Review: XHTMLGenius
Awhile back I had a project where I needed to get a design converted over to an HTML template. Knowing how much flexibility I had with scheduling, I decided to try out XHTMLGenius.
XHTMLGenius promises a 3 day turnaround for delivery for $250. The template was pretty straightforward so I didn't expect too many surprises. Luckily, Shaun (the man behind the scenes) delivered. Ahead of schedule, in fact.
Inevitably, there are things that I would have done differently. We all have our own style, after all. The quality of code was what I was expecting, though, which was above par. I had to rearrange some elements to create a better sense of semantic hierarchy and to make it easier to tie in some JavaScript but I was pleased at how smoothly the process went. The CSS was clean and well organized.
Shaun communicated well and managed my expectations. He never promised he'd be ahead of schedule so I was pleased when he was. He also asked my opinion on how I wished to have certain elements laid out, which was nice. It's that kind of communication that reassured me that I was getting a quality product.
Ultimately, I was very pleased and would definitely use the service again.
Conversation
Thanks for the kind words - it was good working with you and hopefully we can work together again in the near future!
Interesting, Jon. How much of your own time do you estimate you would have spent to come up with the same end result, versus the time you spent tweaking Shaun's code and dealing with communicating with him?
I saved myself a few hours, for sure. The tweaking I did was entirely related to some JavaScript stuff I needed to implement. The rest of the template was left untouched.
I find the largest problem with a few of the services out there is the lengthy turnaround time. Rarely do I have the luxury of a full week to turnaround a template that would normally take me less than a day to put together. A 7 day turnaround, plus any revisions I might have to do, or any back and forth might turn into close to two weeks. Who's got that kind of time? Shaun is decent at 3 days, although, for routine work, I'd prefer a 1 to 2 day turnaround.
Thanks Jonathan. XHTMLGenius is a great tip for other freelancers under a time crunch who still don't want to turn down work.
1 to 3 days is pretty reasonable. I'd definitely consider using them in the future.
That's good even I wouldn't pay $250 for such service (I rather do everything myself than spending additional money). :) What's the URL of final layout?