Need a bespoke web design for free ... :-)

TUS

In brief, I am more of a programmer than a designer.

I am coding a PHP web site for my wife's new business (not yet launched) - but creating the graphical design she wants is beyond my skill set.

She has a specific "theme" and a rough idea of layout that she wants - we just need someone to create it. Ideally in HTML/CSS. Once we have a template, I can mess around with it to integrate the code, etc.

So my question is ... are we going to HAVE to stump up for this. My theory is that there must be designers out there who need/want to develop their portfolio in order to attract their own business. Are there any forums where people may be willing to do this for free, or for a small fee?

It is likely to be a one off task at this time, but could result in return business for any redesigns, etc, in the future.

Thanks in advance.

wonka

You're right - there are designers out there who will occasionally be willing to do a freebie to build up their portfolio. I've done this myself in the past, but only for worthwhile causes / charities.

I'm not aware of any forums that specifically serve this need, but you may wish to ask on WebDesignerForum.

TUS

Thanks for the link - I'll have a look.

You're right, I'm sure most would rightly prefer to save those gestures for charities. Which we are not - charity does begin at (especially in a moneysaving sense) but I don't think I can pull that one, lol.

It will only be a single page though ... so I am considering trying a freelancing site, as I understand you can get a good price for far east devs on those (rentacoder, etc).

Not sure where else to turn due to our strict budget :-/

wonka

Since your wife has a specific theme/layout in mind, why not get this jotted down? Either sketch on a piece of paper and scan into a JPG, or design it in Powerpoint/Paintbrush. Then upload to a photo site, and link to it in this forum, or any other forum you discuss this in.

You never know - if it seems straight forward enough, someone may offer to do it for you.

You're going to have to do this eventually anyway - it sounds unlikely you'll be meeting a designer face-to-face to specify the requirement.

steve1980

If it was something simple for a Wordpress or Joomla Theme then I could probably do it for you, but without knowing the ins and outs I can't commit.

TUS

I've picked up a graphics tablet for her on ebay today anyway, so she's going to draw something on that.

steve1980 - we'd be looking for a basic HTML/CSS/Javascript template.

Thanks all.

peteb23

Not free but you can pick up some great templates from £10-£30 at http://themeforest.net/