photo credit: The Rocketeer
Talking to a potential client this week and assessing the two different Web design projects he wanted to do, I suggested first working on a nice, basic redesign of his main business site. That site was in desperate need of a design (it doesn’t currently have a design to re-design!), and as I told him, his business site was “shovel ready” for a Web designer to start work, while his other projects would require me to wait for him to write some content and collect assets.
In terms of any economic stimulus package here in the States, we’ve heard a lot about the federal government looking to fund “shovel ready” projects, so what the hell was I trying to say to my client about his site being shovel ready for a new Web design?
While his current site is a mess in terms of design and usability, I can also recognize that the site has a bunch of great content—text and some images—that just needs to be shaped with a nice Web design. I wouldn’t have to wait for him to write any content; it’s all there!
That’s shovel ready for a Web designer: all the content is waiting, just agree on the list of deliver-ables, and the project is good to go. I’ve found many potential clients aren’t ready for a designer to step in because they don’t have their content together, and some even think me writing the content is part of the package. Give me a shovel ready Web site any day!