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Design Rage: What to Do When You Hate Your New Website

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You just forked out your hard earn money and paid a web designer to create a brand new site that you hate as soon as you see it. Its a terrible feeling that is, unfortunately, all too common. Business owners are learning how important websites are for their success but finding the right design firm is still a relatively new concept. And when the goals and ideas of the client don’t match those of the designer you often find yourself sorely disappointed.

So what do you do when you realize that you hate your website? You can’t afford to get a new designer right away but you don’t want your customers to see what you currently have online. It is a tight spot. In this post I am going to show you a few ideas that will hopefully help some people out.

Who is to blame?

Before I get into the actual tips it is a good idea to play the blame game for a few moments. And while I do not believe that this is really anyone’s fault, I do think there are some things that can be done in order to stop it happening again. After all, the last thing you would want is to go and create a new website and find that the same thing happens again.

The Designer - The designer is the expert in this situation and as such a fair amount of responsibility needs to fall on his/her shoulders. A major part about being a successful web designer is finding out exactly what the client wants and then achieving that result. If the client doesn’t know what they want, it is the designers job to make expert recommendations and help the client understand what direction they should be going in. Furthermore, the designer should develop the relationship in such a way that any problems are discovered before they become a real issue.

The Client – Not all the blame rests with the designer, however, as some clients really can be their own worst enemy. Every once in a while you will meet a client who hates everything but has no idea how it could be improved. They don’t like any suggestions you make, even when they are backed up by citations from other professionals and the whole process becomes very stressful. Before you totally write off the designer as an idiot and a failure it is important to think about whether you were helpful, receptive and so on.

Designing a new website is a little bit like a dance; the designer leads but the client also has to bring a lot of skill and knowledge to the table. Unless you both work together there is going to be a lot of stepping on each others toes – and other people will notice.

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5 Things Every Web Designer Should Remember When Dealing With Clients

Posted in Client Relations, Website Design Tips | 2 Comments »

Monsieur parisien
photo credit: flequi

As your web design business grows you will soon realize how important the client is to your survival. More than just an invoice-paying shadowy figure in the dark, the client is someone with whom you need to become very well acquainted. Your relationship with them will determine how many referrals you get, how good your designs are and even how much money you make.

In this post I am going to show you five things that every web designer should remember when dealing with their clients. These five things must become etched on your memory as they will form the basis of your website design firm’s customer relations philosophy. These seven tips are golden.

1. Your client knows their business better than you
One of the first things that a web designer needs to realize is that the client knows their business better than you. It is folly to think that you can walk into their office and after 20 minutes be able to school them on how things should be run at their place. Realize straight off the bat that your client knows what they are doing. This is what they do, day in, day out. Use this knowledge to your advantage and pick their brains. If you put the arrogance aside you will be much more open and receptive to certain ideas that they might have.

For example, when you first meet your client ask them about the history of the business, how they got into the industry and how the day to day operations work. When you start to see it from their eyes you will get new ideas about how you can help them with your ideas.

2. You know your business better than the client
The second point is intimately related to the first. While the client might know their business better than you do, they do not know your business better than you. They are not professional designers or online marketing gurus. They do not know as much as you about Google best practices or social media. That is your arena. Remember that. If you can walk into a meeting with the confidence that you know your stuff and that you are there to provide a valuable service the client will respect you more and be open to your ideas.

3. You are an expert in your field providing concrete benefit
When I go to meet a new client I never get nervous. Instead I get excited. Why? Because I know the internet can really help this person’s business grow. I know a professionally designed website, some tight online marketing and some solid Google rankings can put more money in their bank account at the end of each month. And while I never refer to myself as an expert (because it sounds stupid), I know that my ten years of internet experience means that I know enough to really help this person. And so the nerves just slip away.

photo credit: wetwebwork

When you go to meet a new client or sit down with an old client you should remind yourself that you are an expert providing a concrete service that has tangible benefit for everyone involved. Some businesses will need your help more than others. Some business owners will treat you like a car salesman. But at the end of the day, you will be a better web designer if you remember that you are doing them a real service.

4. Under promise, over deliver
One of the first lessons I was ever taught by my business partner was that clients love it when you under promise and over deliver. Unfortunately for me, I learned this by doing the opposite. I promised a client that a certain project would be completed within a week and when it turned out to be significantly more complex than first thought I ended up delivering it a week late. They weren’t too happy. Since that time I have made every effort to under promise and over deliver.

Now, this does not mean that you tell your clients that their website will be ready in two years time. That is just lazy! What it means is that you give a estimated deadline for each stage of the project and then beat that deadline every time. For example, if you have a new web design contract you will like go through the stages of submitting a quote, then a contract, then a draft and then the final coding process. If you can submit each one ahead of schedule your client will instantly like you more. It also has the net effect of putting them in a better mood for when you first show them your concepts and ideas.

5. Clients like (need) social proof
Clients are people, remember. And people are social creatures. People like to know that they are not the first to do something, they are not standing out in any uncomfortable way. And the method for reassuring your clients that they are making the right choice is by using statistics and social proof. If you can back up your decisions with “references” your clients will be much more likely to place their trust in you and your suggestions.

heat map

A classic example of this is the Google heat map pictured above. I always take a laminated copy of this heat map to my meetings with clients when I first show them their website. Why? Because I can use it to justify my decisions for why I put the image there, the text over there, etc. This related back to the point about being the “expert”; you put your client at ease when you show them that someone else has done this already and that you (their web designer) knows about the trend.

Conclusion
The relationship between web designer and client is an important one. It is vital that you adopt these five tips as they will help you get the most from your existing clients as well as creating a reputation that will allow you to find more business. They will also imbue you with a lot of confidence that will have a long term effect of making you a much better designer.