How much does a custom theme cost???
droople - May 3, 2008 - 12:47
OK before people start bashing me saying, this is a lame question, and saying it all depends.
I will have an analogue, a Toyota can only ever cost so much, paying more than that will just be silly/uneconomic.
I have been looking around at freelance sites, and here on forums, the prices are nothing you can actually set a trend against, some as low as $100 and some as high as $2000.
Of course there will be other variables that will affect price finally, like in my Toyota analogue, mileage, body dents, cosmetics, year of manufacture etc. For a theme, block regions, colour schemes,fluid or fixed will be the variables.
On the other hand, some will say you get what you pay for.
So I ask, how much should a good theme cost?
Think in terms of hours,
Think in terms of hours, unless the customization is really minimal at the low end you are talking 5-10 hours. It is not hard to spend 20-40 hours on a theme and for complex/detailed themes the skys the limit. I realize that does not narrow it down much but using you analogue of a Toyota just like cars you have your econo class, mid-range, luxury and if you have to ask the price you can't afford it themes. If you want something truly unique that requires extensive graphics it is going to take time and therefor cost money.
It does depend. A better
It does depend.
A better comparison would be comparing a Toyota to a Porsche. And everything below, between, and above.
My advice: write to a couple of different designers if you like their work. List the features you would like. Based on that a profesional designer can give you a quote. You can then compare these.
Ask around. Find out which designers people have had good experiences with.
Hope it helps :-)
Thank you, now
Thank you for replying.
NOw, I have setup a site and everything seems to be working well, save for a few unpleasant cck fields, how much would I be expected to pay for customising a contributed drupal theme, in my case am using B7 http://drupal.org/project/b7 theme.
Where do you want to go,
Where do you want to go, without spelling out what you want done it would be hard for someone to provide an estimate. And if you are really looking to hire someone you should be posting in "Paid Services" not "General discussion".
True about Paid Services
I just wanted to get a general idea of what other people would say about their experiences.
My argument being, not many people read the Paid Services section.
Well, really ....
.... it is a lame question. By your own automotive analogy, you are talking about a used Toyota in a world that includes the $1.2 million Bugatti Veyron.
Top-quality design work for a site of substantial scope and scale can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars without even delivering a functional Drupal theme. High-end design consultants like Roger Black and Mario Garcia do not work for peanuts.
We do all our own design work internally. Even so, I couldn't begin to pin down the cost of theming because there's a continuum: Strategy -> wireframe architecture -> graphic design -> mock HTML -> functional implementation, with that last item entangling much more than the theme engine layer.
But I can tell you that we have had half a dozen people with laptops locked in a conference room for several weeks in a code/site development sprint. A guy who at one moment is working on a template might discover a shortcoming in the system's ability to generate data to hit his target, so he switches off and spends three or four hours developing a Drupal module.
The point is that the scope of your ambition determines the cost, and it's completely open-ended. You want a better analogy than buying a used Toyota? Try figuring out how much it costs to remodel a kitchen. The answer is always: "It depends ...."
Whether the result is silly/uneconomic depends on how the result is going to be used. A personal blog? A small business? A major global website?
Thank you for contributing
Thanks for your contribution as well. It is indeed enlighting
top-of-the-head response
:-}
I know it's not the answer you are looking for, but it is all on a variable scale.
Without revealing too, much, I can say that I've worked on a project where the budget was easily $16,000 for Drupal theming alone ... without even including the graphic designers time. No, It's not a good example, and mostly comes down to the 8 totally different look & feel (basically totally new themes) that the project has gone through. Job from hell - graphic-wise.
But if you are not like this client ... I still wouldn't quote under 2 grand for a unique, styled look of a nominal site. Not that it's hard to do things once we know what's wanted ... but just that it's hard to extract client expectations from a couple of screenshots.
When quoting, I count UNIQUE PAGES, which, when templating may be only three, or may be close to a dozen.
The COST-EFFECTIVE approach for you is to pick an existing theme that's 80% what you want, then call for quotes to change aspects of it.
- color changes are cheap. (3-5 hr)
- font style changes should be cheap, but require some browser testing (2+5hr variable)
- Graphic changes - within existing layout and dimensions - from 1/2 day - 2 days . PER UNIQUE PAGE.
- Layout changes .. talk to the guys. Some things are trivial - like removing elements. Adding elements or functionality cannot be quoted.
- for variable-width themes and IE6 support ... everything x3
Not an attractive quote, I know, bit I don't want to undersell the effort that goes into a good design, and I don't want to give unrealistic expectations.
Without a screenshot/PSD of what you think you want, no quote can be binding ... or even meaningful.
.dan.
How to troubleshoot Drupal | http://www.coders.co.nz/
Things get more interesting
Thanks for breaking it up like that.
WOW $16k for themeing omg.
Yeah, do note that that was
Yeah, do note that that was for the total for the themeing portion of a job, but what actually happened was about 6 totally different, unique themes were developed with different look, feel, elements & structure. There was what can only be called a lack of design sign-off :-}
.dan.
How to troubleshoot Drupal | http://www.coders.co.nz/