Get Everything in Writing

There is a reason, probably several, that I am loathe to discuss particulars of websites on the phone. A "wouldn't it be cool if" telephone conversation does not constitute an agreement about what your final web project will be. A phone call to tell your web designer you want all your Twitter and Facebook icons removed, only to change your mind a few days later, constitutes more work for everyone, and additional charges for you that you will be loathe to pay.

Your contract is your guide. If your contract states that your logo will fly in from the north, spin around and depart to the west, than so it shall. However, if the flying logo is only discussed in preliminary phone conversations and later ruled out as impossible or unlikely, and is NOT included in your contract, it will not be happening. You are, after all, only allowed to demand those things in the contract, not things that might have been cool in an initial phone conversation.

Get everything in writing. This applies to both the client and the web designer. Keep all your emails, you will undoubtedly need them for reference later, and sometimes, for evidence. While we hope this is not the case, it is just a good practice to keep them for your own reference and for handy reminders to others as to what was actually discussed.

While I am often up at 2 am, working on a new design or updating someone's website, I do not miss my days as a book publisher, when there were phone calls at 2 am, wanting a comma removed from page 43 after a book had gone to press. GET IT IN WRITING. Even if it is at 2 am.