Unhappy with my web designer

Published On - May 19, 2023

yawhuat News

Have you been very unhappy with your web designer? Are you feeling that your “Idea and plan” was not fully translated? What went wrong? There are a few reasons why this actually happens. Let me break down to you why communication between a web designer and you fell apart, and how would you avoid this problem. To understand how this problem actually occurs, we need to fully understand the whole situation. I will divide this into 4 sections both for clients and web designers.

Clients 

  • Communication
    • Communication is one of the most important factors when you plan to build a website. Very often the clients do not reveal everything and just provide a gist of their plan. When comes to software, it is really hard to quote clients when the plan and idea are not properly relayed.  Clients must always give FULL and COMPLETE detail because it affects the cost of the projects. Why do clients just provide the gist of their plan?  They hope that the cost will be cheaper since revealing less means less work which will directly result in smaller project costs, they assume web designers know it all or they do not want to disclose their business secrets. Sadly, when this happens, the overall development cost will be much higher and this will cause huge dissatisfaction among the clients. Always remember, a web designer will fulfil the quote which they have provided to you. If you have last-minute changes/ ad hoc changes, they will still bill you for the extra work. It might be even more expensive since a lot might need to be undone to accommodate your ad-hoc request.
  • Expectation
    • Clients must understand that there are two types of web development. Template Design and Ground UP Design. If you want a website that cost RM  2k – RM 5K, it will fall under the category of template design. Ground-up design typically costs between RM 7k – RM 30k.  The template design has limited flexibility. Do not expect to request for template design then hope that it will be a fully Ground up design. If you need a fully customised design, please tell the web developer. Be prepared to pay more because it is surely  be more expensive compared to template design
  • Budget
    • The client should always set up a budget for the website. You don’t have to reveal the budget but at least you must know the range of your web budget. One of the easiest ways is to tell your web developer that you may need all these functions, what is your expectations from your website and lastly ask him to give you an estimated price. Do not forget to ask the web developer, if he is quoting me based on template design or ground-up design.
  • Fickle mindedness
    • The real issue is when clients can’t decide what they want.  To avoid this, clients should sit down and spelt everything during the discussion.
      • Theme colour
      • Font size
      • Font Color
      • Images and their arrangement
      • Layout
      • The flow of the website
      • Design of the buttons
      • Design of the headers and footer
      • etc
    • Be prepared to pay for these services even before the website is created. At least you get what you want.

Web Designer

  • Technical Skills
    • One of the problems with web designers would be their technical skills. There are many template web designers in Malaysia. They don’t design but they just use plug-and-play to create a website. They are still called web designers but they have limited skills when comes to designing and going deep into technical issues.
  • Budget
    • If you lack in technical background whether in graphics development or coding, you may want to charge lower. Do not overcharge clients as this will lead them to think that you are building a website from the ground up. So what is the range? If the website is just plugged in and played with the themes provided, you can charge ranging from RM 1.5k to RM 6k.  Ground-up design can be estimated between RM 7k to RM 100k
  • Communication
    • Try to understand what the customer wants. Evaluate customers and find out what they want and determine whether it is feasible in your project. Communication will tell you what the project is all about. Do not force yourself to take on a project that is beyond your ability. Do not assume what customers want. Ask them and make sure it is well-written and documented. It is good to refer back and justify with clients when there is a dispute
  • Being honest and sticking to your project scope
    • Always charged based on the scope of your job. It should be the same for all your clients to avoid confusion. You do not need to overcharge or undercharge your services. Always tell your clients that you charged them based on the workload and the amount of time. Do not charge clients based on the technology they use. If you are unable to complete a certain task which is in the proposal, do tell them or hired a 3rd party to deal with your clients.  If you are a good programmer, it does not mean you can be good at video editing. You can outsource it to 3rd party. Please informed your clients that you intend to outsource it since that is not part of your skill set. Being honest will help you to complete the web project easily