One of the most important parts of running a profitable web design business is ensuring you don’t waste time going backwards and forwards between coding and design. The best way to achieve this is by creating a sign off process with your clients and getting agreement that changes out of sequence become chargeable.
1) Take a deposit along with a signed order and agreed terms and conditions
This is the most important! Some companies think they will get more customers by not tying them into a formal agreement. Maybe they are embarrassed to ask for one or haven’t bothered to take the time to draw up one up. Some design the home page and only once that is agreed do they ask for commitment. Will this get you more completed websites? NO! Will this leave you doing loads of free design work? YES! If a customer is serious about having a site built then they will have no problem with signing an order and paying a deposit. You may have less people instruct you to start work but you will still complete the same number of websites – plus you have much more time to spend on customers who actually want a site.
2) Getting the Homepage signed off
Have the client sign off the homepage – once it has been agreed before designing the rest of the site. If it’s a 10 page site and the client decides they would like to change the menu the problem is multiplied by 10. Changes which are required after sign off then become chargeable.
3) Signing off the design before starting the HTML
Make sure all the pages are signed off by the client before coding commences, including images and content. This means that the programmer has everything he requires. This will reduce the amount of coding resource you require and will save you from the trap that many web designers fall into – spending more time making changes to work that had already been agreed than coding new websites.
4) Go live after sign off and payment
Put the website on a temporary URL once it is coded. This gives the client a chance to view the site and check images, copy and features of the website. At this point ensure contact forms etc work by carrying out a product test. Issue the clients with an invoice for the balance of the site once you receive the sign off. Waiting for payment before putting the site live helps give the client a sense of urgency when settling his bill.
At first it may appear that adding sign off might slow the project completion time down. It in fact the opposite happens; sites will be completed quicker because the client has signed off the site several times and due to the cost involved in make changes after these sign offs will be focused throughout the project – not just at the end when they are asked to pay.
Following these simple steps will protect you from unnecessary work and hopefully help you build a profitable web design business.
Topic:images, profitable web design, programmer, waste time, web design business, web designers