Build a Website

Hello, we are a startup using our own savings to establish a new US-based service/digital product portal website that will sell services and products to customers via the internet. This will be a membership site, so processing of regular deductions on a monthly basis and annual basis are a must. This is a first version, and we are very cost sensitive. Like anyone else posting a job, we want champagne flavor and beer pricing. While we have a new concept for services to our customer base, we see that all of the pieces of the site have been developed and operate in various forms on the web already. We don’t have the ego that demands that we have virgin code or the building of a site from the ground up. We are happy to use tools, code and other elements that are open source, or otherwise legally usable by you to develop the parts that will become the whole of our site. We’d then rely on you to create a front end that is appealing and the style of which speaks to credibility and class. As we are using savings, we are working to make this site for as low a cost as possible. We are more than willing to revamp the site to increase its usability in the future once revenue is established. Some of the features that we desire for our site will be: --A Forum for users, private from the public, viewable after login for members --A Blog --Testimonials page or slider in the top area of the website home page --Uploading/Downloading of files by customers (their personal document locker, and a place for contractors to place finished work, possibly a shared file for contractors and customers for jobs, if not now, in a future version). --Online Storage—related to uploading and downloading, an online allowance for customers for document storage and the like. --Journaling—A place like a journal, for customers to record thoughts, events and other key time/place/date activity. --Scheduling, Contractor and Customer—this will be a capability that will allow a contractor to set times and days that they are available to work and a scheduler that will allow customers to see that free time and book it. This will have to accommodate time zones, possibly globally, but definitely for the North America. --Ability for Contractors to open an account and receive payment for services/products delivered—This facet of the site will be similar to say this site, where you have registered, made a small site explaining your strengths and services offered and a portrait if you desire. The customer can choose to pay for services and you can message one another for more details. A bidding system similar to this site would be a dream, if we can get it in version 1.0. So payments would be from the customer via the web portal, and we’d take a 5-10% portion of the contractor’s fee for processing, etc. The focus of the portal will be career development, so the following are some examples of services that we’ll integrate into the site. This will soon be researched to get all important details: Strengthsfinder 2.0 testing DISC testing Myers-Briggs testing Resume writing We will collaborate with you to incorporate these products and services into the website in the best way. A final list of all proposed services will be supplied to finalists for this job. Questions we have for you: 1. What experience do you bring to developing a product/service web portal? 2. What do you bring to the project that makes you special or unique? 3. What is your capacity for this job (hours per day/week)? How many days a week do you or your team work? 4. What would you suggest in the design/development of this site that would make it even better? 5. How can we best achieve great function and a professional look, while keeping costs down? How do you propose to do this? Please message us with questions. Thank you and good luck bidding!