| Excellent question, Kyle. My company works mainly with small businesses, usually startups whose owners have very little, or no Internet/technical understanding, yet many of them still feel they have the expertise to make the best decisions about web site design and usability.
The issues are usually small: they want splash screens, flash animations, different colors on every page, etc... I'll typically tell them although those things were very popular a few years ago, they are now outdated trends. Those methods have been proven to annoy users, reduce company credibility, and compel users to leave.
We refuse to argue with our clients, so we'll only plead our case 2 or 3 times before honoring their request. If they insist on implementing something that we disagree with, we once more explain the potential risks then do it their way.
Our contract says: Client assumes all responsibility and liability for any and all (i) data provided by Client to Creative Flavor; and/or (ii) deviance by Client from the recommendations made by Creative Flavor.
With the client assuming responsibility for their decisions, they can't blame us for any problems down the road that are directly caused by their decision. If we forsee major usability problems, perhaps in a checkout process for an e-commerce web site, we may request the client sign an additional waiver explaining that they have chosen to go against our specific recommendations despite potential serious consequences and that we are not liable.
I'm interested in what others have to say about this!
Janna Polzin
Creative Flavor
Private Reply to Janna Polzin (new win) |
