How Web Designers Can Protect Themselves

For many web designers, no matter how much they enjoy their jobs, the unrealistic expectations and demands from clients can be a real strain, both mentally and financially. In order to protect yourself from a mental breakdown or complete bankruptcy, it is important that you do not allow your clients to take advantage of you. Use these tips to ensure that you are well protected against this:

Contracts
Whenever a web designer signs up a new client, they should draw up a contract that clearly outlines what they expect of the client and what the client can expect of them. These are the areas that a contract should specifically cover:

• Deliverables: outline what the web designer will be giving to the client at the end of the project (do they get all of the website files or not).

• Contributions: outline what you expect of your clients (such as replying to emails in a timely fashion; you may want to outline what a timely fashion is) and what your clients can expect of you (such as finishing the project on the deadline).

• Revisions: this is important for many web designers because clients frequently want revisions free-of-charge. You may want to outline how many minor revisions can be done for free (as well as what a minor revision is) and what will cost more.

• Payment: outline how much you want to get paid for the work (on a project or hourly basis), whether you want a deposit or not and when payments are required.

• Cancellations: outline what happens in case the client decides to cancel during the project. Is the deposit non-refundable? Can they cancel within 30 days free of charge?

Just say no
Whilst web designers want to stay busy and make money, there are times when it is okay to say no to a project. These are the reasons that you might be reluctant to say yes:

• Tiny budget: web designers should have a clear idea of how low is too low for them to bother with accepting a project.

• Outside skill set: don’t take on work that you do not have the skill set to complete. If you cannot use Flash, don’t promise a client that you’ll create a Flash intro by their deadline – it’s bound to end in disaster.

• Full plate: if a web designer already has more work than they can deal with, they shouldn’t take on any more. Just explain that you are swamped at the moment, but you will have more time in a month or so.

By having a clearly defined contract that is signed by both clients and web designers and saying no when it is appropriate, you can ensure that your work is consistently completed to the highest standards possible, that you don’t have a mental breakdown and that you stay afloat financially.