Thursday, June 23, 2011

From A Web Designer: How To Be A Great Client

If you are a client wondering how to work best with your web designer, consider the following tips of "what not to say" while working with your web designer. Oftentimes there is a large gap in knowledge between a business owner and a website designer. If you knew how to build websites, you would not need a website designer in the first place. Some things can not be avoided - however, here are 5 great tips to consider before moving uttering words that make your designer want to refund your money. Also, here are some tips on how to avoid embarrassment.

  1. "How should I know what it should look like, your the web designer." There are about 10,000 ways to build a website... and only you know what is in your head. Everyone has a preference in style, colors, and look and feel - but clients are often the last to communicate what that is. Most clients only know what they "like" after they see something they don't like. This starts the relationship out disappointing for both parties. If you want to be "wowed" with your website, you need to communicate before you see the first design - ahead of time. Set aside an hour or two to browse the web and find other websites that you can judge. Notice what you like and dislike about your competitors. Write that down. Tell the website designer the next chance you get. Give them examples, but let them suggest ideas too. While some designers are better at guessing what you want, it's best for both sides to have an understanding before work begins.
  2. "It looks two dimensional, can't it move more or do something?" First off, great website designs don't really need to "do something". Websites are actually two dimensional - flat on your screen... no 3D glasses required.  You may be seeing a design that mostly uses flat colors and square boxes with no gradients, drop shadows, or special styling. If your designer delivered a website that doesn't look modern; tell them you want more gradients, drop shadows, and styling. On another note, each moving element on a website slows load time and is probably not very search engine friendly. The more "bling-wads" you cram into your website, the longer it takes to design and code with typically very little return on your investment. Also these bling-wads may be very tacky and not well thought out. Most clients want these things thrown in for free and may demand or expect it. Your website is designed to get you more business, not to load slowly, and possibly turn off future customers. Get to the basics - ask for a tasteful sideshow to display meaningful messages or images and make sure each element on your website actually serves a purpose. If you must have something more, make sure you ask for a quote to cover the additional cost for the work.
  3. "I am going to email you a picture of my dog, can you put her somewhere on the website?" We have actually had this happen a number of times over the years. No joke. If you didn't laugh or find that request silly, please click the X button in the upper right hand corner of your screen. This request is only irritating to a web designer that wants you to succeed and also wants to be proud of their work. Even though you love your pets, your customers come in all different age groups and have different levels of tolerance. Some may have allergies to pets or maybe they are scared of dogs? Your pets do not belong as the first impression of your company - unless you are a dog groomer. Make sure all content you send makes sense for your business.
  4. "I have a camera with tons of pictures on it, I don't know how to do the computer thing, can you come get them for the website?" Getting high quality images on your website is possibly one of the most important differences between having a great looking site and a laughing stalk. If your camera has birthday parties, 4th of July celebrations, and bar mitzvah's all intermingled with your business photos - please just take some new photos. Try to send just the photos you want used as to not waste their time or yours. If you really don't know how to use technology, bring your camera down to the local Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Costco, Kinkos etc. and ask them to put it on a disk and then mail it to your website designer. Then apologize heavily for the circumstance, and explain that you would have been better prepared if you had only known sooner. If you are on the opposite end of the spectrum and don't have any images at all, give your website designer an idea of the types of images you would like to have and they will do their best to find suitable matches using stock photography sources. 
  5. "Just one more little quick change, it shouldn't take you very long." Each time you change something on a completed website, it can be as simple as a click, but it can also take a lot of time. The amount of time it ends up taking depends on the change, the location of the change, the type of website they have built, and sometimes the complexity of the database they have created for you. Don't assume that it's a little change - unless you know code. Just looking at your project again will typically take 15 minutes of the designers day in loading programs, logging in, finding passwords, research, locating your email, and then making sense of the change. Even fixing a comma in the wrong place can be more time consuming than you would imagine. To avoid sounding as if you devalue their time, tell them your change, then ask about how long it will take. Expect to hear a range of time back "could take between 30 minutes and 2 hours." Let them know that you are aware it could be more involved than it sounds, and you had hoped it was a quick fix. Understand they may have other projects going and don't be put off if it takes longer than a day or two to get back to you. Try to avoid asking for a status update on changes unless a reasonable amount of time has passed, or you have an important deadline that will be missed.
It's very important to keep your relationship solid and mutually respectful with your designer. They will automatically want to work harder, better, faster and make you proud - no matter how much money you ended up paying them. Try to stay extra sweet on charm to get the most bang for your buck. The last thing you want to do is have an uninspired, deflated, confused and frustrated designer building the most important (and least expensive) worldwide marketing tool - your website.  

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