The Challenge of Being a Client
Washington, DC ©Totsie Marine
by Totsie Marine
Webonobo.com
Webonobo recognizes the challenges of being a client. That is one reason that we use an online project manager that everyone on a project can log into to view the task lists and time spent, and where we can communicate about all those niggling and important decisions to be made. Being a client is difficult, but being a successful website owner is worth it!
Paul Boag of Webdesigner Depot agrees, and offers 5 Things Your Clients Should Know:
In the web world, being a client is a complex and challenging role to play, and yet, the client is the secret to a successful website.
As web designers we, of course, like to emphasis our role in the process. This is what justifies our fee, however we can ultimately only point our clients in the right direction. It is their decisions that shape the site and their commitment that defines its long term future.
A client has to be a:
- Visionary - capable of establishing the long term direction of their site
- Evangelist - able to promote the site both internally and externally
- Content guardian - responsible for ensuring the quality and relevancy of content
- Project coordinator - overseeing all aspects of the site as well as dealing with suppliers
- Referee - making final decisions between conflicting priorities
What is even more is that the client is supposed to know enough about a broad range of disciplines (from marketing to interface design), in order to make informed decisions. It is hardly surprising that, as web designers, we sometimes feel our clients "just don't get it!" They are simply expected to understand too much.
"Unfortunately their role is also often massively under resourced. Most of those responsible for websites are not dedicated website managers. Instead, they run their websites alongside other responsibilities in IT, marketing or running the business.
Original complete article: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/5-things-your-clients-should-know/
