hello Django community,
There is an interior adviser who wants me to make a portfolio website for him. How do I actually go into the process of selling it to him?
Do I give the code to him and how, do I need to explain how Docker works, what do I need to do to be independend of the project so it’s all his and he just paid for it?
If it is just a portfolio website then Wordpress or similar would perhaps be the solution. There are plenty of hosting services that support Wordpress.
With Django this is a bit different. Look for a hosting service that has support for Django.
I am also new here, but thought I might as well chime in my opinion, as I was faced with the same dilema for my first client a few years back when I was still freelancing (not as easy as those youtube videos make it out to be). Options I came accross:
Option 1. Sell the project in its entirety for a a couple hundred/thousand dollars depending on the scope covered. Include once off training on how to use the application and perform basic troubleshooting and one month to iron out issues after deployement to their hosting platform (note, the iron out issues, NOT adding on features that where not present in initial technical specifications). The code will be theirs. After service support is extra when required.
Option 2. Sell the project for slightly cheaper than Option 1 where they also have to take on a “basic” support service, e.g. $50 p/m for 6 months to a year. This will provide steady income but only if the application will be deployed to multiple tenants otherwise its not worth the hassle. Once off training included and future traing will be charged accordingly. The code will be theirs.
Option 3. Setup option 2 as a SAAS. You setup the infrastucture and whatever else, and the client will simply access the service provided for a monthly fee. This requires more administration on your side and your SLA’s might come back to bite you. The code is not provided
I went with option 1 as the application was not scalable and was highly specific to the client requirements so not very customizable. I charged them $2500 and moved on (spent about 1 week setting up on the clients side and providing training). Luckily it was a basic application (though highly customised) for generating job cards based on orders received for that day/week, so it didn’t require much tinkering after the fact and also why I didn’t charge as much as I probably could have.
Either way the options above are not exhaustive and you might have to do your own research for other alternantives.
But based on your question, it seems that you want to be done and dusted with it so I would go with option 1.
Like you said, to stay independend of the project option 1 seem to be it.
I really like option 2 as well. It is an excellent idea for other projects.
Thank you for your insightful response!