It’s Monday again and as usual I’ll be putting my thoughts out there on a specific topic. As you can tell from the title I’m going to attempt to explain why educating your clients is a must after creating their website.

1.                They have false expectations

When you create a website for a client and turn it over to them upon their request they have false expectations. Let me give a simple example. A client often times assumes that changing content or colors is as easy as using a word processor. The reality is that in some cases that is true but in others it is not. As per the previous statement, you as a developer need to teach your client how to make changes assuming the client wanted to be able to change content without your intervention.

2.                As a developer, you know the web better than they do

When you create a website, you as a developer need to be able to back you claims with knowledge and evidence in the sense that you need to be able to explain why a specific UX design technique you use is better than the client’s suggestion of using a flash animation for example.

3.                It breeds better communication between the developer and the client

When you take the time to teach your client you will see that miscommunication will become a thing of the past. Using a video that the user can go back to and watch in case they forget what they need to do to achieve a task is a great example.

4.                The internet is a different medium than print

There are always those clients who want to make their website look like a brochure of their product or service. Being as an expert in the field, it is your responsibility to inform your clients that although the website can be made like a brochure, doing so will often fail to tap the real power of the internet which will ultimately set them up for failure on the web.

5.      Feedback is invited

You as a developer should always welcome feedback to better your service as well as better the clients’ website. Being the professional you are and referring to point number three you should always try and politely convey that you are the expert in the field and since your opinions and design choice are backed both by facts and experience some changes to a design may harm the clients’ business. Explain your reasoning and let the client decide if they really want the change they were thinking of making.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at info@georgenicolaou.me