There are certain “milestone” events in the life of most Web Design projects.
For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to name three — Mockup, Initial Viewing, and Completion.
Everything I’ve read suggests that designers need client sign-offs at periodic stages. In addition to a contract, a sign-off insures that you and the client are on the same page; it also serves as proof, should you need to ask for additional time, money, or personnel to complete the work.
While sign-offs are important, you the designer need to be reasonable in requesting them. Don’t force your client to sign off at every stage of the project!
In general, your sign-off form should include the following:
- a reference to the project
- a title for the sign-off
- a description of what the client is signing off on
- a list of necessary revisions
- permission to invoice again
- sign-off signatures and dates
Present the client with a duplicate, once the sign-off is complete, and save your copy in the project folder.
Every designer will have different stages for client sign-offs. At Jolly Spider, we like these:
- Mockup — either on paper or computer, this is the first step toward a design and incorporates basic layout with dummy text and place-holder graphics;
- Initial Viewing — generally on computer, this stage incorporates the client’s logo, colors, fonts, and graphics;
- Completion — this is the final showing of the site before publication to the Internet.
You can find sample client sign-off documents online if you choose not to create your own.
Next time: ??
