Advice

[raeldr]

Hello to you all,
I would be happy if you can contribute from your experience to answer this question.
The story is as follows, I come from a financial and technological background(I have both B.A in Finance degree and
another B.A in CS, I also have about 3 years experience working in these fields),
about a year ago I built a java application to extract specific financial data, the application is up and running but only on my local DB,
the next stage for me is build a site and provide it as a service(with added elements since similar services already exists).
So, as I'm sure I'm not the first that came up with the post of "I have an idea for a good website" (; , I would like to hear your notes, as to how to start working/looking for contractor for the client and the server side , I already have the MySQL DB up and running and updating daily, I kind of thinking putting time into learning PHP(which from what i've seen so far its relatively similar to JAVA), but I have not much knowledge on the the client side.
I'm almost certain I'm looking for a contractor for the client but how can I know who fits the best for my demands? maybe I should go with a ready template and add more elements as I go? what about the server? should I put the time and efforts and learn the skills(or hire a guy to build the foundations?).from your experience would be much appreciated

[Fumigator]

Since this project seems to be your baby, this should not be the first project you attempt to write using PHP. You will kill your baby if you do that.

Learn PHP by creating a couple other websites first, maybe that have similar characteristics as your baby.

If you want to hire, ask for references and actually check them. Ask the references if the developer or firm met the deadlines, delivered what was promised, and didn't demand more money in the middle of the project. Evaluate prospective developers by how much effort they go to in the bidding process. If you see a detailed function list with estimated hours next to each item on the list, that's a good sign. A one-sentence bid "we will do your job for $xxx" is a good sign-- to run away.

And just a personal opinion, work with someone located in the same geographic region as you. Time zone differences and/or language barriers can be extremetly frustrating.