I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to building a website to a specific launch date, when everything is handed over, fully tested and essentially complete. A kind of 3–2–1 lift off approach.
But then what? I’ll send a follow up email and talk about adding and changing things. That’s good, but it’ll incur a new cost. It’s additional, separate work.
We can use our experience and expertise to test our design on a few ‘representative’ mortals, but often that won’t tell us if the whole edifice actually holds together and works. Or whether the website owner can get on with your CMS. Or lots of other unpredictable things.
Too much pressure is put on an all or bust launch date.
You can only really test a website when it’s live and working in the real world. Emailing clients after launch is a good idea, but it makes more sense to include some sort of post–launch review period in your quote.
There’d still be a launch date, but it wouldn’t be the end of the work. Designer and client would be more confident that the site will end up doing what it’s meant to do.
Perhaps you’re working like that anyway?
(Image from the NASA website).
