Hi there,

I’m your potential client. I’m in your target demographic. I’m what they call a “quality of life” customer. That means that I’m not afraid to pay a little bit more for something as long as I feel that it enriches my life in some way.

I spend a lot of time on the internet. I’m a pretty savvy and very cynical customer. I’m more likely to Google you to see if you can back up your claim than I am to ask you. I’d rather contact you by email than talk to you over the phone. So, let's talk small business to small business.

Here are 5 ways you lose me:

1. Hello, My name is Unimpressed.
Are you serious?

When you meet someone on the street, do you automatically start up a sales spiel which includes talking about yourself in 3rd person? How about telling me you’re a “team”, when you’re a sole proprietor?

Of the projects that I've worked on recently (and in the past), I'm amazed at how much people are willing to spend on "superficial" design, but forget about the little they spend on "functional" design. The two aren't mutually exclusive, but rarely do people get both.

Generally, when I'm called in, I'm called in for ideas. This is a big part of our job. Clients bounce ideas off of us, "Would this be possible?,"Why would we do it this way?","Take a look at this and tell me what you think?","How can I increase sign ups?" One of the really great things about working with companies who place a value on this sort of thing is that they like science anytime it gives them results, and they actually want to hear about the science.

So, when I was asked my opinion on an auction project (in October 2007), I was very surprised that while over 40% of the site was forms, there had been no importance placed on actually designing forms for accessibility or ease of use. The same thing happened on an auction project I looked over in December! I'm getting excited now, because it was obvious that these companies put a lot of money into the sites.

Face it, things don't always go as planned. Things break, puzzle pieces get lost, people you taught to play chess so that you could beat them end up beating you. When things go wrong it isn't what you say that counts, its what you do.

If you're a potential client and you need to build an intensive site that requires e-commerce, classifieds, community interaction or a clone site, be prepared for it to take more than 2 weeks to finish. Smoothly run projects require time and planning. Even if we have code repositories from previous sites we've created, it will still take time to customize them to your needs. Planning and understanding of how the project will work from the beginning takes time, but in the long run it will actually save you money.

Scenario: Client says that they want to create a presence online to rival a well-established site and they need it built within 3 weeks (from scratch), and "any experienced development firm can handle this."

Your developer was awake, but only so that he could post ads like this to qualified individuals:

"Need to know how to build Drupal site. Willing to pay $250.
On a tight deadline. This is very easy should not be a problem."

He needs to know how to make the website he promised you he knew how to make. In this Freelance Switch article about the 13 Breeds of Freelancers,there's a great comment by Dan Lockton about the ‘Say-yes-then-figure-out- how-to-do-it’ freelancer. On the list of freelance don'ts, this one ranks pretty high. Here's a great article on what you should look for when hiring a Drupal developer.

"It's not about the website. It's about your business."

One of the reasons that the RFP (request for proposal) method is so inadequate is because unless the team you're working with has researched your company and understands your goals outside of, "I want it to look like this," you're not choosing the most qualified. You're choosing the most affordable. Though, to quote the great Red Adair, "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur."

On many of the bids I see placed on freelance sites, the most affordable and the most qualified are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. This is another reason, I think we find seriously great designers forgoing these sites and meeting clients the more traditional way. I think most of the established companies with show stopping design, even if they were quoting low, would never be chosen for these jobs. Why? Because there's a level of mediocrity that exists on these sites that makes even an average design site look out of place.

Our favorite shopping cart:

When this is a company's description for their product:

Magento is a new professional open-source eCommerce solution offering unprecedented flexibility and control. With Magento, never feel trapped in your eCommerce solution again.

It had better work well and be beautiful. Magento succeeds at both. Magento is simplicity. Whether in the hands of a novice or an expert, great things can be accomplished. It's also got a near perfect stylish, "out of the box" template, that we've rarely seen with other shopping carts open-source or not.

As if the look weren't enough, they won me over with the single page checkout, also known as the money page. It's using Script.aculo.us/Prototype and validation scripts to make sure your users are typing in valid information.

Our favorite program:

Here's an excellent article about the types of design and the way that people use the word design, from professional usability consultant Frank Spillers. People can learn excellent lessons from this article. Often what clients are asking for when they ask for design is "graphic design," or "make this look pretty." Everyone should recognize that other forms of design are just as important as the graphics. They create an entire atmosphere, that if done correctly guides users through an experience.

Which leads me to my next point:

The web is littered with personal and company websites that have "neat" graphics. However, that doesn't always translate into success.

"Why not? They sure look successful!"

Looking successful and being successful are two different things. I can point you to four websites of companies who are the leaders of their industry and they have terrible websites.

Why?

There are no secrets for good or adequate writing on the web. However, there are definitely tips that can improve your writing. One of the problems that people get into on the web is trying to make their product/organization/service "sound" professional. That attitude often yields awkward sentences like this one:

We facilitate discussions on issues of import to us all including impending legislation on our common values.