Website Workflow - client and designer responsibility

We recently came by a story that prompted us to write this article. That being, where does the line between client and designer responsibility lie in respect of workflow when the workflow is confused with the business model.

The story concerned a freelance web designer who'd written a very nice website for a client and was experiencing difficulty with the client. Months after taking the site live the client was contacting the web designer asking for workflow changes because "your workflow doesn't work properly".

Obvious though that comment may seem, it came about because the freelancer went out of their way to help the client. When the project commenced it was for a new business and the client was 'hazy' about their business model. So, the web designer tried to assist in asking the client how they envisaged the process of selling online would work and gave feedback in respect of what they felt would work well.

The workflow worked perfectly - it simply wasn't a workflow suited to the business model once the client had sat down and thought it. During the web design process the developer had fallen into the trap of getting impatient with the client and trying to help them with the business model in order to define web workflow. It cost them dearly and could have cost them so much more.

Ultimately, the commercial model of a company, be it offline or online, is not the concern of any third party and to get involved beyond the point of implementing what the client asks for is dangerous at least and has the potential for a court case at worst.

The moment you begin to advise on the business model is the moment you need to get a client to give you written confirmation that they believe it is the right way to go - and that email shouldn't be along the lines of "well if you think that'll be best for the business, then I'll go with that".

Nearly all web design companies have been in a position, at some stage, when it becomes clear that a client doesn't really know how they envisage an online model working.

So, where does the buck stop?

The client responsibility

The client should know the workflow they wish to adopt offline. They should then be advised how that workflow might migrate to the internet by the web design company or freelance web designer.

During that process we work on basis of Stop Words. That is, a system that everyone in the company knows and understands when the client asks questions of a particular type or containing certain words.

It's difficult to work to a pure science in web design when part of every web design company's brief is to advise their client on what will and won't work online - but the Stop Words allow you to know when you're advising on a business model rather than an online workflow.

Identifying the signs

We work on basis of Stop Alarms but it's a system open to interpretation on a client by client basis. That is, words or phrases that indicate you are being asked to advise on general business strategy, be it online or offline. Ultimately, you have to be the final judge of what constitutes a Stop Alarm and what constitutes a genuinely intended question.

To begin with we ask that a client defines their business model for us. We deem an understanding of their business to be essential to the future success of our relationship with them so we want to understand the business offline.

We then ask them to define, step by step, how they envisage a sale or website visit would evolve.

If they can't come up with a reasonable description of the latter then your first alarm bell sounds. That doesn't meant a 'technical description' - but the basic process of sale, even if they describe it as if it were offline.

In the past we've been asked whether a company should charge for delivery of their products, if people are more likely to buy if they insist they register for an account or allow them to purchase without an account and even which item we think should be promoted in an eCommerce site above the others.

Innocent questions - but every single one of them is business advice that brings dangerous responsibility.

Delivery charging is a business decision, not a web designers decision. You can tell them what their competitors are doing online but the truth of the matter is that you have to tread very carefully.

The account registration question can be answered without advising them on strategy - by telling them of the data they'll benefit from if they insist on account registration. However, what you should avoid is telling them that you think non-registration will be better for them. We've seen numerous cases where this raising client expectation and they later decide they want clients to be pre-registered for various marketing purposes, and they can be justified in coming back to you and saying you told them what to do.

In reality the types of questions posed can be much more detailed and you may often find yourself advising on a business model instead of website workflow without even realising it.

Website design - the clue is in the title

You're designing a website. Workflow comes into it, obviously, but the workflow should be an online derivative and interpretation of an existing model or client provided idea.

Obtaining acknowledgement of responsibility

You can recommend something to a client without necessarily incurring the liability of potential comeback. The easy way to do so is to get their acknowledgement of final decisions being theirs and theirs alone.

It doesn't have to be an unfriendly or incredibly obstructive process, but if it isn't done you can be assured that at some point in your career or company history it'll come back and bite you if you don't do it.

A simple e-mail to confirm a conversation and asking the client to confirm they want to proceed on the grounds given if sufficient. However, be aware of a client responding with remarks such as "if you think it's the best way to go then I'll go along with it" - because that's not the type of statement that will dig you out of the mud if the situation turns sour.

Final thoughts

Responsibility for workflow, where the actual business model is concerned, remains a decision for the client to make, based on your recommendation through conversation, consultation and an understanding of the prerequisites they give you.

If a client doesn't have a workflow in mind, or hasn't given it thought - proceed with extreme caution.