A brand new client asked me for a website redesign this week. My mind is immediately flooded with ideas about the hip, new banner, restructuring the content and navigation bar, freshening the color palette, cutting the text way back, etc. Simple enough, right? Wrong.
In the middle of drafting a proposal, the client emails to ask whether she will be able to update and add pages herself after the site launches.
Me: I'm not sure. Let me go ask my Super Smart Web Tech (SSWT).
SSWT: Yes. She can revise the site. It depends on how well she knows html.
Client: I don't know html, but "I have a guy" who can code in .net. Can you work with that?
Me: Um…let me check.
SSWT: I use PHP. I don't know .net.
Me: (sigh)
Client: Can we use "CheepieServer.com" to manage our new site instead? That's what we've used in the past.
Me: Great! I'm 99 percent sure we can work with that. Let me run in by SSWT.
SSWT: CheepieServer.comhasn't been updated in nearly three full years. It is a major security risk.I would never recommend anyone build a website on antiquated, unsupported software.
Me: (Forward emailfrom SSWTto client, apply sad face emoticon)
Client: (No reply)
Me: I'll have my tech guy call your tech guy.
Have you ever reached a dead end in your conversations with a customer or boss about a publishing project? Suddenly you realize that 1) you're not getting all the information you need to satisfy their needs or perform your best, and 2) you've been lagging in the professional training you need to keep pace with technology and you're not sure of the best way to proceed.
I have designed many websites (with the help of my SSWT) for many satisfied clients, but this one has been a challenging, albeit learning, experience. A detailed RFP from the client would have been hugely helpful, and me being more tech-savvy to ask the right questions would have saved us both a lot of time. Today I have resolved to learn more aboutweb programming so I can speak more intelligently about the technical side of website design. I even enrolled in some online courses.
I won't ever abandon my passion for designing print media for computer code speak—I have SSWT for that—but knowledge is power. Now if I can just get the client to...
Lynn Riley is a graphic designer and head of Lynn Riley Design, Inc. She is also a member of the Association Media & Publishing Content Creation Committee.
