The key to a successful website project is effective communication. How is communication with your web development team different from the other people? It’s not that different, but it can be frustrating if communication fails. Good communication will save time and money while yielding the best results.
Share Your Expectations, Vision, And Ideas From The Start
The start of the process is when you are speaking with your salesperson. They will be able to know what type of product will best meet your needs if you clearly express what those are upfront. This helps your developer avoid errors in scoping, as well.
Clearly state your budget, your timeline, and your expectations. Sometimes clients don’t know how long a project can take. This needs to be discussed upfront so that we can meet your expectations. We should discuss this at the beginning of your project so you can make decisions based on that. For example, you might decide to pay a rush fee, have your site developed in stages, or go with another company. While we hope you will stay with us, Our priority is a successful outcome for your project; however, that happens.
Have One Point Person
The next step after sales and scoping is the kickoff meeting. This is where you will meet the primary team working on your project. Your salesperson will be there, a content writer (if you buy content or content consulting), the head of development, and your project manager.
You will also want to bring anyone who will be necessary to this project. Often it is a CEO, their administrative assistant, and other decision-makers in the company. It is normal to have several people involved in the project, but there should be only one point person through whom all information is filtered.
The simplest thing is to choose a point person and make your decisions internally. Then have the point person relay the communication. Keep in mind that multiple people can always come to meetings so that they can hear information and offer insights firsthand.
Give Us Your Content Feedback On Schedule
The number one reason projects go off their timeline is because clients fail to return content feedback on time. The content phase of your project is like a relay race. Your content document is the baton being passed from client to content writer, back to the client, and so forth until it is in its final form and ready to be sent to design and development. If the content moves faster, the project moves ahead on its timeline more quickly. If the client doesn’t pass the baton to the content writer, everything stops, and the entire project is now delayed.
It is important to put all feedback into one document, even if multiple people comment. So we create our content documents in Google Docs. Multiple people can view and comment on the same document. Once all feedback has been given, let your content writer know the document is ready for the next draft.
Trust Your Web Development Team
We are all trained in SEO and have the experience to know what will serve your site visitors the best. Our content-first approach means your pages will each have a unique purpose. Our designers know how to make the content beautiful with the right images, graphics, fonts, and web-based tools.
If you see something in the design that you don’t like, describe the specific problem and trust us with the solution. Rather than saying, “This is too dark,” “Make this bright,” or, “Make it pop!” Tell us precisely what you are concerned about. “I want our logo to stand out more in the header.”
We Are Here For You
Communication is a two-way street. That’s why we at, Iceberg Web Design, prioritize customer service. We are web developers who answer the phone! Contact us today.
