Does Standardization Come Standard?

Every website design project comes with standard features- the prices for which are included in a proposal. But what about anything beyond the boilerplate items? How does the client know what these features are, or how you price them?

We take on each project with a case-by-case mentality- and explain things to the client as we go. The majority of the time, this process works well; it gives us lots of opportunities to communicate with the client, and it gives the client opportunities to trust us.

If you’re like us, you’re always looking for a way to make things better. We’re striving to work more often with clients who are generally informed about our process (and industry). We want to provide better customer service, so we’ve decided to shake things up a bit.

Okay, not shake. Stir… Slightly improve?

We’ve decided to take a marginally different approach. We’re making the standard features of a website we build available in document form. The information is in a format the client can refer back to at any point in the project for clarification. We took a lot of time to explain industry terminology, lay out exactly what the client can expect to come standard, and which features they can upgrade their site with.

It’s not an attempt to eliminate communication with our clients- of course, we’re always happy to answer questions or just chat- but it’s an attempt to help our clients learn a little more about the process. We’re all working toward the same goal, and the easier we can get there, the better- right?

Do you have a document like this? If so, why? If not, why not?