Hi to all fellow designers.
Just finished a project which had endless change requests by a client who had zero design concept or aesthetic skills. A modern, clean and user friendly web design concept I built was brought back to almost the same design that was there before I started through client’s instructions. (After a few trying of suggesting new designs I switched gears to strictly taking instructions so the project would not turn into a months long saga.)
After all extra efforts and fast turn arounds with updates, the site was finished with all revision requests, satisfying everything outlined in the agreement.
Not comes as a surprise that the client came back saying “I will not be going on with this project”. Non-sense right? I know…Basically an excuse to not pay the remaining balance.
I know wix can not do much regarding correcting ill-business or clients with no ethics since the agreements are between us and the client. However, I find it extremely important for us designers to have some sort of protection mechanism. Some sort of Black List for clients of this sort so there is at least a consequence for their action. Meanwhile, by being able to check the client records on this list we could avoid getting into the same situation as the previous designer the client worked with. In addition, if wix clients made aware that they can be reported to the wix partner community, it may possibly force the client to make good with their agreement and pay their due balance.
If we are going to get reviewed and rated we should be able to rate the client as well so the wix community is protected.
I hope wix reads this posting and looks into a solution.
Thanks.
For you, as a business owner, it’s important for you to protect yourself and have contracts in place. Most partners will not release the site until the final payment is received, and even then sometimes they get charge backs.
There are countless discussions about this in the community - so I hope you can find some that really help you. Maybe some other partners can weigh in.
You are absolutely right. I made a rookie mistake this time. Usually, I wait till I make the transfer. After weeks of communication I felt that I could trust the client. I guess, never be too sure… Luckily I had access to the client’s account and reversed the ownership of the site.
My point is not solving my problem thou. It’s more so wix creating a platform for reporting clients so we have a chance to see client’s record if there is one.
Similar situations has happened with me. Client add me as a contributor to work on a custom Corvid solution. I worked and almost finished the task. And then the direction of the project changes and some argument happens and the client directly removes me from their editor. .
I lost 1 month of custom coding done on that site. It is not possible to take code backup of the site each hour or chase the client siting in a different country. I was worried not about the money I lost, I was worried about the effort and countless lines of custom code that I lost. Wix also don’t sent a notification when someone removes us from the contributor list.
I also know designers from this group with same experience writing emails back and forth chasing clients to get design back.
My suggestion would be :
Clients should not be able to remove a contributor just like that. When a client want to remove a already added contributor, wix should sent us an email and we should atleast get 1-2 days to copy our code or design. Wix can prevent us from publishing or saving further on the site.But should allow us to access the editor for 1- 2 days to copy our code or design work.
This is a great suggestion! But again, another wix partner or coder might end up getting hired with the same risk. There has to be a forum to report clients.
Have been through similar situations many times. And man… it sucked. I have a simple moto now on how to deal with clients in general.
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Provide them with limited rounds of revisions. I have curated design packages offering different number of revisions, 2 or 3 at max and unlimited revisions to some elite packages. I also mention about overages if additional revisions required.
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I make sure to provide them with enough time to review the site - mainly the desktop version, because i will have finished a significant portion of the site which will obviously take time to review.
(Earlier i used to let them review page by page which turned out to be quite a disaster, when they insisted on revisiting a page which was previously revised and done.)
- Stop working on the site during the time you have shared the site and waiting for review. Only resume work once you receive the full feedback. For me, this ensures that i have not overextended with my time and resource
4.After giving them 2 or 3 rounds of revisions, they can choose to either approve or request for additional paid revisions. If they choose to discontinue for some unexpected reasons, they will not get the refund of the upfront payment they made initially. (All these points related to “termination before deadline and extra paid revisions” are made clear while signing the agreement.)
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In the most expected scenario; when they approve the design after the revisions, only and only then, I proceed to site optimisation for mobile and search engine.
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Lastly, only connect the custom domain and give back end access (or transfer site ownership) once everything is approved and the final invoice is cleared.
Ps- I feel fortunate to be blessed with clients who are cool in every aspect, but there are a few exceptions of one or two d heads. And we are bound to come across these fews who really don’t value the design concepts we bring to the table, instead are more inclined towards their own ideas of design. (Why hire a designer if they think their design ideas are better?) It’s upto us how we want to handle such anomalies in our careers.
With this, i leave you with a fantastic read worth your time: “Why you should be viewing your time as a Resource”
Thank you for all these very helpful tips. I’ll definitely start practicing the reviews regulations you suggested here as it has been pain in the neck being nice and accommodating page changes that were approved previously. I have been blessed with really amazing clients who in time paid extra on their own to show appreciation for hard work and flexibility. Like you said, there is always a rotten apple in the bunch.
Appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Once a client add us as a contributor to work for them, I think it would be so much better if we could work on a client’s site like in some sand box setup or a release manager so that only we(the hired designer) can control the site versions . And only publish the final version once the client is happy and pays us for our service.
WIX should work on such a thing if it is possible.
Hey Webix! It’s is coming soon 
By the way - Fantastic response from the community here. This is exactly what the community is for - and I LOVED the amazing responses. High Five, team!
Actually: check this article out: https://community.wix.com/partners/post/four-tips-to-keep-in-mind-when-discussing-website-revisions-with-your-clients
Wow. Really?? 
@info52 I’m really sorry you had to experience this. I’m glad to hear you were able to reverse the client ownership as you had access to the site.
There’s a lot of great feedback here. I will be forwarding it to our Marketplace team.
@dee4charlotte … This was a really good idea/suggestion…
Yes Thrishti… life will be so much easier. 
I’m pretty sure that almost all designers at one point or another have gone through some kind of trouble with at least one of the projects they worked with. I know I’m one of them!
So here is the list of things I follow with each job request, to make sure that “the juice worth the squeeze”.
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Work under a brand and do not present yourself as an individual.
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Have an initial contract (preferably an online form), which outlines the entire scope of work, and include how many free revisions will be included with your offer.
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Highlight what will be included in your free revisions offered. For example, a free revision for me DOES NOT mean a complete redesign of the entire website I just designed! Make sure to make clear what limitations your free revisions have, if any.
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Make sure your form/contract allows to receive a down-payment in order for you to accept the job. Preferably, sell them a template at a lower price point and add a monthly service subscription. You can include any volume of changes and updates to their website included in the subscription model.
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Accurately calculate the cost to you and the profit you want to make. Demand a minimum of 2/3 or 3/4 of your profit plus all the expenses as the amount of down-payment. On top of that, start the subscription right away or maybe if you feel generous, give them a 30-day grace period.
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If subscription is something the customer does not agree on, then sell your template at a much higher price point.
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Use a help-desk to create tickets with each request and have a clear record of the entire process.
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work ONLY on the desktop version and leave the mobile for after the desktop has been completed 100% including any revisions.
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Send site reviews and wait for complete feedback. Don’t work in between. Don’t do minor adjustments either. Instead, get a complete feedback for the entire project so you can have a complete plan of what needs to be done.
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Have an approval form in place (online), where the customer will accept all your terms & conditions, approve the final design (Desktop & Mobile), have him sign-off on the project so It can go live, and include your final portion of the remaining balance, to be paid online.
BONUS TIP: DON’T WORK UNDER A CLIENT’S ACCOUNT!
Instead, create the site under your account, add them as contributors, and do not transfer ownership if you have them on a subscription plan .
If there is no subscription plan in place, then do not transfer ownership before 6-12 months from the last payment received.
This is the list I follow with my clients, and every one of them has been happy with it. I haven’t had one complaint nor a problem with a client since I implemented this policy.
Best of luck to all of you, stay safe & don’t work for free!