Web Development For Clients

Back in the day I used to do a fair bit web development for clients. I know many computer businesses here also offer web development services along side their core business of computer repairs. Web Development can be quite profitable if done right but there are many traps that a developer can fall into that can result in both parties “getting burned”. In this article I’ll talk about a few of my own experiences and show you some tips to get it done right.

The problem with web development is that a website isn’t a tangible item that your client can touch and feel to know exactly what they are getting. Even worse is in most cases the web design job is going to be custom so the client can really make it whatever they want it to be, which leads to often unrealistic expectations.

The standard web development process typically is:

• Initial Phone Call – This is where you pre-qualify them to see whether they are time wasters or not
• Meeting 1 – At this point you talk to them about features they want in the website and try to grasp an idea of what they like design wise
• Meeting 2 – In this meeting you provide the client with a proposal breaking down the sites pages and features based on your understanding of what they wanted from the first meeting. If they agree with the proposal you get them to sign the contract
• Proposed Designs – You create some proposed designs (about 3 or so) and show them to the client. They either choose to go with one of the designs, make some minor tweaks to their preferred one or mish-mash features they liked from of all of them to create a new one
• One Page Development – Show them the designs in a coded HTML format, make sure they like it. If so, create the rest of the site
• Create the Site – Create the rest of the site based off the one page they approved
• Setup and Hosting – Setup their domain, hosting account and publish the site online

Sounds easy enough right? But each step is fraught with danger.

Initial Phone Call

In this step you really need to ask the right questions. I personally have had people wanting me to build the next eBay with a budget of under $1000. This person is obviously a dreamer. Probably the most important things to find out in this step is what they want and what their budget is. That way, you don’t waste any time on a meeting with someone who wants you to create something outside your skill set, or with an unrealistic budget. Never tell them what the cost the site will be at this stage, you can give a ballpark figure, but never an actual cost. Chances are they will want a lot more than what they mention on the phone.

Meeting

It is in the meetings where you find out what they want by asking them. However, you need to be careful here because it can open a can of worms. You need to take control and ask them specific questions such as:
“What do you want to achieve? Do you just want to raise awareness with an online brochure? or are you looking to sell a lot of your products online though e-commerce?”.
“Are there any sites that you like the design of? which parts about them do you like?”

Take control and don’t let them rant.

Meeting 2

At this point you would put together a proposal outlining what each page has on it and its features. Be very specific about every part of the site because clients tend to assume things. For example, if you had a page just to display their products you must mention that there wont be e-commerce abilities. Otherwise they may turn around at the end of the project and say “oh, I thought people would be able to buy the products though that page?”.

Once the client agrees on your proposed design you MUST get them to sign a contract. It will save you so many headaches later. You may think that because your client is your uncle you wont need a contract. One little assumption on their behalf and things can get very ugly. The contract needs to specify how and when the client will pay you including penalties for late payment. I have heard many horror stories from other web developers where they completed the website to perfect specification and didn’t get paid for a very long time, or; the client never paid, the developer shut down the website due to non-payment and the client sued them for loss of income.