In order to have a good business relationship the first thing you need to do is invest time and effort into it just like any other relationship you have to deal with in your life.  Open communication and being honest with rates and prices is important and will gain your clients’ trust, which will help improve your designer-client relationship.  Work together as a team and try to get the job done by asking what is our purpose or goal of this design? Who is your target audience? How will this design be used?

Before starting, the website designers and clients should create a proposal so they know what they are to expect of one another.  Organize a list of what the designer is supposed to have done and by what time. Another thing to have handy is a layout of what the website will look like and a list of due dates. Making a layout together will relieve your client of stress. Knowing that you are putting forth the effort will put them at ease and you earn their trust. A list of due dates will help keep both of you on some sort of schedule and give you more of an idea of when the site will be completed. As a designer it is important to keep in mind these dates so you don’t upset your client. Compose another list for the client and what they need to have for the designer such as content for each page of the website and pictures.

Constant communication is a key element in keeping a good designer-client relationship.  The designer will create a mockup of the website, and the client will report back with their opinions. The designer will then make the necessary changes and show their client the changes. Be aware that the client knows prices for everything the designer does. The client should always be open to the opinions of the designer because they are the professionals and know what they are doing. If they suggest or oppose something, it’s because it will either hurt the website or won’t help the website in any way. Respect is a two way street. The client will respect the designer if they design a website that will make them money and create traffic to their site. The designer will respect the client if they listen and trust their opinions and trust them to do their job.