Why Good Communication is Important in the Web Development Process

Web development can include a combination of separate complex processes, such as technology design, graphic design and business development. Often a client approaching a website development firm for their first website will have little or no knowledge of the many technical processes involved in the design and construction and maintenance stages of the web development project. Similarly, the website development professional will not have the same intimate knowledge of the particular business background the client comes from. It is necessary, therefore, to maintain good communication throughout the website development process between the developer and the client.

The client and developer need to work together in a web development project to share their knowledge and produce a successful website. The developer may be an expert on all topics related to website development, including coding languages, solutions to usability issues, current design trends, the latest technology and industry standards, but the client's specific knowledge in their own field is needed to build a website that is dynamic and offers users much more than just impressive design.

Often learning web development techniques and practices can be very difficult, that is why the client has come to a professional to complete their project, after all. It is the website developer's responsibility, however, to appear approachable and ready to answer any technical or strategic questions. Just as the client is expected to be an expert on their own business, the developer is expected to be able to explain development processes of website in a comprehensible way.

Additionally, the developer should always back up their decisions with research-based facts that preferably relate to the business being dealt with. It is never acceptable for the website developer to say that a particular choice “just works better this way.” If the client is not interested in learning new technical web development processes, and is happy to leave it to the developer to make the website work, that's ok too!

Often a client will have a definite sense of the look they want for their website, and here clear and rational communication is useful for making negotiations and inspiring trust between the client and developer. Developers should be responsive to their client’s needs, to provide web development results that improve the client's business prospects. A developer that is more interested in creating a website to please themselves should be disregarded.

A web development project characterised by clear and amicable communication between client and developer will always result in a more effective website.