Ethics in Web Design? Really?
To the average business owner (or for that matter the average website developer), the topic of ethics can be a new concept because we are surrounded by get rich quick schemes, Do-It- Yourself freebie template builder services that promise to deliver (what is in essence) a professional online presence as an ongoing service for nothing, immediately, and overseas workers desperate for survival who will accept pennies for every dollar (nonetheless providing work devoid of long-term benefit to those who need the actual benefits of digital marketing the most).
With this fast-food commoditization approach, (and the animosity and antipathy engaging in it ultimately produces) it is easy for ethical practices to fall by the wayside and for clients to end up with junk sites; and certainly for digital marketers to produce less than professional-level work.
Why is this necessarily a bad thing?
Obviously, struggling small business owners and startup founders in need of growth and revenue increase using this “bootstrap” method for digital marketing will be hobbled if not downright crippled by the approach. Empty template sites with no SEO (think Google ranking) has no value to anyone trying to increase visibility and any depiction of a business that is less than professional ultimately is less than desirable.
And, while it’s easy on both ends of the business owner/digital marketer spectrum to end up with garbage or make said digital tripe, it’s also unacceptable.
Ethics and personal integrity in the business owner/service provider relationship must be kept a top priority in order to avoid such scenarios.
Ethics in Web Design? You bet.
If we do not stand for something, we may fall for anything.
– Malcolm X
And so it has come to pass in the field of web design (and the larger digital marketing as a result) that there is more misinformation than there is accurate information, more assembly-line workers than craftsmen; and sadly, more brochure templates with no SEO or marketing value than there are professional examples of serious web design that benefit businesses directly.
We all encounter people daily who may or may not conduct themselves in terms of the highest ethical standards. You have “agencies” that outsource every aspect of the work needing to be done, completely oblivious to lasting client value; freelancers/hobbyists who are either desperate to pay bills so will work with anyone and say anything (or simply don’t know what they don’t know); and conversely clients without prior business experience who fixate on prices over value and have no idea what to look for or how to gauge Returns On Investment (ROI).
In these types of situations, you have to know yourself, who you are as a business person and know in your heart what your own ethical standards (and boundaries) are. Once you have identified those standards you have to stick to them.
Clear boundaries can prevent many problems down the line (whether business or personal in nature).
Major Points in Ethics and Web Design
Ethical standards will vary from designer to designer. Here are some major points that I as a web designer and digital marketer consider to be important in terms of my working relationships with clients. I am going to start with giving a heavy portion of attention to website responsiveness because it is one of the most important and most recent changes in website development.
Responsive Web Design:
What is responsive web design? According to designer Nick Pettit, “Responsive web design is a technique for building websites that work on mobile devices, tablets, and desktop screens. Not long ago, websites were typically designed specifically for laptop and desktop screen resolutions. This worked fine until the advent of web capable smart phones and tablets.” (Source: , The 2014 Guide to Responsive Web Design).
In my informed opinion, developers are doing their clients a huge disservice and behaving unethically if they don’t at least bring up, discuss, and encourage clients to invest in a website that is responsive. For business owners not to have a responsive website is a waste of time and money, and for a developer not to tell them this is dishonest.
It’s important to be clear about the difference between a responsive website and one that is non-responsive because many people don’t’ know what “responsive” means and they have “a why should I care” attitude. They will think it does not matter. But it does. To make argument about the need for responsiveness, back up your discussion with references about the extensive use of smartphones – and the simple, obvious fact that more people today access the internet using their cell phones than anything else.
Here is why all business owners interested in investing in a website should care about responsive design and why developers should communicate the importance of responsive design:
As of the first quarter of 2014, for the first time in American history, the vast majority of mobile phone users in the United States across all age groups own smartphones. Fifty one percent of mobile owners over the age of 55 now own smartphones, which is up 10 percent from the first quarter of 2013.
The use of smartphones has grown so much that 7 out of 10 Americans overall (70%) own one.
When purchasing new handsets, 85 percent of consumers choose smartphones. (Source: Smartphone Milestone).
Here are some other facts to keep in mind. According to the Pew Internet Project’s research related to mobile technology (Source: Mobile Device Facts), as of January, 2014:
• 90% of American adults have a cell phone
• 58% of American adults have a smartphone
• 32% of American adults own an e-reader
• 42% of American adults own a tablet computer
Most people use smartphones to get online now, rather than laptop computers. According to Rick Penwarden, “The mobile device is quickly becoming the most popular and widespread form of communication society has to offer. It has become clear that any online industry that doesn’t recognize this and evolve with mobile technology will be left behind!” (Source: Smartphone’ Impact on Survey Research).
What most amateur or inexperienced website developers on the cheap do is build one type of theme/design/template for the business client that will work on PCs and laptops. Then they will install an application or plugin “switch” to detect if the website visitor is using a mobile device or smartphone. That application will then send them to a different theme/design/template or site for just mobile users.
The problem with this approach is that it creates two different sites, schizophrenic experiences if you will, two different user experiences and essentially destroys any attempts at branding, or creating a single professional online marketing effort. Different users will have different experiences, see different sites, and will have one version of a website when home and another one when using an iPhone. It’s much easier, and more professional (but requires more ability) to simply have one website that “responds” to changing screen sizes.
General Considerations: Client Ethics and Web Designer Ethics
In an ideal world, the relationship between a client and web designer should be one of mutual respect. The web development process can be quite precise in revealing the character of both the client and web developer. Here are a variety of issues that I have come across personally in my business that speak very clearly of the presence of ethical values, or the lack thereof:
The Ethics of the Client
Many clients do not seem to understand that working with a website designer is a relationship and partnership from beginning to end. The client needs to accept their responsibility in the process. My experience is that many clients come to me with a laundry list of “demands” and things they want done without discussing their budget and whether what they want is possible and realistic not only based on their budget, but in terms of web design and programming norms in general. I would like to communicate with them that when they engage the services of a web developer, they are interacting with a person who has expertise in an area that they don’t.
Therefore, clients need to realize that the web development process is not just about them coming to me with what they want and me magically creating it immediately.
It is also about listening to the feedback of a developer who has knowledge and expertise in design who can address their concerns and provide an honest assessment of how to best proceed in order to accomplish their objectives, just as you wouldn’t presume to visit your dentist and tell him or her the best types of screws to use or what type of porcelain to use for your teeth.
Providing Content
One of the biggest stumbling blocks or obstacles to fulfilling a professional web design project, believe it or not, is providing content.
The vast majority of new business owners eager to put their business online do not have website content in advance, with many (often) telling me they don’t know what website content is or how it’s produced. So, to be clear, website content is the written material (also called collateral, copy, writing, blogging) used by the website developer. It is what the consumer reads when they go to your site to learn what you do, how you do it, and why. It’s written material that will (for better or for worse) be indexed by Google in placing a search engine ranking to the site, and providing content for Google in describing your site.
A website with no written content is simply a static collection of pages, with images and nothing more. It’s an empty hand or a silenced voice. Poorly-written text can sink a site to the bottom of local search results and drive away prospects. But it’s a gigantic issue for the new client and a fatal “catch 22” for developers in that (as the developer) you can’t create your site without written material to serve as the “meat on the bones,” as the place setting material necessary for formatting, and the gist of SEO to come. So without it, you can’t proceed and everything stops dead in its tracks.
I’ve heard of developers waiting anywhere from months to actual years for clients to give them content/writing/collateral needed for their site completion; and of course, if time is money, you (the developer) can take whatever profit you might earn and throw it out the proverbial window when a website project that could’ve been accomplished in a few weeks takes months to finish and your bills aren’t being paid because the client can’t think of what to write or, more accurately, feels unable to provide marketing collateral that fills a site with meaning and SEO-relevant insight for its target market.
The Importance of Value
Freelancers, single-person businesses, and those new to owning a business often struggle with contracts, payment terms and conditions, pacing, scope, and what I call “onboarding” (which is introducing yourself and your methods to clients and deciding whether or not to work together).
Regardless, anyone with a business has some degree of overhead, whether it’s electricity, time and effort, software subscriptions required, time spent programming or conferring with clients on the phone or online, driving to meetings, preparing documentation, reviewing errors and debugging, and other matters related to professional website design. The dentist has his or her staff and equipment, the doctor his staff and procedures and insurance, the mechanic his shop, the photographer their camera upkeep, film costs, hours spent in labs developing film…and on it goes.
And yet stories of web developers doing work for free, “on spec,” for “barter deals,” and (yes) even for beer, are rampant, and ridiculous. These unprofessional and seldom beneficial scenarios come about directly as a result of the client not valuing the work done by the developer and the developer not valuing their results and efforts. So who’s taking advantage of whom more?
Clearly the developer with sub-standard confidence is victimized even if their level of ability is questionable; as they still provide specialist work; and the client seeking qualitative internet marketing results for as close to nothing as possible should be shaken into developing a moral fiber and fortitude resembling an adult’s. Businesses built on amateur work, substandard results, back-stabbing, and conniving do not (nor do they deserve) to last long. And the ill will such practices produce eventually come back one way or another in a karmic circle, with the client’s broken site not working, a resentful amateur developer not responding when needed, or bad practices taking root and being hurled upon unsuspecting consumers.
Yes, it takes two to tango, but look, you can have a dance routine that is fluid and mutually-beneficial or you can have a routine that is painful to watch, slovenly, and can derail a business. You get out what you put in and the client has an onus of responsibility to not seek out suckers just as an honest (and experienced) contractor delivers superior service to his or her clients long-term.
Just Bad Ideas
Flipping that is the concept of supporting a bad client idea; and the client—not valuing or fully understanding – professional web design being allowed to move forward with concepts ill becoming a legitimate business venture.
For example, let’s say you, the developer, are building a website for a client coffee shop.
The client doesn’t really understand the concept of internet marketing fully, and is not growth minded. She said “I just want a website as cheap as possible.” So you do it; neglecting to tell the business owner that she could have eCommerce set up to process orders and sell merchandise online, or sell event tickets, or that she could have directions on her site to their physical brick and mortar location, feature a phone number prominently, or have interactive menus from which patrons could place orders for pick-up, or a blog to promote higher SEO rankings, or social media.
The client tells you she has a pet dog she loves very much, so she wants her dog’s face on the front page of the site, on top of her desire to keep everything bargain-basement cheap.
You, as the developer should have the moral turpitude to take a deep breath, straighten your spine a bit, and express that the client is throwing out the baby with the bathwater by ignoring the very aspects that could successfully market her site and get her more leads, more referrals, more phone calls, more e-mails, more patrons and more business.
By making her site about her dog rather than her business, and by refusing to consider elements that could bolster business out of penuriousness, she is literally wasting money, and even if you take the contract, your self-esteem and reputation won’t be what they could have been had you at least tried to impart information you knew full well to begin with. Withholding information that is vital is just as bad as lying, isn’t it?
So while the client can certainly respond to a business marketing venture with fear and trepidation, or even being difficult or bizarre, we have a responsibility to be clear; at least as clear as we are allowed to be. In this particular example, the end result is a website that would look ridiculous in a portfolio, will look unprofessional (at the least) for the coffee shop owner and probably be replaced once the owner discovers she has marketing that does her business an actual disservice than helping it.
You can refuse work that doesn’t feel right, and decline work offers from people you know won’t be happy, engage in something morally objectionable (such as the client who asked us to build a website for an escort service), or don’t want professional-level work. This is ultimately better than taking the work, later regretting it, or producing sub-standard work, burning out from it and coming to hate what you may have otherwise loved.
This brings us to finally respecting ourselves enough to recognize red flags.
Whether you’re the client trying nobly to build a professional online presence for your business that will get attention from people searching for your products or services online, or a client pinching-pennies until they scream in pain trying to cut corners and get whatever you can anyway you can, or conversely a web developer trying to earn a reputable living, or a web developer who sells knock-off recycled templates without changes to anyone you meet and taking off as soon as you get paid and leaving the client high and dry with a site they can do nothing with and does nothing for them….in all cases and scenarios where there is morality and ethics the drama fades away like watercolors in the rain, when ethics are respected.
We can’t ignore ethics in web design lest we imperil our businesses and sabotage long-term marketing efforts; since the website is the crux of internet marketing and (for many) the hub of their business, representing them (and communicating to the public) around the clock every day of the year.
For the client, expect to pay what you would realistically for a typical print advertising campaign in a popular newspaper or magazine. Even if your budget is off, it won’t be by much, and you’ll be treated with respect and taken seriously. Look for references from real sources, a portfolio, some educational background, professional affiliations, live sites, and look for what you would from any other service professional.
For the web developer, be as honest as you can, and if you have deficits in your workflow (time management tools, contracts, wire-framing tools, theme development, abilities) work on them; charge for the work you do, explain unclear facets to the client, and make sure they know how to proceed if (and it’s more like “when”) they want to make content changes in the future. Make sure your work represents you, is responsive, doesn’t cater to uninformed design decisions, and can be a featured element in your portfolio, instead of a quick cash grab from someone who doesn’t know they’re being had.
The pendulum swings equally, but those with a strong moral compass have less drama, and quickly differentiate themselves from those with less spiritual strength. Malcolm X is dead and we can’t bring him back, but we can show ourselves to be true independent adults and business leaders when we look within to make right decisions informed with research and honesty, thinking about the business we want rather than how to make things easier.