It is often frustrating to deal with web development clients who don’t know everything about the web. Recently, I explained to a client that her new site would “not be stuck in a frame of a certain width” but would “expand to fit the size of the window”. In other words, my partner toiled day in and day out to create a lovely elastic layout, so imagine my chagrin when the client replies with, “It looks great, but can you make it 800 pixels?”
I hit the reply button and typed, “No.” Then it hit me: she’s not a web developer. She does not sit around all day reading Sitepoint and A List Apart. If she did, she would not pay me. So instead of writing an annoyed “I thought I explained this,” I realized that if she was asking, I had not explained it well enough.
Then I did some research and put key fixed vs. elastic layout arguments into a memo. Hopefully she will be positive about my arguments. And if she still disagrees, the memo was nevertheless worth the ten minutes of effort, and will score many brownie points. First of all, she will understand that the site was developed a certain way for a good reason, and not due to incompetence. Second, she will be pleased by my extra effort to provide information, making her more eager to hire me next time. And third, she will hopefully be a client for a long time, and by giving her brief lessons here and there, I minimize confusion, and by minimizing confusion, I minimize the amount of work that I have to be redo in future projects.
And besides, don’t we all hate doctors and car mechanics that act like jerks because we don’t understand their work?
2 Comments
.. and fourth she will not read your memo and still ask for a “800 pixel layout”.
Amen brother.