7 types of clients to avoid as a web designer

If you offer web design and development services, you will end up working with a large number of clients over the years. And each one will be different. But, like everywhere else, you may find certain patterns, for example, types of clients you wouldn’t want to work with again.

In this post, I wanted to compile the types of clients that I would avoid in my career as a web designer if I could go back.

I will explain what each of them does, how we can recognize them, and in some cases, how we can try to redirect their behavior in order to carry out the project.

Of course, many of these behaviors are not easy to detect, and sometimes your instinct will be the one that can help you the most.

Let’s get started.

The know-it-all client

This can be one of the most challenging clients for a web designer or developer to work with.
Often, they believe they have all the necessary knowledge to make important decisions. And that makes their confidence in you lower.

Furthermore, it can be difficult to make them understand that, although their opinion is important, they hired you because you have experience and specialized knowledge in web design that they do not possess.

A very easy way to identify this type of client is if they start by saying, “I could do this myself, but I don’t have the time…”

Okay, better let them do it themselves.

The rude client

Undoubtedly, the most unpleasant experience you can have as a professional is when you encounter a rude client.
We’re talking about someone who disrespects you, makes inappropriate comments, etc… We could say they believe they are your boss and superior simply because they are paying you.

Working with a rude client can be very stressful and negatively affect the final outcome of the project, so if you are able to detect this before you start, the recommendation is clear: Never work with this type of client.

If you didn’t see it in time or their behavior has become disrespectful after the start of the work, try to make it clear how you want to work and communicate as soon as possible. And if this doesn’t have an effect, look for a way out of the project.

It will be best for you.

The client who wants to be very hands-on

This type of client wants to be involved in every stage of the process, which can lead to micromanagement and delays in project progress.
To deal with this, it is important to establish clear expectations from the beginning and communicate the client’s deadlines and the working process.

It is also recommended to establish a schedule of deliveries and regular meetings to keep the client informed of the project’s progress and make them feel involved without having to be on top of you all the time. This will also increase their trust in you.

The friends or family members

This is a delicate issue. Working with friends or family members may seem like a good idea at first, but if problems arise, they will be much more serious than with other clients, as they can directly affect your personal relationships.
It is very common in these cases for your friends or family members to ask for a special discount, or even for you to offer it to them. In my experience, a big mistake.

When working with family or friends, either charge them your normal price without any discount, or don’t charge them at all.

That way, you won’t find yourself in a situation where the project becomes more complicated than anticipated and you end up losing money without being able to tell them in order to avoid damaging your relationship.

The client without money

This is one of the most typical types who will ask for proposals for the creation of their website but may never actually become clients.
They will insist that they need a discount. They will tell you they have other cheaper proposals. Or they will even tell you that they could pay you by introducing you to their acquaintances (a classic that never works when done this way).

Furthermore, this client not only tends to have problems paying us for the design and development of the website, but they will also have issues with hiring a hosting service, paying for the domain, website maintenance costs, choosing a quality corporate email service, or even selecting the payment gateway to use in their WooCommerce solely based on the fees.

So, most likely, this problem with money will end up causing other problems with other things, and they might end up blaming you.

The perfectionist client

The perfectionist client is the one who is never satisfied with the work done. Highly related to the client who is on top of you all the time.
They usually have little trust in your judgment and require multiple revisions and changes, which can lead to delays and an increase in project costs.

That’s why it is important to establish clear expectations from the beginning and communicate the limits regarding revisions and changes that can be made.

The one who wants everything done yesterday

Another common type of client you have to be careful with as a web designer. And in this case, very easy to identify.
We’re talking about the client who, when you ask about their deadlines, basically tells you they want the site to be published yesterday. Or that it should be published tomorrow, which is pretty much the same thing.

One of the keys to dealing with this type of client is to make them understand the working process you will follow and the importance of each step. So that they value it as they should.

In addition, you must be very clear about the deadlines you set and always put them in writing in the contract to avoid misunderstandings.

Sometimes this client, despite being in such a hurry, ends up blocking the project for weeks or months because they don’t have time to provide feedback on your work, provide content, or answer questions.

And then it turns out they weren’t in such a hurry after all…

The one who thinks that only a website will make them a millionaire

Working as a web designer, there is a type of client that I always rejected or tried to educate first. And it’s the client who thinks that simply creating a website will make their business take off online. And if it doesn’t, it will be your fault.
This is very common with clients who have a physical store and think that by creating an e-commerce site, they will start making non-stop sales by being able to sell to people all over the world.

But of course, they never think about how they will drive traffic to the website. They don’t want to pay for advertising. They don’t want to do SEO. And they don’t even know how they will ship orders to Germany if someone buys from there.

This client doesn’t have to be avoided, as long as they understand, with your help, what it takes to create an online business and all the work that needs to be done to make it successful.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are several types of clients, some very recognizable, that it is better to avoid if you work in web design or development.
Another option is that if you encounter such clients, you increase your prices when making a proposal to them so that, in case they accept it, the extra profit compensates for having to deal with them.

But that is your decision. We wish you good luck with your clients, and hopefully, you won’t have to encounter any of these.