no idea what it takes to run an ecommerce site. He thinks since I won't just sign on for the "easy" money for 500 bucks one time payment that I don't understand his genius.

So my question is how on earth do I bring some reality to someone that struggles to even use microsoft office on the computer muchless run an ecommerce site and yes he thinks a one time payment is a set and forget investment.

I am by no means an expert or fluent in web dev/design languages as i work in embedded systems, however just from brief reading I know I could pick it up quite quickly and also would probably use a premade CMS or template rather than hash one from the ground up.

So my question for H is how do I talk him out of the insanity or should I build the site and let it crash in burn when he realizes it needs daily maintenance? I know it is a loaded question of sorts but these web languages for me after working in assembly and c seem rather easy that is the only reason why I propose a quick learning curve.

 

[The Donut]

This is easy.

Download -> Install Magento E-Commerce

Give him admin password and tell him to go 'make his easy money'.

Wait for him to bombard you with questions and tell him to DIAF.

 

[FrEaKy]

Build the site, get your "one payment" for just the site creation, and when it fails, tell him maintenance costs extra.

If he dont pay, tell him, sorry.

 

[PTNL]

I see that you've got more to lose by agreeing to do this, especially in the tail-end of the project lifecycle. Know when to walk away from a project offer.

 

[BigJayDogg3]

I see that you've got more to lose by agreeing to do this, especially in the tail-end of the project lifecycle. Know when to walk away from a project offer.

This. If it were almost anyone beside your b-law, I'd say take the money and run.

Your wife/sister would likely hold a grudge. It isn't worth it.

 

[ekuest]

This. If it were almost anyone beside your b-law, I'd say take the money and run.

Your wife/sister would likely hold a grudge. It isn't worth it.

exactly. better to avoid stupid problems like these within the family. just tell him you havent done a website before and dont feel comfortable doing it and refer him to a professional service.

 

[Deleted member 12930]

Don't do anything. Avoid the project like the plague. Let him find someone else to build it, and let him fail horribly. More then likely he'll blame it on the other designer/developer, or on the economy. But rest assured, he will fail.

This. If it were almost anyone beside your b-law, I'd say take the money and run.

Your wife/sister would likely hold a grudge. It isn't worth it.

Don't take the money and run, ever. Especially on jobs like this. All you end up doing is give other web developers like us bad names, and then someone like me has to go clean up your mess.

I get calls all the time about shit like this. "The web guy built my site, but he won't respond back to my calls about updates... ". Then they don't trust your advice because the other guy screwed them.

 

[krogen]

The only wrong thing in here is that you shouldn't ever "make a website" for a close relative or family member. It isn't work the possible hate coming out of it. "Oh, I failed - it's your fault" type of a thing.

Now, going back to the gist of the problem - making a store. Of course you wouldn't make one from scratch - it's simply too much work. But as somebody else pointed out - installing and setting up Magento is, literally, 30 minutes of work or less. In most cases.

Afterwards... A generic template would probably have to be changed. 20 hours of work for a skilled design-o-developer.

So that's 21 hours total. Well, I guess before this a server needs to be purchased - a VPS can be set up in about 30 minutes.

Maintenance of the server can be taken care of by the VPS provider. As well as security, if bank requires some kind of security certificate.

One single visit to a bank, maybe two, and a merchant account can be set up.

An EIN and incorporation documents should probably be requested or maybe a DBA. This, again, can be taken care of by another company.

So... Really... It's all fairly trivial and simple to set up. Learning Magento can be somewhat steep but certainly doable if one really wants to learn.

So there you have it, a DIY store for an average Joe.

 

[Wiseguy2001]

++ If there are warning signs, walk away. There's lots of turnkey ecommerce hosts out there (and do you want to put selling dildo's on your CV?).

Even if it was a proper client paying a sensible rate/ budget, If you don't gel with them, walk away. Some clients are just more hassle than they're worth, but I think you know this already.