Web Develoment Customers are a Part of the Job
Web development customers can make your life interesting. One of the most difficult tasks of a Web designer is to determine what the customer wants, including the colors, layout, and design of the page. The customer often has a very clear vision of what the page should look like, but they are not a Web designer, so it is very hard for them to articulate this desire. When the Web developer gives them some sample pages to look at, they compare it to their vision and the page comes up short. I have learned to expect the phrase "no, that's not exactly what I'm looking for" when I first show a Web design or series of designs to a customer.
Most customers hire a Web developer because they don't have the knowledge, time, or inclination to develop the Web page themselves. This makes sense, but this also means that they don't know what is and is not possible on the Web. They may come to you asking for a page designed in an exact CMYK (print colors) hue that doesn't display very well on most Web browsers. Or they may want you to create a huge database driven site on a free Web server like GeoCities. It is up to your job as the professional Web developer to educate them as the to possibilities of the Web and explain the limitations.
Then there are the customers who do do some Web development themselves, and know exactly what they want. Perhaps you work for a company as a Web developer, and someone in Marketing wants you to create a Web page for them. It often is your job to balance the needs of your customer to have a vibrant page, with the needs of the company to have a consistent Web page. For example, at Netcom, the company colors were red and purple. But there was one marketing customer who hated the color red. Whenever we created a page for her using the corporate colors she hated it. She would then design it herself using greens and yellows - and ask us to put it up. They were nice pages, but not in the Netcom style guide and this would cause friction.
Web Developers Must Be Professional
It is crucial that regardless of the provocation, you as the professional Web developer must stay calm. Remember that in most situations, you have more Web design experience than your customers, that's why they are hiring you.
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