Introduction
While some clients make projects seamless and enjoyable, others can leave you feeling drained and questioning why you ever started working with them in the first place.
Understanding the traits that distinguish a good web design client from a bad one is essential for building a successful WordPress agency.
In this article, we’ll explore three common characteristics of “good” clients who make collaboration easy and respect your expertise.
Then we’ll look into three telltale signs of “bad” clients who can derail projects, waste time and, well, cause endless frustration!
By recognising these patterns, you can better assess potential clients, set boundaries, and shape more rewarding working relationships.
3 traits of a “Good” web design client
There’s plenty of ways a web design client could be considered a “good” one and I’m not intending to cover them all in this article.
Instead, here’s 3 that I think are some of the most important:
1. They have a budget
Things are instantly easier in the qualifying phase when you know how much the client has to spend.
Not only that, it’s an indication of a number of other things:
They’re taking this project very seriously
Clients that have a budget have had a conversation internally. They’ve planned ahead to the moment they’ve gone out to agencies with an idea on what they’re looking for, what they want to achieve and the money they’ve got to invest in getting there.
They’re a decent sized client (they have a marketing budget)
If they’ve thought enough to set aside a budget for marketing, it tells me they’re a decent sized client. Now you might not be the type of agency that wants to deal with ‘decent sized’ clients. You might be happy with the small ones and that’s cool.
At the same time however, I still see this as being the sign of a ‘good’ client.
Think about it. A client that tells you they’ve got £3,000 to spend or £10,000 to spend. Versus a client that says: “We don’t have a budget, just tell us how much it’ll cost.”
I know which one I’d prefer, every day of the week!
They respect the value you can bring
The other point about clients that have a budget is that it’s a sign of the fact they value what you do.
They’ve put thought as a team into considering what a professional, well-built and lead generating website might cost them and given you an indication of this in the qualifying phase.
Again, think of the alternative. A client that’s just thought: “Let’s get a new website. No idea how much it is but my friend got one for £500 recently so it can’t be that much.”
I don’t need to elaborate.
The difference is obvious.
2. They know what they want to achieve
This is another sign of a ‘good’ client. During the qualifying phase, whether you’re selling website projects, hosting or support and maintenance plans, it’s very helpful to get a sense of what the client wants to achieve off the back of hiring you.
When they know this, it makes things so much easier.
Firstly, you can decide very quickly whether you think what they want to achieve is something you can honeslty help them with. If it’s not, you can respectfully turn them down and refer them to an agency that’s better placed to help them.
Also, if the client shares their goals and they’re things you can help with, then it makes it much easier for you to make a plan for helping them get there. And with a clear plan and everyone aligned and onboard, there’s a much higher chance of success.
3. They respect your process
This is a big one and I covered it in another article about building a WordPress agency that you love.
However you qualify clients and whatever your process is like for working with them, one big thing you want from them is respect. Respect for how you do things and trust in the fact that you know what you’re doing.
It makes working with clients so much more enjoyable.
When I look back at clients I’ve worked with over the years, the ones I enjoyed working with the most were always the ones who:
- Respected us as an agency
- Gave us stuff when we asked for it
- Didn’t query/question things when we explained how we work
- Paid on time
Good clients always respect your process.
Don’t settle for anything else.
3 traits of a “Bad” web design client
Like the “good” clients, there are many(!) ways a web design client could be considered “bad”.
Here’s 3:
1. Won’t tell your their budget
The opposite of the “good” clients that have a budget: the ones who won’t tell you their budget or just tell you they don’t have one at all.
Urgh.
Got the t-shirt for this one.
And in the early days of running my agency, I took on way too many of this type of client, almost always culminating in a short-term, less than fruitful relationship.
When a client won’t tell you their budget, or they tell you they don’t have one, this tells me a few things immediately:
- They don’t respect/value what you do
- They’re going to be a pain if you work with them
- It’s going to be hard to build up trust
- They’ll want it to be cheap
I’ve seen so many occasions with fellow agency owners and web designers where they’ve taken on clients for far too cheap-a-price, all because the client wouldn’t.
I’ve done it.
Of course we all go through learning curves running a business and very, very few will have got things right from day one. But I do chuckle to myself when I look back at the way I did things in my early days.
It went a little like this:
- Client enquiry comes in
- Drive to meet the client
- 1 hour meeting with the client
- Drive back to the office
- Write the proposal
- Email the proposal to the client
- Then the client either:
- Never replies, or:
- Tells me they only have £500 to spend and asks: “What can you do for that?”
All that without knowing their budget.
A huge waste of time, money and resources.
Potential client with no budget? Avoid.
2. They want to cut corners
These loads of ways to cut corners with website projects, hosting and support and maintenance too.
And clients that want to do this would worry me.
They’d worry me because their focus is too much on speed of delivery and price, than it is on the long term success of whatever you’re doing for them.
I’ve had clients in the past that have wanted to go with cheap hosting instead of investing more money that would get them dedicated space, better security and faster load times.
I’ve had clients that wanted to write their own content for their website, rather than invest in the skills of a professional copywriter that would’ve undoubtedly made their website more successful.
And I’ve had clients that didn’t feel there wasn’t a need for us to look after their website and that they could do it themselves. Only to come back to us later down the line to tell us their site had been hacked and they didn’t know what to do.
They’re all examples of corner cutting and while there may be some kind of very short term benefit to the client for approaching things in this way, it always unravels and ends in underwhelming results, which you then often get the blame for.
Don’t let your clients cut corners. Educate them on the reasons not to and let go of the ones who don’t listen.
3. Question your process
It’s never a good sign when a client starts questioning your process in the first few interactions you with them.
Whatever your process is, whether you send clients a questionnaire to complete or you have a short 15 minutes intro call, you want your potential client to respect your way of working.
So when they start saying things like: “Oh we’ve not had to do this with other web designers in the past” or “Do we really have to do this, can’t you just give us quote?” Or they kind of go along with your process but clearly don’t take it very seriously. Such as completing a questionnaire very quickly and with one word answers throughout.
These are always signs that if you start work with the client, you’ll end up regretting it at some point down the line.
So weed out those clients that don’t respect you and don’t want to follow your process.
Conclusion
Working with the right clients makes all the difference.
By identifying the traits of good clients, those who respect your process, communicate effectively and value your work, you can create lasting partnerships that lead to mutual growth and great results.
On the flip side, being aware of the warning signs of difficult clients helps you set boundaries and protect yourself from unnecessary stress and frustration.
Remember, every project starts with a choice.
By aligning yourself with clients who respect the value you bring, you’ll enjoy what you do so much more. Use the quick insights in this article to choose wisely and create relationships that make your work feel rewarding and energising, every time.
