Before I became a web developer/designer, I encountered a lot of people who disliked having to interact with their “website guy”. When it came time to changing up their business’ website there was always a dejected air about the whole project. “Ugh, I can’t ever get ahold of my website person.” Or, “It’s not a big change, I just want to add this to the website. Why does it have to be so difficult?” Or, even more frequently, “My website person is just a friend of a friend of a friend doing this on the side so he’s always too busy to help me out.”
All of these random snippets of conversation that I would hear between business owners led me to believe that web developers, web designers, “website guys/girls/people” were just notoriously bad at communicating and business management. Where were they all the time that they couldn’t respond to an email? Why were they managing someone’s website if it wasn’t their full-time job? Or, if a change that their client requested was such a big undertaking, why couldn’t they just explain it to their client so they were both on the same page about the time frame?
Well, since I’ve become one of those “website people” myself I’ll tell you… The dialog surrounding people and business owners interacting with their “website guys” hasn’t changed, sadly. Just the other day I was speaking with someone about my business and they were lamenting their dealings with a variety of “website people” and how every interaction left a lot to be desired. I wanted to shout, “I can change your mind, I promise!!”
I’ll be honest with you – communication issues freak me out. And by “freak me out” I mean if I am not communicating frequently, truthfully and properly with my client I’ll start getting really nervous about the situation. This is one of the big things that I think (and hope) sets me apart from the rest of the “website people” in the world – good, honest communication is my number one ABSOLUTE. MUST. HAVE. in any and all situations.
My business is about YOU which is why I’m always communicating with YOU. The websites that I build and the branding that I create is about you and your vision, your business, your life and the only way I’m going to figure out the things you like and what you ultimately want is by communicating.
Yes, I’ll tell you when I think things should be done a certain way or if your ideas won’t translate well into website design or logo design – after all, you did come to me for a reason. But, I won’t be chatty Cathy (pun not intended, I prefer Catherine or Cat 🙂 ) at the beginning and then go dark until you receive an email one night with a link to your website that makes disturbing use of Comic Sans and flashing color effects. Not gonna happen, mmkay?
So, if you asked me what sets me apart from other web and graphic designers, I’d tell you that I like to communicate. I like to make sure we’re always on the same page, you can always get in touch with me and I’ll always be honest with you.
See you back here tomorrow!
–Catherine