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Below is a brief outline of the things covered in this week’s podcast as well as links to some of the articles mentioned:

Top 10 client mistakes

In no particular order here is our top ten mistakes made by clients:

Marketing departments gone mad

Why is it marketing departments are obsessed with collecting personal details even at the cost of alienating potential customers… read my article on marketing department and forms.

Unrealistic deadlines

Clients should not consider their website as an afterthought that is left to the last minute. Developing a decent website takes longer than you think!

Budget

Clients need to be willing to discuss budget with web design companies. Firstly, this will enable them to see if their budget is realistic and secondly it will allow the web design company to work around budgetary constraints.

Design by committee

Design is subjective so the more people involved in choosing the greater the chance of ending up compromising on the lowest common denominator.

Copying the competition

Although it is good to keep consistency of terminology and navigation with the competition in order to help users who are "shopping around", it is also important to stand out from the crowd.

Creeping specifications

It is inevitable that a client will think of more features they wish to add to their website during development. However, we encourage them to implement these ideas in a second phase. This will stop the deadline for the project slipping and give them a second chance to promote the site when the new features are added.

Failing to consider the breath of platforms

Many clients only care what their website looks like on their own PC presuming that the site will look the same for everybody. It is important to remember that resolution, monitor type, device, operating system and video drivers all effect the appearance of your site.

Not considering site promotion

It is amazing how many people still do not consider promoting their site but rather expect people to magically find it. Still more believe that search engine placement is all that matters. A website should be integrated into your overall marketing strategy… read more about promoting your site.

Under estimating the clients role

It is easy to forget just how much a client has to contribute to a sites development. From copy to review and testing, the client’s role is vital and they need to set aside sufficient time to focus on the websites development.

Failing to keep content fresh

Many clients allow their sites to stagnate once it goes live. By doing so they undermine the companies credibility and fail to provide motivation for users to return to the site again to see what has changed… read more about generating repeat traffic.

News

A new web design podcast almost!

I thought I had found a new podcast dedicated to web design on itunes but it appears it is not yet live. Keep an eye on Livemotionstudio. Since recording episode three I have spotted another new podcast called ericd.netwhich is dedicated to the more technical side of web design.

Accessibility business case

If you are looking for a water tight business case for making your site accessible then check out the new W3C article on web accessibility.

A new live chat system is launched

There is a new flash-based live chat system. Not only can you chat with visitors to your site using instant messaging but you can also see them and here them too! If you haven’t encountered live chat before read my article on the subject.

Macromedia Podcast

Macromedia has launched a podcast that provides help and support to users of their Studio suite of products.

Review

Did not have time for a review this week because Marcus talks too much :)