What do you all think about this?

[Just In Time]

Fellow designers! What do you all think about this?

I have always got into trouble of coding more than designing... For those of you who design websites for a living, have anybody faced problem of over-time delivery?

[edited by: jatar_k at 5:03 pm (utc) on Aug. 16, 2005]
[edit reason] no urls thanks [/edit]

[jatar_k]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld Just_In_Time,

can you describe the problem you are having?

[Just In Time]

Hello Jatar,

I am just curious if anybody have faced this problem of mine before.

I tend to be very good in Web Graphics Design but hardly know programming. Some of my clients expect content management systems. And whenever I deliver a basic CMS, I find out that they actually want something that costs perhaps $20,000!

Have any designers here experienced this before?

[Marketing Guy]

Sounds like more of a client management problem. Did you clarify at the briefing stage what they wanted, what it would cost and how/when it would be delivered?

It's a common situation but easily avoided.

You can't allow clients to make assumptions about anything - you need to clearly lay out what you will be doing, what they need to do, etc.

If it's a matter of them dumping more requirements on you post-quote then re-quote them for the work if applicable. Really down to you if you do or you don't.

[Just In Time]

I guess I took the job because I rarely find customers who want static content. These days content management systems are important. Customers want to be able to change the content themselves. So if I ignore this need, I would lose some of my customers.

Hence I would like to know if anybody out there is facing the same problem. Any designers who are into design and not into coding? And how they dealt with it?

[Alioc]

Just in Time. I suggest you find a programmer to work with and you concentrate on the design. You will work much more efficiently and the final work will be of more quality.

I was also trying to do everything myself and that takes out from your life so much. Then you find yourself being stuck at one point.

Outsource my friend. :)

[MikeBenson]

You should find package software that fits at least 80% of your needs, then outsource to a compitent programmer who knows how to install it. You will need to learn this front and back so you know how to sell it, and as importantly how to constrain a clients imagination. You do not want to get into the business of custom CMSs unless you have someone on staff, and write near flawless proposals in terms of expectations and cost overages.