How To Organize Your Web Design Projects.
By Dvora Cohen
Apr 4, 2014
Web design is a tough market and a lucrative one. Indeed, being a sought-after web designer means you will have a steady flow of orders and thus much money. As in any industry, only the strongest can survive. Being a successful web designer is not just about being a nice, talented guy. It’s about being a good businessman and manager. Here are some important tips for beginners.
Ask If It Is Necessary To Sign An NDA.
The Non-Disclosure Agreement is important. You can’t even imagine how important it is and how many problems you can avoid by signing it. Such an initiative from your side will demonstrate your professionalism. A client will actually see that you respect someone else’s intellectual property. This is a good step to start negotiations and partnerships.
You Need Specs.
In order to avoid endless disputes and email threads you need to get a detailed technical specification and mockups. Remember to discuss deadlines. Any claims from a client that were not on the specs are groundless.
Make sure you understand all of the requirements since you may spend much time building something that your client does not need at all. It’ll be rather difficult to state the opposite. Discuss every little detail.
Proposal.
This is a very important stage. You need to charge for your services. It is not just about the price. It is about explaining the structure of your pricing model. What are your core services? What are additional services? Is there something you do for free (for instance if a user orders an online store you offer a free shopping cart). Be reasonable and bear in mind that there are hundreds of guys and studios just like you ready to snatch this order.
Design And QA.
Now that you have detailed specification for the website, you are all set to go. Do your job. Be creative, but do not deviate from specs. You are the one who decides which technologies to use. Do not risk experimenting with technologies you are not competent with, especially if it is an important commercial project with clear deadlines.
The QA stage consists of two stages: your QA and client-side QA. You may not have discovered any bugs but your client will, and vice versa. Moreover, client side QA is sometimes even more important. It may happen that some bugs are expected and can be regarded as normal behavior. Be the first to demonstrate the site, and don’t forget to compare results to specification.
Site Documentation.
Write up docs describing how you have built things. This will help your client master the admin panel and understand how to customize site elements and control content.
You may also use special software to help you organize your web projects. Some professional web design suites already have inbuilt Dashboards to help you manage all your current projects.
Following these tips can boost your game to the next level of professionalism. That lets you play in the big leagues, get more work, and hopefully rake in the income.
Brought to you by Webydo.
Craft Your Design Without Code.
Blog Menu
