Respecting an artist's work and representing it appropriately on a web site has much more to do with communication skills than it has to do with technical skills. Most web designers can create a nifty looking site. Few can create a site with the functionality and design which meets the needs of the client and stays within their budget. My practice is to be straight-forward. If a client tells me they want advanced functionality, I'll let the client know if those functions are too 'luxurious' for the current budget. Unfortunately many web designers will over-engineer a site to drive up the cost with little regard for the client's needs. This is where communication becomes critical.
How it works... |
I work with clients to understand their goals for their web site. We discuss favorite sites - likes and dislikes. We move beyond just the Internet and talk about their goals for their art and their art business. We can often find web solutions which help to mitigate nagging challenges.
Communication can take many forms. Very few of my clients, even those that are local, want face-to-face meetings. The reason? They have figured out face-to-face meetings are much more expense. Web designers charge for their time in 15 minute increments in most cases and face-to-face meetings usually take longer. When looking at pricing for a flat fee web designer, often a tiny print clause will state the price only includes an hour of consultation and additional time is billed at a high rate per quarter hour. Remember, even travel time gets included in the billable minutes!
My past career required me to work with large numbers of people scattered over several states. I have run many highly successfully marketing campaigns and I have received numerous awards for my work including international awards. My success is totally dependant on my client's successes. Here is an outline of the typical web site design cycle.
- Clients review 'homework' before our first meeting
- look over several web sites - note likes and dislikes
- read the contract and note any questions
- First meeting
- go through the contract -note the protections for both clients and myself, pricing and billing are also discussed
- discuss the layout, navigation and design style preferences
- outline the client's site structure
- list images, content and other materials needed to build the site
- sign contract - move forward!
- First set of drafts
- three potential rough draft designs posted for review
- meeting to discuss the options - make final decisions for colors, designs, navigation and layout
- Building begins
- core of the site is built -draft content and placeholder images are used if final materials have not been received from the client
- navigation and style coding is largely complete during this round
- second drafts are posted and a meeting is held to discuss
- Final edits
- the edits are incorporated into the site
- testing for proper functioning
- completed site is re-posted for final review
- Site goes live!
- site is uploaded to client's web host
- final invoice is sent
- final payment received -CD is sent with all of the original design files and a final project plan. It gives complete critical design information enabling future marketing materials to be consistent. It also helps to build a 'brand identity' for the client. Having the original design files can save the client thousands of dollars in the future on artwork creation charges.
This entire process can take two weeks or less. The greatest amount of time is spent waiting on clients to provide edits or materials needed to create the site. Several of the basic sites I have created have been done for under $1,000. My normal rate is about 50% the typical rate for web design. Call or email me and we can discuss your specific situation and discuss the potential.
Donna Silvey