web design cms process freelance client
Finishing websites – How to complete that last 10%
This trend has become all to common. A small company hires a freelancer to create their website, only to stall at 90% complete because the designer is unwilling to do some small changes that would complete the project. This may happen 3 or 4 times consecutively as the client works with different designers, leaving jaded clients and disgruntled web designers in its wake.
The issue may be that designers prefer to work on graphical elements and consider these small text changes negligible. Even if some design guidelines have been developed by a previous iteration of a website, they prefer to start from scratch as a proof of their own design process. This only delays the completion of the site even further. Additionally, the last 10% of a website is often minor changes such as pixel-adjustments and copy changes.
Designers often consider copy editing outside of their scope of work and therefore don’t give it due attention. They feel their pride may be hurt that they are stooping below their expertise level. What I believe is happening here is that they may forget the form- part of the form-function equation. If the website is not done, it’s not functioning, for the client and their market.
This also brings some thoughts on how to improve the process.
Firstly, manage expectations. As a designer (and project manager) you need to be diligent about getting the client to be clear about what they want. Have them sign off on a fairly detailed scope definition early in the process. A lot of things are possible on the web now design-wise, and smart clients know that nearly any crazy idea can be brought to life. It’s important that they know how many hours it can take to develop the fancier elements.
Secondly, work with a Content Management System. These have been around for a while, but until recently they have been too feature rich to be accessible to the typical graphic/web designer. Check out off the shelf solutions such as Smallbox, or as another option, repurpose a blog engine such as Wordpress which has a nice back end and lots of plugins available. Benefits are basically two fold – Not only are the administrative and editing duties transferred to the client, the web designer can concentrate on what they do best. Most CMSs allow fairly fine tuned control of content posting, so if as a designer, you cringe at bold-italics, you can omit this functionality from client-driven content. The key in choosing a CMS is scaling it correctly to the job. You wouldn’t use Joomla for a mom and pop bakery site, and you wouldn’t necessarily use Wordpress to run an online store. If the CMS is scaled correctly, the client is happy, and the designer is happy.
A website is an ever-changing entity and it can be argued that a website is never done. This lies in the fact that a website is a shell until quality content has been added. If budget allows, work with a writer, or encourage your client to do so. If you are getting quality text content, and it’s organized well, Google, and your readers, will love you.