Website as Portraiture
In the same way a portrait artist must first get to know his subject, a website developer must learn who his client is—how best to portray their company as a website.
The developer and the client meet and discuss the project, getting to know each other and establishing a foundation of trust and mutual respect—a solid and professional working relationship. The most important thing a developer does at this point is listen to the client; they will tell you who they are and what they can do.
The most important thing a client does at this stage is quantify just what their company does:
- Who are they?
- What’s their message and/or their mission statement?
- Is there a corporate philosophy?
- What are they trying to sell?
- Who are their customers?
- What are those customer’s expectations?
- How can we meet those expectations?
The Development Process
The development process is exactly that: an on-going process, never really “finished” so much as released into the wild.
It often takes time, during which both parties are:
- Looking at other websites, especially the competition
- Determining the site's target audience
- Establishing the tone, look and feel of the site
- Sampling or creating graphic or graphical elements
- Producing prototypes of possible designs
- Creating the actual content—art and/or copy
- Gathering input from other sources to achieve the best balance of content and design.
Creating an effective website requires a serious commitment of time and resources from the developer and the client. While the developer must create and assemble a functional website, the client is responsible for generating the content. Established companies generally have archives full of content that may be easily adapted—in some cases, copied word-for-word—for use on a website.
All content must be in digital form—text in a simple Notepad or Microsoft Word document and graphics in either the .jpg or .gif formats. Please note, we do not proofread your copy; any spelling, grammatical or factual errors are the responsibility of the client.
While we have the capability of creating certain graphical elements for you, it is not our primary business and will be reflected in the final invoice.
The Website Developer’s Job
It is the website developer’s job to:
- Recognize which technologies and designs complement client content
- Educate the client in effective content creation—highlighting their message and their corporate image
- Create a comfortable working environment for the client
- Ensure the website design reinforces company’s image—it does not define it.
- Cheer clients on—as their web developer, you’re part of their team
Now, Forget Everything We Just Said
It’s true what they say: Rules were meant to be broken. We are prepared to go against the conventional wisdom about website design if we think it makes sense for their company.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
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