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- CommentAuthorelectricmouse
- CommentTimeJun 24th 2008
Hi,
I'm rather new at working with clients, and I'm just starting one project where the client has sent me her the text for her web page. She has had someone help her sort it out a bit into sections and subsections, and that's great, but when I look at it I still think it needs a lot of work. There is a lot of 'endless text,' and she has written two pages of "about me" stuff which is a short life story. I also want to say that some of the writing style is a bit "infomercial," which would scare me off if I was a customer, and I don't think it suites her line of work (professional counselor).
So, how do you say these sorts of things to a client, and do you normally do a lot of editing? Do they let you do the editing?
Thanks -
I find it all depends on the client -- some are very stubborn and insist on doing it their way, others are very open and grateful for feedback. You could just try asking "Would you be open to some suggestions on your text?" and see what the response is.
Personally I don't have any qualms about splitting up long paragraphs for on-screen reading (most people who are used to writing for print make their paragraphs far too long for a website) but I don't exert editorial control over their text unless I have specific permission for it.
Positioning yourself as an expert in your client's mind is important if you want to edit their content. If you give them some really good general advice about what is effective for website text, and they can see that you are going to work in their best interests, they are much more likely to allow you to do some editing.
Ultimately, no matter how much you may want to make the site great, you do have to keep in mind that it's their website and you sometimes have to let go and let them make their own mistakes. Hopefully that will just lead to repeat business when they discover that they might not be getting the results that they wanted.
Hope that helps! -
- CommentAuthorelectricmouse
- CommentTimeJun 26th 2008
Thank you,
That helps a lot. I guess it's basically just common sense. It's not worth doing the work if they're going to be uptight about it."You could just try asking "Would you be open to some suggestions on your text?" and see what the response is."
That is what I ended up saying, and so far she has responded well, because her old website was a flop. -
look your role is to help guide them in making there site, thats your expertise, so if you think it wont work have a meeting with them and discuss it together and give them advice, thats part of why they want you to make their site, not just to code it, but to help them to make the site work its best for them.
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