News Flash: Web sites are a lot of work! This came from a new client of ours who’s Web sites just about to launch:
Although it has taken more work on my end than expected, I could not be happier with the final result. I am very happy I went with flyte!
OK, a little self-serving, I admit. (In our defense, it was unsolicited.)
It does bring up an important point, however: how do we truly
explain the amount of work that’s involved on the client’s end when
developing a Web site? How can we manage the expectations of people who
have never developed a Web site before, or who have never worked with
us? (We tend to be tough on our clients to improve their copy to make
their Web sites more effective.)
I followed up with this client on that very subject. His response [my emphases and paragraph breaks]:
I have done websites before, but each time I am amazed at how time consuming the writing and organization is – although I believe I’m probably a little more detail-focused than most of your clients.
I
think it would be helpful to try and quantify how many hours the
average site takes to write, edit, and prepare from the client’s end. Perhaps some type of formula like 3-4 hours per page, and then how many weeks the average client spends completing their part.As
a corollary, when we begin couples therapy with new clients we provide
a handout indicating how long the therapy is likely to last, and how
much time we expect clients to actively work on their relationship in
the interim. This seems to limit hard feelings when people don’t feel
markedly better after only three visits!
Good advice. What do you do, if you’re in a service industry that requires client participation, to prepare your clients?
Rich Brooks
Web Site Developer
