As designers and developers we know what works for a website and what doesn’t. It’s sometimes very hard to convince a stubborn client of this and sometimes it feels like you’re fighting for every pixel.
We’ve had clients who wanted a blank page on one of their tabs…yes, seriously! We’ve had clients who wanted an exact copy of a competitor’s site, clients who wanted a logo the size of Ben Hur!
When you don’t agree with your client how do you convince them you’re right? How do you help your client choose the right path? How do you prevent your client from derailing their own project?
Whilst it all seems like common sense to a designer, your client may never have given a second’s thought about how a user reads website content vs how a user reads a paper document. They may never have even heard of information architecture, user experience, visual hierarchy etc. etc. So when you get stuck with a stubborn client, talk about their objectives. Explain to them what users are expecting. Explain how poor design will impact the user experience. Be firm and and assert your expertise. Show them, don’t tell them. If necessary do a mock-up of their design and showcase it against your design. Explain the principles behind your design, how it will better impact the user experience. You’ll be respected for speaking up, for showing you’re not just a ‘yes’ person, that the design principles matter because in the end the user matters. Communication is key!
Most of the time we’ve been successful in convincing our clients that great website design is best left to us but there have been occasions where we’ve had to let things slide and when that happens you can lesson the impact by being clever with the design decisions you make around it.