Web Design? What is your solution back-end devs?

[TheGallery]

Greeting community, I'd like your approach on an issue. I am focusing on back-end development and i have a question about the rest of you (back-end) devs. When working on personal projects, are you using ready templates, coding a simple interface from scratch, or get someone else to do it for you? I got a project i am working on and i'll publish it when i feel it's completed and i am satisfied with it. User experience and front-end development is really important. After all what the user sees, can determine if he is going to stay in your website or not. I am really not satisfied with the layouts i end up making. I got an image in my head that seems pretty good but i am not really familiar with basic design principles (like typography, color combinations etc). What solution would you suggest for this issue?

[boen_robot]

Any one of those solutions is viable, but if you want your app to feel unique, its design should not be from a template. If you make someone else do it, you should make it easy for them by separating your front end from your back end, and let them work with the front end. Personally, I work best when someone else does a "sketch" (as in "a Photoshop/Illustrator image") of the full page design, and lets me slice it up into what's appropriate for my back end.

[TheGallery]

Right, i see. I like the way you work. Getting someone to make the layout and work on that using the pieces you need. Thanks for replying.

[thescientist]

I've come to the same conclusion myself. Now whenever I have a personal project to work on, I let my friend come up with designs/mockup's in PSD format, and then I build my backend and integrate the assets/design in as I start building up the pages.

[Alluring]

It depends on the scope of your project Gallery. Well, that's what I would tell a client at least. What functions will the site perform? Will it need a shopping cart in the future (be careful about that question because people always change their mind about it). UX should be a given in all sites as we strive to make our work look better than the next guys. I like the fact that you aren't publishing until it's finished. That's a good practice.I'll use my next project as mirror/advice for you I guess. I'm going to set up my client with a CMS. I'm going to give her a quote of around 350 up front and I won't go under that number because I know that most "projects" actually turn out to be "all-out giant sized big business masterpieces" and that's all that the client wants. They have some sort of idea in their mind that they're going to get the coolest flash web site that they saw the competition using (never show them 2advanced.com - big mistake). I'll go pick up an easy template in one of the CMS's and look at the CSS/PHP and customize it. When it's done and she doesn't like it, I'll have to spend even more time making it more awesome then it already is. Then I collect the 2nd half of my 350.Hope that helps in some weird way. : )

[TheGallery]

I was actually talking about personal projects Alluring. I don't feel ready working for someone else right now. (although i am pretty sure many people with less experience than me, are trying to work as freelancers) but not me, i don't like disappointing people and i want things to be perfect (in my eyes) in order to make a move. In that case, (that i would work for someone else) i think i'd have a different approach than my own projects. When you work for someone you can use the money you get for extra resources. When you work for yourself you have to work with what you got (at least in my case, i am just 20 years old and don't have any means of income besides what my parents give me). I'll go with what boen_robot said, since i want my websites to feel unique i have to make something unique and not reword something existing. And as i mentioned i am focusing on back-end development. That's why i wanted other's approach on the interface. I think i already found the way that best fits my needs.