When the client isn't right...

[Gibble]

I have a friend working for company planesrus, anyhow, they cater to the successful businessman. Anyhow, he started doing their website and showed me.

It's craptacular, he knows it, I know it.

I had a designer do a mock up. The "hierarchy" where he works doesn't like it. They like his.

Now, his looks like a bad frontpage template from '91. The professional one, is minimalistic, clean, and presents a successful corporate image.

How do you explain to the powers that be, that they are doing themselves a huge disservice in sticking with a poor design.

It's not the cost (I'm doing it very very cheap)

I remember reading somewhere a document for convincing the client about how a bad site hurts them...

...any advice, links, anything?!?

[Shadowkiller]

The only advice I can give is try sending them to [webpagesthatsuck.com...] and have them read it so they can learn what bad Webdesign is.

[excell]

Get your friend to "fess up" and explain why the mock up he did will not be successful.

[txbakers]

beauty is in the eye of the beholder. there is so much cra* out there that you and I believe is cra*, but some people actually like it.

listen to the radio lately?

[sullen]

(I'm doing it very very cheap)

..I think that may be your problem.

[rocknbil]

Well . . .sometimes people just get something in their head and there's not a whole lot you can do about it:

"I know what I like and that's not it."

You can get out all your notes on what is good and bad about a website, you can drag them by their ear through every list of Bad Things to Do and show them how their site does them all, but sometimes people have their own vision of the world and there's nothing that will change it.

Except money. Money is the one thing that will change someone's mind. If you can equate your changes to making them more money, that will work.

[createErrorMsg]

Are you sure you WANT to design a site for someone who is already so convinced that they don't like your design ideas?

Imagine for a moment that you get a meeting and go in and pitch a "10 Reasons Why This Site Sucks" presentation, and based on a few solid, money points the powers cave and say, "Fine. You do it." Exactly how pleasant is that working relationship likely to be? How much cooperation is that client going to give you? Imagine how many hours of nitpicking tweaks and design adjustments you'll be in for.

IMO, if the client isn't excited about doing business with you, isn't at least a little bit jazzed about your approach, it's probably best not to do business with them.

cEM