How To Avoid Tussle Between Webmaster And Client

Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 1:00 AM | 1 Comment

There are times when the client is not satisfied with the services that the webmaster has provided. The reverse can also be true. In this industry, there is always that ever-present tussle between the two sides. We must try, as webmaster and as client, to minimize misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

Following are some of the steps both sides can take to minimize or eliminate the problems before they even occur:

Client didn’t do homework

• The client must do their homework regarding whom to choose as webmaster. There are so many good ones, so many excellent ones. On the same token, the client can be sucked in a black hole and their money down the drain. As a client, you must do research, select at least five, read reviews on each one. Ask them for credentials.

• Talk to their customers who are satisfied with their work and who are not so satisfied. Get a good understanding of what you are getting into.

Webmaster didn’t do homework

• Remember, the client is a customer and some say customers always come first. I say within some definite reasons.

• Go over the project with the Project Manager and see if you have missed anything as far as meeting the deadlines and all.

• The quickest solution to a problem might not be the best solution.

It’s all verbal

• The webmaster is sometimes in a hurry to get the project, to get some revenue. Either side does not bother to write it down, create a functional and design specification. The project ought to be treated like any other project. All specifications have to be signed off both by the client as well as by the webmaster.

Webmaster didn’t get it

• The webmaster needs to know what the client wants before the work begins. He or she must resist the client to come in halfway through the design and desire radical changes, and then client balks receiving bill for extra hours and/or the deadline has to be changed.

• When the functional specification is all written down, the client must go over it with the webmaster, discuss it with others in the industry before signing it off. The repercussion could be a misunderstanding on the part of the webmaster and consequently an incomplete project or somewhat off of the original requirements by the client, missing deadline or worse client losing revenue by running incomplete and somewhat bogus website.

Client didn’t get it

• After the project is finished and the client, for example for some reason is not satisfied, the client might say “That was not our intention.” That is not enough on the part of either side. Explicit specifications, item by item, must be in writing and signed off by both parties.

Moving target

• If it is a huge project, the webmaster and the client can sit down and divide the project into phases. For each phase, there should be explicit target date to finish. Once the functional specification is signed off, and the project divided into phases, the client must not include extra items in the design and implementation.

• Anything extra can wait for the next phase after the project is completely done or at least at a point that both sides can agree on. It is very difficult to hit a moving target let alone the bull’s eye.

Job well done

• The webmaster must realize when the client is satisfied. That will turn into good references which in turn can attract more projects and subsequently more revenue for the webmaster.

In a Nutshell
If both sides follow the above points, I think the end result can be satisfying for both the webmaster as well as the client. What could be better than that?

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