DOS - I know that he has looked in Mambo as well as other off the shelf solutions but TBH he isn't technical at all and no way does he have the skills to implement something even as basic as this. I don't think he'll need a bespoke solution as it really is a very simple site.
The whole front and back end would have to be built by the developer. We would simply provide the design for the page design and then have the developer take care of the rest.
The only thing he can do is populate the website with images and text via the CMS once he has been schooled in doing so. I think I'll be the one who will have to learn from the developer on how to do this and then teach him further down the line.
one on one web development ain't cheap, especially if your mates wants a custom solution, template design is time consuming, if he has/wants his own template design its expensive because he will probably want the copyright.
custom template design, for a cms is usually around £1000.
installation setup and training on a cms system around £1000.
Cms licence fees around £500-2000 or use an open source version....
Cost of hosting, domain and band width around £500 per year(depending on bandwidth) and space required.
cost of credit card merchant and https domain around £400 per year..
a cms aint cheap to setup mate, a cms requires somebody with a lot of programming knowledge and experience, it can take a few months to get a cms setup right..
i have devoloped many cms systems for local business and charities, its hard work and time consuming..
you could probably setup one a lot cheaper with some guy who thinks he knows what hes doing, but i know whats involved for custom solutions hence my pricing, i have also spent many months setting up and training folks only to be told they have no money to pay me, hence i am very reluctant to take on web development jobs now...
best to try your self before going into the deep end, folks think they can setup a website and watch the money roll in, it just aint that simple, 98% of websites fail...main problem is getting visitors, a top position in search engines will cost a lot of money and maybe take years unless his products are a niche, ask him what he wants to sell then do a search for the products on google, there you will see your competition and it will probably flabber gast you, the competion is your downfall.
