john_k - 2:17 pm on Jun 18, 2004 (gmt 0)

Provide them with one or two sentence descriptions of why those are bad ideas. (sounds like you may have done this part)

Explain that it will be painful for you. It is like asking a builder to make a house with bad angles in every corner, one outlet per room, reversed plumbing, lead paint, and asbestos tiles.

Unfortunately, there are no official website building codes. And it's their money. If they want to ignore wisdom, either walk away from it, or have them sign off that they want to proceed against your advice. Make it clear that you expect new customer aquisition AND search engine rankings to plumet, and that you cannot be liable for this or other bad consequences.

As for myself, I would tell them that it would be an act of negligence if I helped them implement these types of changes.