During my time as a Website Designer in Melbourne I have learnt many things, both specific to web design and more general and/or business orientated. Once you get thrown in the deep end you quickly learn that Web Design is the kind of field where you will constantly be pushing yourself to develop your skills further, but remember, it’s not always about technical improvements.
A very valuable lesson that everyone designer needs to know is about having everything in writing. On so many occasions I have seen clients attempt to creep the scope of the project and squeeze just that little bit more for their cash.
Who can blame them, I would do the exact same thing.
For this reason it is our responsibility to be firm and reasonable with our clients. By having physical documentation of everything agreed on, if a client asks for something outside scope, you have solid ground to turn it down and the client will hopefully understand. Below is a quick checklist of items I suggest to keep in writing:
1. Agreed Cost of the design/build
2. A breakdown of what is included for that cost
3. What you need from the client and a date you need it by
4. Feedback on designs
5. Client signing off designs
In past experience I have noticed the big lifesaver to be number 5, Client signing off designs. To often do clients approve a final design layout for a page and when you have built it exactly as agreed on, they get a new idea and expect you to take care of it free of charge. By having the design signed off in an email, you will have the ability to mention and show them that they have approved it and signed it off. You can then act accordingly.
One example of such a situation was I had a client, whom we’ll call Raul Julia. I was designing and building a straight HTML website and Raul Julia had approved multiple mock ups over the phone. just as the website entered the final review stage and was almost ready to go live, the client wanted to completely change the look and layout of the main navigation. I mentioned that he had signed it off and it was too big a task for me to tackle free of charge. Long story short, he denied signing it off and I had no proof that he had, so I had to take it as a loss.
 Above: The Real Raul Julia |
Ultimately, the client will generally want changes and it is at your discretion whether you charge them for it or not, personally if the changes are minor and few I am happy to cover them for the sake of the client – designer relationship. There is a line though and it is the web designers responsibility to draw it. |