How Fast Can You Make a Site?

From a potential client:

Do you use Word Press as your open source to customize the website as per your client’s needs? Are you familiar with e-Commerce Zen Cart or Joomla? and what would the cost be using of any e-Commerce open source package with Content Management System? Can you finish the website within a few days? Pls advise.

Obviously I didn’t get the job. Although I replied to the request and wanted to learn more about the project, I couldn’t pull something like that in a few days. Even if I have a team of designers and developers, it would not be possible. The complexity of an e-commerce site needs time to work out. The user experience needs to be well-thought out and the security needs to be tight.

Truth be told, I have never missed the client’s deadline. The holdup is mostly from the client. From the beginning of the project, I try to get as much contents as I could, but that’s not always possible. Without contents, I can’t get the project rolling. If I don’t get anything after a three or four reminders, I have to put the project aside until the client is ready. When that happens, my passion for the project is somewhat weakening because I feel as though the client’s heart is not in it. A client should care about her project more than I do if not as much.

How fast I can work on a site depends on the client. I have a rule that I won’t start a project until I get at least 50% of the contents. Like most things in my life, I don’t follow my own rules from time to time.