I’ve often wondered why it is that people don’t understand the axiom, “You get what you pay for.”  People who don’t understand a process universally seem drawn to the lowest price.  In the case of a known quantity, such as a car purchase, it makes sense.  If you’re in the market for an iPod, you don’t necessarily need to know how an iPod works to buy one.  You can rest assured that the one you buy is almost exactly like the others of the same model.

What about an unknown quantity?  What if you house needs painted, or you want to have that iPod we talked about repaired?  Now we come to an issue.  You can go with the place that offers the lowest price, and you may get lucky.  Odds are, however, that you will get what you paid for.  About 60% of my clients are what I like to call re-treads.  What does that mean exactly?  It simply means that they went the cheap route and decided it was too expensive.  Write this down.

Price is only an issue in the absence of value.

I don’t know who originally said it, but I’d love to meet him.  Did you write it down?  Well, go back and do it.  I’ll wait…

Future design re-tread

I recently had a conversation with a future client who fell victim to this all-to-common issue.  She went with a guy who talked the talk, but when challenged played the non-disclosure card.  He kept telling her that he couldn’t show her examples of artistic work and SEO results because of competition issues.  This is absolute hooey, but sounds good when you’re on the receiving end.  She has recently decided that the bargain route was too expensive.

Many potential web design clients have the “instant gratification” mentality.  They think that arriving at a good design is a trivial matter that can be accomplished in an afternoon.  This is FAR from the case.  Being able to work Photoshop makes a person a designer the same way knowing which end of a screwdriver to turn makes one a mechanic.  I can do some amazing things with Photoshop and Illustrator, but many of them make for bad design.  The difference between a designer and a hack is knowing the difference.

What happens in nearly every re-tread case is, they eat up most of their budget on the bad design and have to pick and choose features for the re-design.  Here’s a quick list of things to help you avoid this problem.

1. Do your homework: Look at the designer’s portfolio.  If there is no portfolio, don’t hire that designer.  If the portfolio looks like it contains a bunch of work from the late 90’s, don’t hire.  If you don’t like what you see in the portfolio, don’t hire.  Ask for references.  No references…  Well, you get the point.
2. Expect good communication: If you don’t get a return call or e-mail within a reasonable time, assume this will be the norm.  If you value communication, hold out for a good communicator.  Some techies have bad people skills.  This should be pretty easy to spot.
3. Sign a contract: Would you let a builder start construction on a house without one?  So why wouldn’t you do the same for a HUGE part of your business?  If you don’t sign a contract, you’re dealing with an amateur (on both sides).
4. If you see a design menu with prices, run: Pre published price lists may seem like a good idea, but you get the same results as walking into a tattoo studio and picking a tattoo off the wall.  It isn’t yours, and it isn’t unique to your business.
5. Ask questions, expect honest answers: No one knows how to do everything.  If you find a designer who can’t do everything you want, odds are he can sub-contract the parts he’s not good at.  It shouldn’t matter to you, but disclosure should.  Find out what your designer’s strengths and weaknesses are.  We all have them.  If we didn’t, you wouldn’t need a designer.  Remember, if the answers you get sound like BS, they probably are.
6. Know the difference between Design and Development: Designers typically do the visual part.  Developers typically make the site do things.  Don’t hire one to do the other.  Again, ask for the one you really need.
7. Don’t hire a relative: Ever…  Even if it’s free…  Enough said.
8. Tables are dead: No modern designer worth his salt uses tables.  If your designer doesn’t use CSS for layout, you’ll need to redesign very soon anyway.
9. Expect to pay for services rendered: Asking a designer to “whip something up” and let you take a look so you can decide is like asking a restaurant to make you a meal and let you pay for it if you like it.  What would you expect the waiter to tell you if you asked a question like that?
10. Don’t make hasty decisions: The statement, “Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine” should be taken to heart.  Think things through and realize that there is time to do it right.  If there isn’t, you’ll invariably have to do it again.

You don’t have to hire me, but please, hire someone competent.  I have a list…  If you don’t understand the above, ask me.  There’s a handy little “comment” block at the bottom of this page.  Use it.  Is there something else you want to know?  Ask.  There’s also a contact form you can use if you don’t want anyone to see what you’re saying.  Feel free to go that route.

I love the question so many people ask when I tell them what I do.  “So, how much do you charge for a website?”  The question is almost universal, so there must be something to it.  It’s as if everyone is familiar with the concept of tattoo flash on the wall of a parlor.  They pick the piece they want and the tattoo artist gives it to them.  Sadly, web design is not that way.

I believe the problem lies in the tendency for people to want something but not know what it is they want.  When it comes to designing anything, a car, a purse, a building, a website, etc. there needs to be a set of requirements.  Usually, the last one on the list is styling.  When designing a logo or a user interface there is a set of requirements, just like anything else.

Failing to plan is like Homer

Have you ever seen the episode of the Simpsons where Homer’s brother Herb asks him to design a car that’s perfect for families?  Homer jumps in with no plan and Herb is ruined.  Herb defined his audience, the family man with annoying kids, but failed to account for Homer’s stupidity.  I love Homer…

The plan is the important part of the design process.  Everything else grows from the plan.  You wouldn’t build a house then have an architect blueprint it for you, would you?  The same should be true of your website.  If you have a designer give you a price before the project is defined (or your designer has a menu to choose from) odds are they aren’t a real designer.

Gone are the days of assuming the Internet is a passing fad.  No website is as bad for business as no business card or telephone number.  Even if all you want to do is a simple about us page with some contact information, it’s vital that you get this done.  That being the case, I can direct you to some folks who will do it on the cheap (I might even do it if I have the time).  If you want to take full advantage of all the web has to offer, however, you’ll need to develop a strategy and talk to someone who can help you develop it.

Any competent designer is going to ask you questions.  It is vital to the process that you answer those questions as completely as possible.  Some of them may seem strange or irrelevant, but answer them anyway.  I like to ask clients what they’d want their website to do if they could have it do anything in the world.  You’d be surprised by the answers I get (no, not that…).  The reason I ask is, it cuts through the client’s preconceived notions and helps me understand what they’re really after.  I also like to know what they’d like to get from their web presence in the short, medium and long term.

Every question you answer gets a good designer or developer closer to realizing your vision.  Every question you don’t answer is a hole that could result in disappointment for both of you.  I seem to get clients that run the gamut states of preparedness.  It’s my job to get them “completely ready” before starting work.  It’s better for both of us if I do that rapidly.

From your feedback, we build a plan, and from the plan comes a proof.  From the proof comes a finished product.  Everybody is happy if everything is defined.  If nothing is defined, the project is likely to fail.  If you cover as many bases as possible at the outset, you cut the chances of failure by an order of magnitude.

Plan first, then build.  It’s common sense that should apply to everything, including a website.

I recently accepted a design job for a friend. The designer she had hired previously not only decided he didn’t want to do the work any more, he also didn’t have a clue what he was doing. This put her (and me) in an awkward position to say the least. She didn’t own her domain, she didn’t have any actual contact with the designer (e-mail only, and only when he wanted to answer), and worst of all, she didn’t have a contract. She had gotten it in her mind to have a website built, and charged in without a care. Her “designer” charged her a fairly low price, but gave her exactly what she paid for.

Don’t be this guy

Unfortunately, there is no governing body for licensing or certifying designers. There is no specific set of courses one must complete or set of books one must read to make a business out of design. As a result, the first time someone figures out how easy it is to make a site with a WYSIWYG editor (like Frontpage or some other equally evil monstrosity), they hang out the shingle as a “designer” and wait for the business to pour in. The problem with this approach is that most of those who go this route don’t know the difference between a designer and a developer (yes, there is a difference).

You get the high school kids (or worse yet, middle school) who’s parents or grandparents think they’re just a “computer genius” and can “even make websites.” You get the folks that have figured out how to use “templates” but know absolutely nothing about design (like our hero from a couple paragraphs up). Actual designers are usually the last people contacted for web design services because there are so many of the above.

So, how can you tell what you’re getting?

Well, did you sign anything before the work started? If not, you are working with an amateur (or a family member who’s a glutton for punishment). A contract is extremely important, not only for the designer, but the client as well. In the case cited above, there was no contract. The hack in question held my client’s domain for ransom (and some of those negotiating calls were quite fun). He refused to relinquish control of certain aspects of the site and additionally refused to accept the payment he demanded. All told, it took three months to finally be rid of him.

The contract gives both parties a clear idea of what work is to be done, on what schedule, at what cost, as well as who owns the finished product. Without those kinds of protection my client was relegated to playing games with a manipulative control freak. He could bill her whatever fee he wished, and if she refused to pay it he’d simply shut her site down.

I could beat this horse more if you wish, but it’s dead. Get a contract…

Where’s the portfolio? Have you seen examples of this designer’s work? What designers do is all about aesthetics, appeal and usability. If there are no examples thereof, how can you be sure they even know how to pronounce aesthetics? In the case of my client from above, her designer had no website. There was no mention of him anywhere on the Internet (except for one real-estate website, but that was as a realtor).

The idea here is simple. If you were to commission a painting of your grandmother, would you pick some random person on the basis of a recommendation from someone who was in grade school art with him? I didn’t think so.

How responsive is your designer? Serious designers will return phone calls and e-mails within 24 hours. There will always be periods of incommunicado, be it family matters or vacations. The fact remains, no communication is bad (on both fronts). As a designer, I’ve had clients who pay to have work done then drop out of the process. It’s frustrating to me, so I can imagine what clients must feel when they pay a designer up-front money only to have the designer disappear for a few weeks.

How much is he charging? As a designer, one of the most frustrating notions clients have is the one that goes like this. A prospective client calls and asks how much a website design costs. When I ask what they want, the only answer they have is “a website.” As a client, you must understand that this is exactly the same as calling a car dealership and asking for a car, and asking how much. The dealer will ask what kind of car, with what kind of features and in what color. If you don’t have any answers for him, he won’t have any for you.

If you ask “how much” and your designer has an answer, you should look elsewhere. Firstly, you’re going to get cookie cutter crap, and secondly you are going to be gouged later for “updates.”

I hope this helps you, the prospective client, understand what can go wrong with web design. If you chose to hire me, wonderful. If not, I can recommend some great companies and designers. Just don’t hire the ones mentioned above.

–theAkkadian