I just finished a job with a client who micro managed the entire project running me into the ground. I had already taken an advance. And couldn’t give it back as the work was given to me by someone I am working for. But now, I wish I had returned the deposit before it became such a tribulation trying to please this person.

It started with a beautiful design which he okayed. Then he took time off. And came back later only to throw out my design in favor of a hideous design idea he had worked up on a free website. With a background that swallowed up nearly every color but black and white. Which he didn’t like. So I had to color each background in photoshop where ever needed to support text colors. Which he changed untiil he was happy. In the last few weeks I have became his slave making twenty or more updates in a day. Tearing apart pages and recreating them. Taking out stuff he was fine with earlier in favor of something else. Make that text blue and italicize this section of it. Put things at the top instead of the bottom. Move that over a few pixels so it looks right. Center everything on this page. My code was a hideous mess. Keeping it in case he went back on his ideas again. In all I am guessing hundreds and hundreds of changes. He says, “Look. Why don’t we just do this…” Like it’s the only thing he has ever asked for. I tried to tell him no once and it didn’t turn out well for me.

I am completely rethinking my involvement in web design. I cannot go through another situation like this. So I will have to consider contracts. We have done well so far with verbal agreements. But this is something I am not willing to go through again.

There is a website called poshdaisy.com. Those folks know how to handle clients. They take a couple weeks to plan everything. Get hefty non-refundable deposits. And somehow get the client out of their hair to do the work. I like that idea and hope to create such terms for my future work.