Re: FLASH: OT: client changing site design at will

[Gareth Bramley]

Roger wrote:

> I've seen numerous posts over the years about contracts with clients,

> ours is pretty down pat, but we have been encountering some problems

> recently where clients change HTML content whenever, and everytime have

> compromised in someway the integrity of the design. We feel embarrassed

> about the broken links, dodgy HTML etc and remove our credit to it and

> stop pointing to the site as one of our own.

> 

> How can we tastefully say to a client "You can do basic editing of text

> but leave the design alone". Even if we suggested that for a period of

> time, they left the design alone...


Hi there,


There are basically three contract types that we can have clients sign here.

Design, maintenance, and hosting. Of course there are shades of grey, but not

many actually. If all they want is for us to design a site for them, we do

that and just drop it in their lap once the bill is paid. They can do with it

as they will. If they want us to design and maintain the site, we do that and

they keep they're hands off it. One variation on this is when there's a

section of the site that we build specifically for them to be able to make

updates on. But we control that very carefully with combinations of databases,

cgi, and locked design templates. Otherwise it's a hands-off policy. 


You're in a tough spot here. Mainly because you're trying to change policy

after the fact. It's much easier to deal with when the client knows up front

what you will and won't do for them. If fixing all their mistakes has to be

part of the bargain, then all I can say is that client better be paying you by

the hour for every bit of that. Otherwise you're gonna lose your shirt.


Good luck,

G

-- 

---==[   http://www.emagination.com/    ]==---

---==[ http://Avant-Gareth-Studios.com/ ]==---


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