Forget Flexibility, Design for Now!

6 Responses to “Forget Flexibility, Design for Now!”

1. 

   Brandon Cox | eGrace Creative
   October 8th, 2008 at 10:48 pm

   A very interesting take! I appreciate your willingness to go against the flow and make some very valid points about this issue.

2. 

   purelocke
   October 9th, 2008 at 7:59 am

   This is something that I believe every designer deals with - “fighting” that urge to apply modern techniques in favor of having “flexibility”. You’re take on the issue is definitely interesting, and worthwhile to think about. Some clients are more agreeable and open to design suggestions that require them to produce their content up front, but there are more out there that view web design and development a one-time expenditure and effort, therefore wanting everything prepared for “future” enhancements and content additions.

   By the way, just wanted to let you know that the link to Blue Flavor’s article has a “=” inserted after the “www.”.

3. 

   Matt Z
   October 9th, 2008 at 9:15 am

   Agree totally with point number three. Pages should be designed around the copy, not just boring templates that copy gets thrown into. Makes the entire site seem cookie cutter and dull, rather than dynamic and engaging.

   I can understand having flexibility as a requirement because a client may wish to cut costs. However, having the same stale, outdated site for years could cause such a loss in revenue that no matter how much you save by having a “flexible” site, you are still at a loss.

4. 

   Zinni
   October 9th, 2008 at 10:59 am

   @purelocke

   Thanks for the heads up, I fixed the link. I also agree with your assessment that there are a number of clients out there that think of web design as a one time cost. However eventually they will need to upgrade when something ends up breaking, or the technology is no longer supported. that is just the reality of web design…

   Matt, I am still struggling with explaining to clients why content is important up front. Unfortunately there is a common misconception out there that designers are decorators and content doesn’t play a role in design. When I find clients who have evolved past this way of thinking I make sure to keep them happy, as the work is always better.

5. 

   Jin
   October 9th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

   I can’t remember how many times I had to make sacrifices in design because the client wanted “maintainability.” As in, code in certain way, so later on we’ll just swap a skin for a new look, without touching the underlying code. This sounds great on paper, but doesn’t work for a lot of sites in practice. Certain clients just shouldn’t know about csszengarden….

   And the sad fact is, rarely do clients simply want a skin upgrade. If it’s time for the site to get a facelift, then pretty much everything’s gutted ‘n started over anyways. Just in my experience, YMMV.