Average processes of a Web Designer/Developer

Be careful on sharing along the way. Ask a lot of questions upfront. Present the solution instead if the steps. You could pour your heart into something and they could want a totally different direction.

hslpicker.com and kuler.adobe.com are great for color choices. I've found success in directing customers towards adobes kuler site. Let them pick the scheme. That way they are involved under your control.

Deadlines: I generally dislike giving super-specific deadlines. I like to give myself some breathing room like "I'll get it to you later this week" instead of giving a specific date. The only time I'd give a specific date is if its so far out of when I'd get it done that I know I'll have enough time.

Doing contract work is entirely about expectations. The client has certain expectations, and part of your job as a freelancer is to manage them well. Missing a deadline simply because you gave them an arbitrary date really sucks. Especially since you can entirely avoid it.

Pay/timeline: I like getting paid 35% of the project up front as a non-refundable deposit. This covers my preliminary costs/time/effort and also makes sure the client is serious about the project. If the project is long (beyond a month). I'll schedule another payment of 35% at some point in the contract. Instead of setting milestones ahead of time, I usually just aim to have something important to the project in a demo-able state. That will reassure the client.

In short, be careful of being too specific unless you have to. If the client has a super specific deadline (e.g. Memorial Day), don't be afraid to ask why. Understanding the clients motivations/expectations will only help you as a freelancer.

Hey Anika,

As a proud member of The Skool I can honestly say that the information they provide is priceless!.

There's also a great read I would recommend that talks about the process. James Barnett was the one to introduce it to me, its called - A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web

From start to finish, how does the creative process of a web designer/developer look > like? I want to keep this as professional as possible and learn as much as possible.

It really depends on the designer/developer, the client, the project...

Ideally break it down into chunks to make it managable, get feedback and sign-off from the client.

You could start by creating initial blueprint/framework/wireframe of the pages, and get them to approve/sign-off then you've got a structure without the client getting picky about colours and font-choices.

Next create your design, insert various steps here (lol im no designer), get approval and sign-off for that.

Next start your build; ensuring you already know what they are doing with regards to domain/hosting and make sure you have the details for this.

Get payment before it goes live ideally! I can't always get this myself, but it is better than waiting 30 days or whatever your agreement is.

What deadlines should I give and when? Considering I'm getting paid in installments, > the more benchmarks I give the better.

Again totally depends... but do try and agree in writing (email) rather than verbally, when you'll deliver each chunk, and when they should have feedback/approval for you. No good you keeping to set dates if they can't adhere to them also ;-)

Lastly, good luck! It takes some trying before you get your own process and structure nailed :-)

Hi Anika

I've re-tagged this as Project Management as I feel that's the essence of your question.

There's an amazing firm called The Good. I believe they've really figured this out. They share great insights here: http://thegood.com/insights/category/process/

Best, Ryan

Thank you for the color scheme choices, Matthew McLennan! Ive decided to take your tip on sending the color scheme site to the client so that she can pick for me.

Also I will keep in mind the expectations part and will try and keep my deadlines general. Of course if she gets antsy, I will pin it on a specific date. I will also explain to her that a website is one of those things you keep improving. I told her that we will focus on the splash & home page for now and then expand.

Thank you all for your links and your help! If there is anything else I should know I will gladly take your advice. I will look into that book as well. Best, Anika Edrei

Caroline Murphy I must disagree with you.

I think you had left out the main thing that seperates a good designer\developer from a bad one, which is the inception phase.

If you are building a website just for the purpose of building a website, without knowing the actual needs of your client, who the users are and if they actually need a website really, then they could probably do with someone from India that will charge about 4$ an hour as you are not really providing any added value.

You're just putting another document on the web (Perhaps a well decorated one, but still).

That is at least what I want to belive to be true...