Introduction

Who is a perfect client like and how does this person behave? Why striving to be one? It will lead you and your project for the better outcome. Web development isn’t a one-way street. It’s a process of constant interaction between you as a client and a programmer as an executive.

In this article, I’ll describe typical problems which can appear during a web development process, tell you about the inner kitchen of a web agency and how we, at ADCI Solutions, establish work with our clients.

Questions that clients usually ask

You know, there are some kind of top questions which we are asked from time to time:

• Why do you need so much time?
• Why can't this task be done right now?
• Why should I spend my time and explain my wishes/details of a project?
• Why is this feature so expensive?
• Why don’t you behave proactively?

All these questions are connected with the aspects which I would like to tell about: specification (spec) compilation, the speed of development, sticking to a plan, proper communication, trusting your team, respecting the workflow and paying on time.

Writing a spec - detailed description of a project

You will be a perfect client if you write the spec.

The specification or a brief is a document where you describe your future product, what goals your product has and what problems it can solve. Also, you may write how some features can be made or share some references: websites or web designs that you like or which are similar to your image.

One more point for the spec is frequency of meetings: write down how often you want to discuss your project and get some reports and tell which features need to be checked.  

The speed of web development

Do you recall the question “why this task can’t be done right away”? Let’s speak about it.

Sometimes a development speed doesn’t depend only on a web developer. There can be a third party who checks all tasks, say, a project manager. In this case, the developer has to wait for an approval. Another typical situation is a lack of project funding. Here's the bad guy called Wait comes again.

That’s why it’s necessary to have a project plan where we meticulously describe the timeline and how the resources will be spent. Thus, the client will have the crucial features and functionality done on time.

RELATED: Web development methodologies

Sticking to a project plan

Unexpectedly, life may happen and you change your decision and want something different. It is not a problem! A web agency is interested in creating what you really need.

To reduce the likelihood of the time and cost increase, never miss the discovery stage: it’s a research of your situation, goals discussion, road mapping, and timeline creation.

Proper communication and empathy

What else do perfect clients do? They plan meetings with web developers in advance and prescribe their frequency in a spec.

It will help you to stay informed about a project status, check all work that was already done and discuss new ideas with your team.

Any people’s relationship is built on empathy. The simplest tricks will do the work: a friendly attitude, respect, and the thought that you have a mutual goal to accomplish.

Trusting your team - they are professionals

Perfect clients trust their web team. They realize that professionals know how to build a website, do it faster and maintain a high quality. Creating an exceptional customer experience is one of the main goals of any web team.

Of course, the client calls the shots but listening to the team, respecting their opinions, considering and discussing suggestions are essential for the effective collaboration.

Respecting the workflow

Team members can ask you to follow up on a project in different tasks management applications such as Jira or Basecamp. They do it for your convenience: you will be always informed about tasks that are processed now.

Paying on time

A lot of agencies work on deposit basis terms: a part of the full price is paid upfront. Once a deposit is paid, an agency plans the project work and allocates necessary resources.

The agency should always keep developers busy to make sure a company survives and succeeds. Thus, the project payments should be regular and on time. Needless to say, that we’re always ready to meet a client half-way and plan the payments the way it’s convenient.

Conclusion

It’s only seven simple rules but they can lead you to perfect client experience: a spec, a web development speed, a project plan, communication, trust, the specifics of working methods, and on-time payments. Hope it will help you to build a great collaborative work with a web development team.