Thin Ice: Client Doesn’t Like My Design

Often during the projects, clients are not aware of website workflow, and when they get the result, they evaluate only a picture they see. In that case, the outcome will cause many questions and misunderstandings. Some improvements could be reported, but it will lower the team’s morale. There exist a remedy for that kind of unpleasant situation.

So, here’s Johnny!

Is it a client’s fault?

Long story short, no it is not. Does the driver ask a mechanic to fix his car just because he loves to spend some money? Maybe some driver does, but we bet it happens not that often. The client asks the web studio to create a website because he simply does not know how to make it. If we would say that the client is not supposed to understand specialized web studio processes, it wouldn’t a bolt from the blue. It is excusable for the client to have some myths about web design. Generally, the most important thing for him is his business. That’s the starting point.

So, why do the clients impose their own rules of work and do not accept the results all that easily? The answer is transparency.

Is it a web studio fault?

Well, yeah (our apologies to the competition). There’re web studios that create a closed ecosystem of communication inside of their firms, which is not always transparent for the client. We’re talking not about the taskboard where the client can monitor what is in progress, but about interaction with the client.

When it comes to the real process of website creation, the client doesn’t always care specifically about the workflow in its literal sense. Far more he cares about the performer’s way of thinking because the client is striving to know what the performer is intent to do. But here is the problem, exactly the intentions are hidden from the client’s knowledge. We dare to call it a mistake when a web studio presents the result after a month or more with no communication on its road.
Imagine that you order a custom Combo Meal in super weird Subway for the first time in your life (I’m sure you know how the preparation process in Subway looks like):

-“Hi! I want a footlong Italian B.M.T., Coke, and paprika chips”

-”Yeah, I got you! Come back in 5 minutes, please.”

…

-”Here is your footlong Italian B.M.T. with double cheese and triple tomato, Coke, and chips.”

-”Wait, but I didn’t want any double cheese and triple tomato!”

Would you be satisfied having that kind of situation? Probably not. Maybe you’ll have a little fight and ask to make your sandwich again. Some web studios are just like that weird Subway, they’re not aware that the client does not know the specifics of their work, and they don’t verify the project with the client’s preferences during the course.

In this case, no one explains to the client what the development and design solutions look like and how they solve his problem. Now, the website will be perceived as a design product and not as a holistic result of an effort. So, if the client will ask somebody else what he or she thinks about it, be prepared, they won’t like it either.

Everyone can complain, but where is Johnny?!

To make a drop-dead website and solve the client’s problem, the web studio has to work with a client together. That way there will be no need for the web studio to “push and sell” the design the client simply wouldn’t like.

The first few meetings with the client are not about convincing to purchase your services or to inspect personal client’s tastes. The business is the Queen, so do not only talk with a passion for your business but also ask about the client’s business with the same passion.

Here is how we see it. On the stage of planning and designing, the client is also engaged in the process. We start from the simple mockups that present a website structure and pages structure separately, so we will not drop a bombshell in the future. Next, we introduce the design conception of the main website page, so it is the right time to make some fixes if the client does not like the concept. Making these fixes is easy because it is just a concept. If the client accepts the design in this phase, we build the rest of the pages on its base. Each stage is discussed with the client! And the simple question now: would the client like the design he accepted?

Like the work between the team members in the web studio, the work between the web studio and the client needs the same level of cooperation, so the client knows the intentions and sees why the performer makes particular decisions.

Just imagine how work between the team members would look like with no cooperation… The web business just would not exist today. The client deserves the same respect as a team member.

Are you looking for a professional lightning-fast website?
Don’t hesitate to send us a note at hello@unikorns.work or visit our website: www.unikorns.work