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Home › Forums › Other › When a client decides to change everything… last minute.

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  • January 2, 2011 at 10:50 am #31131
    Jerm993
    Member

    I was about to go live with a site I’m working on for a client, aside from adding some content and a few compatibility things. Then she now decided that she didn’t like the font, and she want’s these other things added into the style. What do we do in this situation? Suck it up and change it? Change it but charge her twice? I’m honestly not sure as she’s my first paid client.

    January 2, 2011 at 11:47 am #67826
    Jerm993
    Member

    Yes i created several psd’s, and since i’m using wordpress, i even uploaded the static site that i create before converting it to wordpress. She’s not just talking about font’s she want’s a major redesign basically, adding a Cascade of images on the top of the site when there’s no room in the design the top header being only large enough for the site name/logo, she also want’s it to be centered, middle content much like these two.
    http://www.glitzy-glam.com/store/
    http://www.wwepw.com/

    I guess my question is do i charge her for both designs, She claims she wasn’t sure about what she wanted earlier, now apparently she is.

    January 2, 2011 at 12:14 pm #67843
    Jerm993
    Member

    Thanks for the input, Since i’m just getting started and I live in a small town area I’m charging very cheap competitively also, for the original design i was only charging 150 to me that seems quite low, as it averages out to about 5an hour if i spend about 30hours working on the site. At least it’s not boring work lol

    January 2, 2011 at 12:41 pm #67845
    TT_Mark
    Member

    Do you have a written contract that specifically states the terms of your work? Do you have a signature saying she was happy with the design?

    The above two things are pretty key to design work these days. I’ve learned the hard way and unfortunately, if you lack these things, then there is technically no proof that she was happy with the initial design if she refuses to pay. For some reason, people expect web designers to work for free…

    January 2, 2011 at 2:30 pm #67850
    Jerm993
    Member

    Well at least i learned on my first client, that i know personally, so it shouldn’t be that big of an issue, worst case I’ll get what I’m in for now and tell her to find a wordpress template^^

    January 2, 2011 at 5:08 pm #67698
    TT_Mark
    Member

    At least you didn’t stupidly say you could clone Twitter from scratch in a week for £200… ;-)

    January 2, 2011 at 6:34 pm #67706
    Jerm993
    Member

    haha i don’t do much application type sites, I’ll stick with wordpress anytime that i can.

    January 2, 2011 at 7:55 pm #67716
    Historical Forums User
    Participant

    You definitely need a contract dude. I’m not saying you need a lawyer, but documentation of the work that is planned, and approved of, is key to building trust with clients. Way back when I was in high school and CSS was just beginning to take off, I created a few sites for local businesses without contracts. I never had any major problems (like non-payment), but there were a few situations where I had to include things for free in order to keep them as customers.

    The AIGA has your back. Check out their “Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services.” You’ll need to alter a few parts to make it work for you, but its a solid contract, and its free!

    http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/standard-agreement

    January 2, 2011 at 9:16 pm #67718
    TheDoc
    Member

    I would also remove the link to your client’s site – I’m sure they wouldn’t like to know that you’re talking about them openly in a public forum about a project that hasn’t been completed. You can open yourself up to some minor law suites that way.

    January 2, 2011 at 10:01 pm #67719
    Jerm993
    Member

    I’m actually still in highschool Doc, and she’s a peer of mine at school. But i suppose i should remove it just to be safe.

    January 2, 2011 at 10:06 pm #67827
    TheDoc
    Member

    You’d be amazed at how quickly Google will cache these forums – always good practice to keep the client’s name/site out of it!

    January 2, 2011 at 10:19 pm #67722
    Jerm993
    Member

    Thanks for the heads up, I’ll try to keep that in mind if i need to vent again lol^^

    January 3, 2011 at 10:45 am #67740
    bigsilk
    Participant

    Might I add: I understand you would like to stick with WP, but learn HTML and CSS. As your career progresses, a client may want you to do something more creative, or at least customize an existing WP template quite a bit to fit their taste and address their needs. Without some extensive knowledge of HTML and CSS, you may get passed over for gigs.

    My two cents.

    January 9, 2011 at 2:20 pm #66787
    Jerm993
    Member

    @bigsilk
    I have a pretty good grasp of HTMl and CSS, I’ve been at it for two or three years at least. I’m just now learning everything i can about wordpress.


    @JoshWhite
    yeah, I think the biggest thing i’ve learned is it’s gotta be put down on paper. I have however worked out the issue with her, i think. I gave her some options, and since i see her on a daily basis at school, I don’t think it’s going to be a huge issue getting payment. On the other hand, I didn’t expect her to change her mind either…

    January 12, 2011 at 9:52 am #66283
    creative
    Member

    I write everything in my contracts. Then tell them how many hours may take me. If he wants a complete site re-do, he will have to pay more. 0 negotiations. Once you tell them, they will have to pay a lot more, they may go back to the original design. I have seen that plenty.

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