The Most Important Words Every New Web Design Client Should Hear
Managing your new web design client’s expectations starts from the moment they land on your website.
This continues from the first phone call. From there, this has to be carried over to sales meetings and then, of course, passed on to your account managers. Everyone on your team should be on the same page; otherwise, over-promises and under-supply will lead to the collapse of your company.
Leonardo da Vinci once said, “ Art never ends.” There is nothing more truthful. Art will never end. This will last forever. That’s what makes it so inspiring and so wonderful. But if the art truly never ends, then the web design business could face major challenges if the business does not set clear expectations for the web design project. Therefore, in my opinion, the most important thing that an agency should remind clients of is that “web design never ends.”
These five important words will change our agency of change. That’s why:
1. Constant changes.
Permanent change requests from your client are not their fault. This is your fault. Take responsibility so you have the opportunity to change and fix the problem. Since web design is never complete, revision requests can go on and on.
Six ways to control the number of revision requests from your clients:
- Remind clients that “web design never ends. “
- Add a clause on the number of revisions to the contract (I recommend 2–3 rounds).
- Check-in rounds only. Do not accept one revision at a time.
- Pay for additional rounds of rework.
- Change the deadline for additional rounds of revision.
- Get the site up and running before taking any additional rounds of revisions because “web design never ends.”
2. Unsuccessful projects.
There is nothing worse than a project on the back burner. You are frustrated with seemingly endless work, and worse, your client is silent. Again, don’t blame your client. They have no idea how to manage a web design project. This is your job. Web design projects that never end are slowly eating away at your soul. You lose sleep over them, and your anxiety builds up over time.
How to send projects to the background:
Remind clients that “web design never ends. “
Schedule a new kickoff meeting to pick up steam again.
Add a clause to your contract that charges non-radio customers after 3 days.
Make the obligatory weekly call.
3. Opportunity cost.
What else could you be working on right now instead of this web design project that never ends? How much money are you losing from other projects you could focus on? This is an opportunity cost. It grows every day that your web design project remains.
A client who is never happy with their website design will never want to “finish” the project. You must be careful with this. So, manage their expectations early on by reminding them that web design is never complete. Focus on launching the site and remind them that you can make changes after launch.
4. Low morale.
I’ve seen this before. Project managers and web designers roll their eyes at the thought of having to work on a project that never ends because the client is never happy. They need settings. They make countless corrections and sometimes get frustrated and shut up on the radio. Don’t let low morale infect your agency.
Remind your clients that they will be working on this site forever, so it’s important to get the site up and running so they can get started with customization while A / B testing their changes. After all, web design is not a turnkey solution. Every site must constantly conduct A / B testing to find the right formula.
My favorite web design testing sites are:
- Optimizely (A / B testing software)
- CrazyEgg (heatmap)
- Conversion XL (My Favorite Conversion Blog)
- Qualaroo (Quality Analytics)
- Kissmetrics
5. Scope creep.
Scope displacement is one of the most dangerous things in web design. “Scope” is the sketch of the work at the start of the project, and “creep” is all the extra work that manages to penetrate the volume throughout the project. Not only is the shift in workload a major momentum killer for your team, but it is also a huge frustration among agency owners because the loss of money is impossible to measure.
How to avoid the scope slipping:
- When your customers ask for “5 minutes” of extra work, remind them that this website will never actually be completed, so you can save additional changes after launch.
- Use a checklist at every stage of the project. Never stray from this list.
- Will you ask clients to sign the scope and checklist before starting work and after you sign the contract.
- Remind your project managers and designers that they are not authorized to give anything to clients for free. If this is not included in the scope of work approved by the client, then it is additional. End of story. Hey, I wish we could make way for free. I am really. But 5 minutes easily turn into five hours, and five hours easily turns into five days.
About the Creator
Michail Bukin
Creative Writing Expert and Ambitious Stutterer


Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.