Griffin Studios is still a relatively new company and as such, our target market has been within the local area in which Griffin Studios is based. Often this can be restricting, preventing a web designer’s portfolio from increasing ; however, it can have its benefits. Below, the issue of distance between a web designer and their client will be addressed, with the possible pros and cons that arise from a long distance relationship with a client.
Benefits of Being Local
There are benefits to targeting a local area for web design. Having clients in close proximity to yourself or company allows for face-to-face meetings with the client. This can aid the design process exponentially. Contact with the client in terms of their needs and wants can be expressed easier. The obtaining of content and other website-related materials can also be achieved at a speedy rate, and for those clients which tend to take their time getting the content to you, they can be prodded and poked until they provide it.
However, unless you reside in a large city, your client base will be limited, and should there be competition, this can further result in less clients. With all the benefits that come from having your clients close to you, once the river of clients has dried up, there is no choice left but to expand. This can be quite a daunting activity as the previous “control” over your clients no longer exists. There is hope on the horizon however.
Managing Remote Clients
This is the technological age, and as such, there are tools available to us which help us connect and share with others on the opposite end of the Earth. Here, just a few available (free) tools and applications will be mentioned which can assist a web designer communicate effectively with a long distance client.
Communication
Firstly, the lack of face-to-face meetings: tools such as GTalk or MSN allow us to communicate with clients anywhere, however, the availability of video conferencing within these applications (Skype being one of the more popular for video chat) are invaluable in terms of designer-client communication. In our experience, being situated in South Africa is a detriment as the networking speeds and bandwidth available are limited; however, with the end of the global recession, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are clambering to take advantage of this with Uncapped ADSL being offered by one and all. The future is looking bright indeed.
Collaboration
Where applications such as Skype etc. are unavailable, other forms of collaboration are available. There are a multitude of website applications which make it possible to keep clients informed as to progress, as well as easily receiving client comments and ideas. Website such as Basecamp (http://basecamphq.com/), Huddle (http://www.huddle.net) and Teamness (http://www.teamness.com/) offer free registration and use of their services, with certain restrictions obviously.
Sharing of Information
There are a multitude of websites available which allow users to upload large files for free. Premium membership increases the maximum file upload limit and allows users to download the files at increased speeds. These can be perfect for distributing web page content such as images and text. Using websites like RapidShare (http://www.rapidshare.com) or MegaUpload (http://www.megaupload.com/) however can be restricting (especially with large content bundles for graphic intensive website) or inconvenient due to the fact that without an account, most often one has to wait for a predetermined amount of time before actually getting to download the information. There is a wonderful application called DropBox (http://www.dropbox.com/) which allows people to easily drag-and-drop files from their desktop into a “Folder”. The content dropped into this folder will then be accessible to you at home. DropBox does offer a free version and again, should you appreciate the application, there are “Pro” version available for purchase.
Conclusion
Dealing with clients may seem scary at first, yet with all the technology, applications and websites out there to help us, there is no reason why one cannot take the plunge into international waters. I hope the information provided here has been useful to some degree, and that all future expansion occurs with little to no hiccups.
Tags: Client, Communication, Design, Designer, Development, Website