Building Web Sites All-in-One For Dummies® (99 page)

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Advise your client to change his password frequently and to choose one that cannot be easily guessed by competitors or hackers.
This is very important because many hosting services use a combination of the client's e-mail address as the user name and a client-generated password to gain access to the control panel. The best password is alphanumeric and at least eight characters in length.

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To ensure security for all transactions on an e-commerce site, choose a secure server that offers 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption.

Following through on every sale

Businesses that succeed rely on repeat customers to keep the ball rolling. It's expensive to entice new customers to use a product or service. Happy customers who use a product repeatedly and refer friends and business associates are the hallmark of a successful business. The easiest way to get customers to use a product again and again is to treat them like royalty before and after the sale. Here are some tips for following through on a sale:

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Send each customer a thank you letter via e-mail.
The letter also serves as a confirmation of the order.

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Send each customer a copy of the invoice via e-mail.
This is yet another confirmation of the order, and it shows customers that their business is valued.

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Send each customer a message letting her know when her order will ship.
This is another opportunity for the e-commerce company to get its name in front of the customer.

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Send each customer a tracking number when the order has been shipped.
Keeping customers informed is good business.

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Invite each customer to participate in a survey a few days after the order has been received.
Asking customers to participate in a survey makes them feel more important. A discount on future orders can be used as an incentive to ensure that a high percentage of customers participate in the survey.

Chapter 3: Maintaining an E-Commerce Site

In This Chapter

Coping with client-side and server-side technology issues

Working with customers

Optimizing and marketing the site

Upgrading your hosting service

After your client's squeaky-clean e-commerce site is uploaded to the server, your job is done. Well, maybe. If your client is techno-phobic, he'll rely on you for advice when the going gets rough. And like anything else technical, the going will get rough. Believe us.

In many instances, your job as a Web designer ends when you hand off the shiny new site to your client. Your client, however, might not be the most techno-savvy person on the planet. Therefore, you have to serve another role — advisor — after the site is uploaded to the Web hosting service. In this chapter, we show you what to recommend to your client when the going gets rough.

When Technology Breaks Down

The best-laid plans go to waste, and the best-engineered technology can and will break down at the most inconvenient time. Technology comes in two forms: client side and server side. The code on your HTML pages marries client-side technology with server-side technology. Your role as Web-design guru means that you end up doing some handholding with your client when technology breaks down. The following sections deal with both client-side and server-side technology problems.

When client-side technology runs amuck

An example of client-side technology is code within your HTML pages that's executed with client-side technology, such as the Web site viewer's browser and associated plug-ins. If you did your homework, you should know what scripting works with the technology used by your client's target audience. Therefore, the only potential problem with client-side technology rests firmly on your shoulders. If the code doesn't work, you end up looking like a jerk. The best medicine against code errors is to test, test, and then test again. After you're sure your code is up to snuff, you can add the following safeguards to ensure that your client's target audience sees exactly what you intend it to see:

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If your Web design is optimized for a specific browser,
make sure to leave a note to that effect on the home page of the Web site. You can also include code that identifies the browser with which the user is accessing the site and redirect the user to the appropriate page that's optimized for that specific browser.

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If you're using technology that's dependent upon DSL or cable modem connections,
make sure you include an alternate page for users that still connect with dialup modems.

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If your Web design is optimized for a certain-size desktop,
make sure this information is clearly noted on the home page of the Web site.

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If your design needs plug-ins,
such as the latest version of Flash Player or Adobe Reader, make sure you include a link to the site from which the browser plug-in can be downloaded.

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If you rely on JavaScript drop-down menus or links,
here's another potential JavaScript problem that can occur. Most search engine spiders cannot follow a JavaScript link. If you use JavaScript links, create a text navigation menu at the bottom of each page for search engines to pick up on.

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If you include mailto: links in your design,
make sure that your client's target audience uses e-mail applications that support this method of launching a client e-mail application and opening a blank message. Knowledge of your client's target audience can enable you to ascertain whether this might be a problem.

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If you really care about what visitors think,
include a section where visitors can comment on site usability. This section can provide any red flags to usability problems related to client-side technology. Negative feedback can tell you what you need to know to revise your code so that such problems don't occur.

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If you think that the limitations of the user's processor and memory are entirely out of your control,
you're right. In this regard, design your site to be compatible with the lowest common denominator of current computer technology.

Server-side technology, or code sleight of hand

You enhance the usability of your client's site by adding items such as blogs, forums, databases, and so on. This technology relies on the server to interpret the code in your pages to return a desired result. For example, PHP code is commonly used for blogs and user forums. Before you create any page that relies on server-side technology, you must be sure that the service that hosts your design supports the technology. Again, the best defense against server-side technology issues is to test your code thoroughly before the site goes public.

Another server-side technology issue is the availability of the hosting service. If your client's site isn't accessible 100 percent of the time, you might need to consider changing your client's hosting service. Web server outages can be another problem. If your client's Web hosting service is hit by a natural disaster (think tornado or hurricane), your client's site is definitely down for the count. However, if your client's hosting service is out for any other reason, consider getting another server. Most Web hosting services have generators that kick in whenever the local power company has a failure. The Web hosting service should also have replacement parts to quickly repair a server that runs amok.

If your client's customers complain that the site takes too long to download and you designed the site as lean and mean as possible, the server's connection might be the problem. A good Web hosting service has
OC3 lines
(enable a data transfer of 155 megabits per second) or
DS3 lines
(enable a transfer rate of 45 megabits per second). Most Web hosting services have several incoming lines that are a combination of OC3 and DS3 lines.

Handling Customers

Customers are the lifeblood of any business, and Web design is no different. Whether you're creating a Web site for a small, mom-and-pop operation or a Fortune 500 company, you have to deal with client issues on a repeated basis. The key to working with any client is communication. Even though you might be an accomplished vocal communicator, the type of communication called for here is the written variety. Your client has to deal with customers as well. Although the following can't be considered a primer in working with customers, we do offer some sound advice in that regard.

Getting it in writing

If you're an experienced Web designer, you'll start the project after your initial consultation with the client. Your portfolio does your talking, and the client hires you based on your experience and what you say during the consultation. If you don't have too many Web sites notched on your totem pole, you'll have to first sell yourself and your skills to the client and then create a mockup for the client to peruse. Then you're hired by the client to design a Web site and look after it in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part. Oops, wrong vow. At any rate, whether you're an experienced pro or an accomplished designer earning your stripes, you need a contract to cover your posterior — and for that matter, your client's.

When you write a contract, make sure you list in detail everything you're going to do for the client. You should list every phase of your work, such as optimizing photos, scanning images, publishing the Web site, optimizing the site for search engines, uploading the site to the server, submitting the site to search engines, and so on. If you list every phase of the project, your client sees the added value in the services you're providing. The added value justifies the cost of your services and often helps you get a job when bidding against a competitor who is not as meticulous as you when it comes to contractual issues.

You should also include details such as whether you're including hosting with your design fee — and if so, for how long. Another detail you need to address is whether you'll revise the site as time goes on. Major revisions are time consuming, and minor revisions are annoyances when you have other work to do. And, of course, your client wants any revision done immediately, if not sooner. We strongly advise you to address revisions in another contract. If you take our sage advice, your revision contract should be as detailed and ironclad as your original Web-design contract.

Schedule revisions at the same time every month. This enables you to schedule the workload when it's convenient for you. Your revision contract should include a clause that says that your client is responsible for getting all materials such as revised text and images to you in a timely manner. If the client drops the ball, you're not responsible for a tardy release of an update.

You also need to address contingencies, such as the client being late in delivering material that is imperative to your design. After all, if the client is going to hold your feet to the fire on the final delivery date, you need to hold your client's feet to the fire as far as the delivery of needed material. You should also cover legal issues, such as the venue in which any disagreements that require the services of an attorney will be resolved.

Your contract should also include a payment schedule. Typically, you're paid a percentage when the client signs the contract and you receive additional payments when you've achieved certain milestones: for example, completing 50 percent of the design, completing 100 percent of the site and making it available for client review, and launching the site to the public. Make sure you include a clause that covers you in the event that the client doesn't deliver the material you need to complete the site. There will be times when you've completed the design, and all you're waiting for is the client's text to fill in the blanks. Your contract should include a clause to the effect that the applicable milestone payment is due even if your client doesn't deliver the text or other required material in a timely manner.

You also need to cover the client who waffles — ahem, you know, changes her mind. Time is money, and in case the client significantly changes the design from what she originally signed for, you need to include a clause that covers this eventuality. Bill changes at your hourly rate. You do have an hourly rate, don't you? Another factor you need to cover is additional material you need to create that's not covered in the contract, such as additional sections of the site or additional images the client supplies that you must optimize for the design. In our contracts, we add a clause that if the total scope of the site exceeds what is listed in the contract, the client will be notified so that we can negotiate an agreeable fee for the additional work. Most Web designers do extra work on an hourly basis.

Create a boilerplate contract that lists all the things you usually include with your Web design. This is a tremendous timesaver. While your prospective client is still thunderstruck with your presentation, you can open your boilerplate contract, add any needed clauses, and quickly send it to him. Better yet, keep one in your briefcase and get the client to sign on the dotted line after you make your presentation. Strike while the iron is hot, and don't give your prospective client a chance to shop your services with another designer.

To make sure you dotted all the
i
's and crossed the
t
's, have an attorney review your boilerplate contract.

Documenting everything

Never do business on a handshake. It always comes back to haunt you. Make sure your client signs and dates your original contract. If you need to make minor changes to the contract, cross out the original text and then write in the revision. Both you and the client need to initial the revision. If the client requests significant changes in the contract, rewrite it — or tell the client to take a hike.

Make sure all additional client requests — with the exception of really small details — are handled with a change order. Now, we know what you're thinking: That's a lot of paperwork. The change order doesn't need to be anything elaborate, though; a quick note to the client on your letterhead will suffice. Leave an area for the client to accept and date the change order. Include a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) with the change order and don't do any additional work until you receive the signed change order.