11 Tips For Working With Your Web Developer
Put your decisions, corrections or changes in writing - or an email - and then speak to your developer in person or on the phone to be sure that your writing communicated what you really mean. Ask if your decisions will have side effects on other decisions. If you give your developer a change, be sure the developer knows whether you mean that change to be immediate priority or to be added to the task list.
Proof your site. Remember that you are very acquainted with your information, but your developer isn't. There are many types of errors that your developer won't catch. Also, in the process of creating a visual design, it is very easy to miss textual errors and typos. Even in print orders, clients are usually asked to proof the work. If the error is one where the developer had the correct information, the developer should make the change without charging for it. If the information the developer had was wrong to start with, you should be happy to pay for the changes.
Respect your developer's time. Unless you hire a web developer or web master as an employee, don't expect the developer to be at your immediate beck and call. More than likely, the developer has other clients work to do and other commitments. It is not uncommon for a developer to already have two weeks of work lined up when you call with a change you need. Ask a prospective developer how much time they estimate will be available for your site. Ask your developer to keep in contact with you if their situation changes. If you have a timing change, talk to your designer to see whether your job time can be moved up, but it's not the designer's responsibility to push other clients aside for your job. If you say there is no rush - your developer will assume you mean it!
Understand the tasks and skills needed to create a website. A website is a complicated piece of software that includes visual design, file management, search engine optimization, copywriting, photography, coding, database management, and programming. There may be some of these skills that your web developer doesn't have, and you may need to coordinate with other contractors.
Understand that there are website infrastructure tasks. There is a great deal of "back-end" work in developing a web site. If your work doesn't seem to be going anywhere, your developer may be working on the basic file structure, templates, a database, CSS files, or other pieces your site needs to work. If your developer doesn't seem to be doing anything, ask to see the files in progress and ask how they fit into your website. Understanding these pieces will be very helpful to you later on, as your site needs to be maintained.
Pay up! Some developers charge by the job and some developers charge by the hour. In either case, remember that your developer has already incurred the time expense to do your work. Don't expect your developer to continue working on your site if you wait more than a month to pay your bill unless you have made previous arrangements.
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