Design-to-HTML/CSS services deliver cheap, fast, quality results. (image: The-Tor / iStockphoto)

Last week, Smartlife wrote a review of CSSRockstars and found that there are plenty of other HTML/CSS conversion companies out there worth a look — for example, XHTMLizers, XhtmlMagic, PSDChopstick, W3 <MARKUP/>, and many others.

Given the large number of companies who perform HTML/CSS conversion as a service (i.e., transform website designs into hand-coded markup), it’d be a challenge to narrow the playing field down to just one that meets everyone’s unique requirements across the board. (Although, over time, as the service becomes even more commoditized, you’ll likely be able to drop names in a hat, pick randomly, and still get the same result at the same price.)

To facilitate your search for the right one, I compiled a list of over 50 HTML/CSS conversion companies. [1] The first ten are listed in rank order based on topseos.com’s “Top 10 Best CSS Conversion Companies.” All others are listed in alphabetical order.

Should you rely solely on topseos.com’s rankings to conduct your search? No, because I question whether its rankings, which are updated monthly, truly reflect the “best-of-the-best” at this point in time — the ranking evaluation process is completely voluntary and not all companies, assuming they’re aware of it, choose to participate. Despite this, I elected to use topseos.com’s ranking list anyway as a way to promote its use among buyers and sellers in the HTML/CSS marketplace. If you’re a buyer, the independent rankings and accompanying customer reviews will help you in making a more informed — and perhaps better — procurement decision (who is the most qualified seller? what’s really behind the sales propaganda?). If you’re a seller, the rankings list provides a channel through which to increase your brand awareness.

So who should use the services of an HTML/CSS conversion company? Basically, anyone who has a website design and needs it transformed into mark-up code and wants to take advantage of the division of labor between designers and coders. What do I mean by this? Well, designing and coding involve two different sets of knowledge, skills, talents, methods, tools, and techniques, although there is definitely some overlap. If Person A concentrates all of his resources on designing, Person B focuses solely on coding, and Person C spreads his resources over both designing and coding, which combination — Person A & B or Person C — do you think is likely to produce the cheapest, highest-quality website in the least amount of time? If you guessed Person A & B, then you obviously paid attention in economics class — you know that the advantages of specialization include learning curve efficiencies, single-tasking efficiencies (i.e., overall time wasted is reduced because little time is spent moving between tasks), and increased product or service quality.

In practice, there are several ways to employ the specialized services of designers and coders to fulfill your website needs, one of which is to crowdsource your design via 99designs, which is an online designer marketplace (see Smartlife’s review), and to then hire one of the 50+ HTML/CSS conversion companies listed below to turn that design into hand-coded markup. (As an aside, if I owned and operated an HTML/CSS conversion company, I’d be knocking down the door of 99designs to establish a reciprocal partnership agreement, or at the very least to secure ad real estate, to catch potential downstream implementation work. 99designs only stands to benefit from such a partnering arrangement because it would give the company’s customers a more complete website solution — design + implementation.) Wherever you go to fulfill your website development needs, I hope that you find the list useful.

Top 10

1. XhtmlMagic
Starting price: $150
Price per additional page: 40% off
Turnaround time: 7 days
Sample work: izacoska.com, Milan, Emerisque

2. DeSlice
Starting price: $99
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Jan de Rooy.nl, manOman.nl, HomeSearch.co.uk

3. XHTMLGenius
Starting price: $250
Price per additional page: $125
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: CSS Beauty, Snook.ca

4. PSD 2 HTML
Starting price: $159
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 8 hours
Sample work: Dotschools, IQualifyNow, Garofalo

5. PSDgator
Starting price: $99
Price per additional page: 25% off
Turnaround time: 2 days
Sample work: 123 Market Group

6. CSSRockstars
Starting price: $149
Price per additional page: $79
Turnaround time: 2 days
Sample work: VegaBlond, Plots Plus, Nocella Roofing

7. XHTML Team
Starting price: $50-$90
Price per additional page: $25-$40
Turnaround time: 24 hours
Sample work: Synx3.com, Conference Me, inspireQuote.com

8. Markup4U
Starting price: $175
Price per additional page: $85
Turnaround time: 1 day
Sample work: Healthy KidCast, 12ozPROPHET, Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association

9. PSDCutout
Starting price: $89
Price per additional page: $39
Turnaround time: 1 or 2 days
Sample work: CSRReview-online.com, Mophin, Kayu Jawa

10. SliceIt
Starting price: 150 Euros (for two pages)
Price per additional page: 5 pages @ 250 Euros in 4 days, 10 pages @ 450 Euros in 5 days
Turnaround time: 3 days (for two pages)
Sample work: TermTech AS, Troidus, 449 Themes

Others

2html
Starting price: 200 British Pounds
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 2 days
Sample work: None listed

9xhtml
Starting price: $50
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 2 days
Sample work: Market Express, PublisherRev

Charm HTML
Starting price: $149
Price per additional page: $79 with further discounts for each page after
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Twister King

Coder of Mine (in Swedish)
Starting price: 75 Euros
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 24 hours
Sample work: None listed

ConvertPSD2HTML.com
Starting price: $125
Price per additional page: 50% discount
Turnaround time: 2 days
Sample work: None listed

CSS Sage
Starting price: Not listed
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: Not listed
Sample work: None listed

CSS Slicers
Starting price: $60
Price per additional page: $40
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Kontrakter, WKS-Gruppe

CSSMafia
Starting price: Not listed
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: Not listed
Sample work: None listed

dario esteban brozzi
Starting price: $125
Price per additional page: $50
Turnaround time: 48 hours
Sample work: BScomputerhulp, Quirk Books, CME CELL

Design 2 Markup
Starting price: Not listed
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Studio 1440, Contemporary Multimedia

Finely Sliced
Starting price: Not listed
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: Not listed
Sample work: Lighting Emporium, Surfing Bits

htmlBlender
Starting price: $95
Price per additional page: $95
Turnaround time: 8 hours
Sample work: None listed

Image2Markup
Starting price: $99
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 4 hours
Sample work: Mom, Dads & Grads, Peak Impact, Three Point Two Communications

Ipraxa
Starting price: $125
Price per additional page: $50
Turnaround time: Not listed
Sample work: Enightlife, Scraply, elibrary asset

KWebSoft.com
Starting price: $90
Price per additional page: $25 or more
Turnaround time: 2 days
Sample work: None listed

Lemberg
Starting price: $75
Price per additional page: Depends on number of pages and turnaround time
Turnaround time: 1 day or more
Sample work: Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog

Markup-Service
Starting price: $139
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 8 hours
Sample work: Shual

Matthew Rochow
Starting price: $100-$150
Price per additional page: $75
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Smooth China Travel, Driven Host

PixelCrayons
Starting price: $100
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 48 hours
Sample work: Platinum Corporate Finance

Pixmasta
Starting price: $249
Price per additional page: $129
Turnaround time: 2 days
Sample work: Julien Deschamps, Penguin Soft

PSD a HTML (in Spanish)
Starting price: $110-$275
Price per additional page: $70-$135
Turnaround time: 2-4 days
Sample work: None listed

PSD Converter
Starting price: $138
Price per additional page: $69
Turnaround time: 1 day
Sample work: None listed

PSD Slicer
Starting price: $60-$90
Price per additional page: 50% discount
Turnaround time: 1 day
Sample work: Sanaga, Western Hunting Report

PSD to HTML
Starting price: $79
Price per additional page: 30% off
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: wikio, design4education, hyperdesk

PSD to XHTML
Starting price: $89
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 24 hours
Sample work: None listed

PSDChopstick
Starting price: $200
Price per additional page: Depends on number of pages and turnaround time
Turnaround time: 1 day
Sample work: Problogger Book, Business Pundit, Dyland Bland

PSDnaarHTML.nl (in Dutch)
Starting price: 149 Euros
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 7 days
Sample work: None listed

psdSlicing
Starting price: $129
Price per additional page: 50% discount
Turnaround time: 12 hours
Sample work: CSS Impress, Ewebice, Respiro Media

Slice ‘n Dice
Starting price: $199
Price per additional page: $150
Turnaround time: 6 days
Sample work: hellobase, Discount Photo Gifts, One Price Inc.

Sliced4web
Starting price: 55 Euros
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: Not listed
Sample work: None listed

slicemydesign
Starting price: $220
Price per additional page: 2nd page @ $220, 3rd page and beyond @ $100 per page
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: None listed

The Choppr
Starting price: $200
Price per additional page: $100
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Sine Studio, Mississippi Avenue, Striped Box

Turbo HTML (in Dutch)
Starting price: 149 Euros
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 3-5 days
Sample work: None listed

W3 <MARKUP/>
Starting price: $139
Price per additional page: Depends on number of pages and turnaround time
Turnaround time: 1 day
Sample work: Mashable, EventMingle, SnapForm

Web Outsourcing Services Group
Starting price: $99
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 8 working hours
Sample work: London Laser Clinic, Omnisio

Web Refill
Starting price: $99
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 8 hours
Sample work: None listed

xHTML Coding
Starting price: $60
Price per additional page: Not listed
Turnaround time: 48 hours
Sample work: Travis Ballard Photography

XHTML PixelCrayons
Starting price: $99
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 8 hours
Sample work: BU Jeans, Disha Next, Project Bazaar

XHTML Slicer (merged with Instant Coding)
Starting price: $200
Price per additional page: $75
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Centrigy, Eliteak

XHTML4U.com
Starting price: $138
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 1-3 days
Sample work: NetNova Web Solutions

XHTMLized
Starting price: $598 (2 pages)
Price per additional page: $99
Turnaround time: 7 days
Sample work: None listed

XHTMLizers
Starting price: $299
Price per additional page: $75
Turnaround time: 3 days
Sample work: Empex, Portal Przystojniacy

XHTMLMYDESIGN.COM
Starting price: $110
Price per additional page: 50% off
Turnaround time: 1-3 days
Sample work: LAN Addict

YoDiv
Starting price: 199 British Pounds
Price per additional page: 50 British Pounds
Turnaround time: 48 hours
Sample work: None listed

youweyoucoding
Starting price: $79
Price per additional page: $39
Turnaround time: Not listed
Sample work: None available

Automated Conversion Tools

psd2css Online — Online software-as-a-service tool that converts PSD files into XHTML automatically.

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References/notes:
- [1] In compiling this list, I started with Vandelay Design’s resource list published in June 2008 and then updated and expanded it from there.

Post updates:
- November 27, 2008 at 7:30 PM ET: Added Web Outsourcing Services Group, XHTML PixelCrayons, and youweyoucoding to the list.

You design, CSSRockstars codes. (image: kr7ysztof / iStockphoto)

Several weeks ago, I wrote a review of 99designs, which hosts an online designer marketplace where you can crowdsource your design needs such as logos, graphics, website designs, and business cards. One question that came to mind while reviewing 99designs was, after you receive your new website design, then what? I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to spend the time coding it myself. Thankfully, this is where HTML/CSS conversion companies come in handy — they take your web design and transform it into a static, hand-coded HTML/CSS markup. This type of service is also useful to professional or hobbyist designers who want to focus their time and money on what they’re best at — designing, not coding.

Where can you go to find HTML/CSS conversion specialists? They’re not hard to find — a simple Google search will pop up far more than you ever thought existed. Of all the ones that do exist, one seems to get a lot of hype — CSSRockstars. Despite the fact that I haven’t actually used or interviewed this company, I decided to investigate and report my findings to you anyway. (By the way, I did request a Q&A session with CSSRockstars but received a decline. Actually, the request was completely ignored. I feel so rejected.)

Service Details

HTML/CSS Conversion — The primary service that CSSRockstars provides is HTML/CSS conversion. This involves transforming your web design into a hand-coded HTML/CSS markup that’s fully documented (easily modifiable), cross-browser compatible (displays correctly on multiple browser platforms), and valid and standards compliant (conforms to web mark-up and accessibility standards). Rollovers, drop-down menus, and basic Javascript are included as part of the service.

Process — The conversion service is broken down into three simple steps. In Step 1, you place an order and upload your design files (accepted file formats: PSD, PNG, JPG, TIFF, and AI) directly on the site. In Step 2, CSSRockstars codes your design into HTML/CSS markup. In the final step, Step 3, the company sends you the coded file.

Standards — The mark-up code that you receive conforms to a number of key standards, including World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Section 508 (U.S.), and Disability Discrimination Act (U.K.).

Price — The standard price you’re charged for the conversion service is $149 for the main page and $79 for each additional page. Volume discounts and custom quotes (in case you have special requirements) are available.

Delivery Time — It only takes two business days for CSSRockstars to turn your order around.

On-going Support — The company provides 30 days of code-level support after your initial project is completed and permanent passive support, which is fee-based, thereafter.

Other Services — In addition to HTML/CSS conversion, CSSRockstars can implement your design for a wide-variety of CMS, blog, and cart system platforms: WordPress ($219, 3-day turnaround); Shopify ($289, 5-day turnaround); Joomla ($309, 5-day turnaround); VBulletin ($399, 6-day turnaround); Pligg ($359, 6-day turnaround); PHPBB3 ($439, 6-day turnaround); Vanilla ($379, 6-day turnaround); EE ($359, 5-day turnaround); and Blogger ($339, 4-day turnaround).

Sample Work

CSSRockstars has completed a number of client projects to-date. Here’s a sampling of their work:

Black Enterprise

Black Enterprise Screenshot

Bongo

Bongo Screenshot

Adjinx.com

Adjinx.com Screenshot

Customer Feedback

Reviews of CSSRockstars have turned up both positive and negative, as you can read for yourself:

• Positive — “With little instruction [CSSRockstars] was able to produce fantastic results and went beyond our expectations.” Source: Vandelay Design
• Negative — “CSSROCKSTARS or CSS ROCKSTARS by Twenty Six Media LLC ended up canceling my order on the promised delivery day… Horrible horrible experience and don’t recommend using them if you are ever on a deadline.” Source: topseos.com
• Positive — “CSSRockStars cranked out some great code also. I had no issues at all….” Source: Vandelay Design
• Negative — “I’d avoid CSSRockStars.com as they delayed us for 2 weeks after promising to deliver in a few days and then ended up refunding the deposit without any explanations.” Source: Vandelay Design
• Positive — “I thought these guys were friendly, competitively priced and a good overall value – I’ll use them again. I still would like phone support, but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s providing it…and these guys responded quickly over email.” Source: Vandelay Design
• Negative — “I’ve had serious problems with CSS rockstars in that they do not ever come back to me. I have major issues with the menu system they put on my page, but over a month later and they just refuse to give me any solutions.” Source: Vandelay Design

Key Company Facts

Launched by the company TwentySix Media in 2008, CSSRockstars currently has ten full-time employees (all virtual) and is on pace to generate an annual revenue of somewhere in between $250k and $999k, according to topseos.com. Major clients have included Website Doctor, Nicole Christopher, Nocella Roofing, Plots Plus, and Vegas Blond.

Other HTML/CSS Conversion Companies

As I mentioned in the beginning, there are more than 50 other companies that perform HTML/CSS conversion, with each offering varying prices, turnaround times, and service options. Topseos.com maintains a list of the top ten, with CSSRockstars ranking #6 behind XhtmlMagic (#1), DeSlice (#2), XHTMLGenius (#3), PSD 2 HTML (#4), and PSDgator (#5). My own digging uncovered some fantastic-looking companies not included in topseos.com’s rankings — W3 <MARKUP/>, XHTMLizers, PSDChopstick, and XHTML Slicer. Certainly, there are a lot of options to choose from, and chances are you won’t regret going with any of the companies just mentioned.

Bottom Line

Though I haven’t used CSSRockstars myself, the company certainly seems like a worthy contender among the sea of HTML/CSS conversion service providers. Although I must admit, the negative customer feedback the company’s received on more than one occasion spooks me to the point that I’d probably consider other options like XHTMLizers, XhtmlMagic, or PSDChopstick first. What about you?

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Chris Cairns contributed to this post.