You have some choices to make

• Contract out the building and maintenance, and day to day operation of your shop
• Contract out the building of your shop and its maintenance, but you look after the day to day operation
• Contract out the building of your shop; take over its maintenance and day to day operation
• Write your own web pages, but contract out the writing of the programs behind the pages. Consider carefully whether to take over the maintenance of the scripts yourself, or place some sort of contract. Look after the day to day operation yourself.
• Write the programs and pages yourself (get training if necessary!) and do the whole job yourself.
• Write the programs and pages yourself (get training if necessary!); buy in consultants or contractors time to help you with the peak of the development work, and/or for advice on the more complex technical issues.

Remember when choosing

• Specify any work to be done carefully to avoid nasty suprises later
• Specify as well as you can and try to avoid "application creap"
• Require good documentation to be supplied
• Require any outside contractors to provide support for at least 90 days
• Check that outside contractors know there stuff, have been around a while, and will continue to be around if you need them!
• Consider maintenance and support contracts
• Consider how you might want to grow the system, and plan to allow for that growth
• Time and money spent getting good advice and training may seem extravagant, but it may save you a fortune

Perhaps we can help on contract work and training ...

• Questions about your requirement
• Possible solutions for you
  
  
• Looking for someone to help put your shop together?
• Looking for someone to train you to write your own shopping application?
  
  
• Online Ordering Software - home page