I just read something that struck me as both funny and poignant. It was an article about website budgets that pointed out how every project begins with what the author described as a "subtle psychological game of 'you go first'" between the agency (us) and the potential client. The point of the article was that the creative agency or web design firm should be bold and ask. Fundamentally, I agree and here's why. To begin with, regardless of the business owner's budget, there will almost always be a solution that will at least satisfy some of his organization's goals. So, for Reno web design projects with smaller budgets, we always do our best to guide the client toward options that have the best possible chance of early success.
Sometimes, outlining the scope of a project ties our people up for days. To be accurate, we develop what we call use case diagrams outlining every possible interaction between the various potential users of the final website. Additionally, considerable effort goes into higher level strategic planning long before we present a proposal. If we have a sense of the planned budget going in, we are able to concentrate our energy on strategies and tactics that have a realistic chance of being implemented. It's easy to understand why a potential client might prefer to play it close to the vest. There are agencies that would propose a project at, say, $5,000, but if they know the budget is twice that, the proposal will be presented accordingly. It's an opportunistic form of bidding that is both unethical and unproductive. In our firm, if we know the budget is X-dollars, we bid the project based on realistic expectations of hours regardless. If there's anything left, we'll make recommendations about how the client can gain additional value with the same budget, or simply leave it out of the proposal. But, in either case, we never jack up the price just because there's money available.
Obviously, no one wants to be charged more than what the web design or development project should really cost. But, not having some idea of budget at the onset makes it very difficult to propose the right solutions. Also, there are times when a budget is simply too small for the proposed project scope. Proposals cost a lot to produce. There's almost always a significant amount of discovery that must take place prior to putting together the quote. So, if we're going to invest several hours putting together an accurate proposal, we need to know that there's a reasonable chance that the project will move forward.
In an ideal world, the client and creative agency share the same goals. In other words, both sides should be working to achieve the same result, which, by the way, must be to reach the objectives set forth by the client, not those of the agency. After all, we don't get hired to send invoices. Our Reno web design and internet marketing team gets hired to accomplish something the client cannot accomplish internally. In my view, it all boils down to this. If you are the client, try to at least give some kind of range regarding website budgets for a given project. That will help the web designer and engineering or marketing team outline the best possible tactics for meeting your goals. If you are the agency, be honest and quote what things really cost. That way, we maintain trust as an industry and everyone involved wins.
Unless you're in the business of designing websites, or your business is primarily e-commerce in nature, chances are you hate dealing with your website altogether. You're not alone, and there are plenty of good reasons. However, lots of business websites are bringing value to the businesses they to support, minus the frustrations. First, let's take a look at what those frustration points are then examine ways of avoiding them.
One of the key premises all business success is built upon is clear access to accurate information. With the web, however, everything seems shrouded in mystery. Endless technical barriers and other considerations act as barriers to keep the site owner from making clear decisions.
Some designers even use industry lingo and vague references as a smokescreen keep the business owner from engaging too directly. It's a dependency thing. If the web designer can keep the website owner convinced that any meaningful input should be left to "experts," the result is a measure of job security for the designer.
For you, the business owner insists that everything your web designer does can be justified in business terms that make sense. Our approach is to put in writing everything we do, and explain it in normal speaking language. We go further by empowering our clients to take control of their own websites, blogs, etc. We even provide a "nerd to human" decoder ring! Well, okay, I made that up, but we do make sure our website owners have the tools necessary to ensure their own success online.
This one's tough, even for us. Certain things take longer than expected. It's just one of the struggles, we as web developers must deal with. However, when you, the business website owner builds a strategy with the expectation that something will be finished on a certain date, that date is vitally important.
In our firm, we do two things. First, we track every minute spent on every task performed by every member of every project. As a result, we know how long things take. On top of that, we're so confident in our ability to estimate, that we offer our clients a no-risk guarantee. In other words, if we miss a deadline, you don't pay. So, when we say it'll be ready on Friday, you can be sure you'll have it on Friday, whatever "it" is.
The internet is a technical world, and only getting more so. It's just reality. As technologies evolve, business demands on how to best put the web to work evolve too. We love it. We love the challenges. We love the newness, and we love the idea that we're breaking through boundaries with each new project. But, when you're busy running a company, technical challenges can be very frustrating.
Our solution is to be as full service as our clients need. Often this means that we do it all. We are a team of strategists, analysts, engineers and artists. It is our job to keep you from having to deal with technical issues that take you away from running your business.
Perhaps the worst thing business owners have to put up with regarding their business websites, are snotty, condescending web designers. You know you just want to punch the little twerp, but you can't because next thing you know, your website will be promoting some unmentionable and it's only then that you learn he's holding your domain name for ransom.
While we confess a certain level of nerd-dom, we send the snotty geeks to seek employment elsewhere. The truth is, we don't like them either.
