When is a web design really finished?

“Technology has advanced to the point where deadlines are now a meaningless anachronism. Is that a good thing?” – Jason Arber 2010.

It’s a question that gets asked a lot in the creative industry, and it doesn’t just apply to the web but also any digital design work. It’s such a simple question that initially you could respond with “when it’s uploaded” or “when it’s been printed and distributed”. However gone are the days when the designer can sit back and reflect on a completed project. Nowadays a designer will stare into the abyss and rub their chin with air of uncertainty and borderline doubt.

Due to advances in technology the precise time of ‘project completion’ has become a “hazy smudge on a hypothetical horizon” rather than the clearly defined point in time that quite often clients demand. Nowadays, publishing a website or uploading it to the server is no longer the end of the story. It is inevitable that the client will wake up in the middle of the night and decide that the colour scheme should be different or the placement of a graphic should be elsewhere; and that it needs to be changed immediately.

Technology has enabled web design agencies to edit a single style sheet and re-upload which can completely transform the way the website is portrayed. As a by product of this advancement in ‘time efficiency’, clients have also become more savvy and are usually of the opinion that pretty much anything can be done with minimal cost implications. Because changes can be a relatively quick process the costs involved in amendments are generally lower than what they used to be however this ultimately means more changes are made throughout the websites lifecycle.

The same can be applied to print. Quite often an image or some text is amended literally prior or even during a print run and because of technology the changes can be implemented with minimal disruption to the service. And because the ‘time element’ has been reduced so has the ‘cost element’, meaning clients don’t have to re-mortgage their house to afford a re-print of their latest brochure.

The onus is now on the creative design agencies to establish the boundaries of completion and deadlines. That’s not to say that the agencies should refuse work even if it is required to be delivered at 3am to a high street store in Glasgow. This isn’t good for running a profitable design agency. It’s more of a case of how much is the client willing to pay for ‘on demand’ service. It requires give and take from both sides. In essence simply saying “it’s gone to print” or “it’s published on the server” is no longer the final full stop in the project, it’s more like a comma or semicolon.

Not only does the technology available give design agencies the tools to meet the client’s demands, and the clients are aware of this, but also their ideas and perceptions change due to an ever evolving industry where some much is governed by ‘image’ and ‘identity’. It is no lie that the most successful companies out there are the ones that can portray themselves in as many places as possible with a professional, well delivered and consistent branding. This covers across the websites, brochures, exhibition stands, social networks and any multimedia produced by the company.

So how can agencies define when a web design project is completed? Well, there isn’t really any universal answer currently available. Every website has a product life cycle that will inevitably go through a series of amends and changes until eventually it comes back full circle and a full re-build is required. Re-designing a website isn’t a sign of failure however, in fact quite the opposite as sometimes the only way forward is to take a step back, re-evaluate and start again with a fresh outlook. I guess in a way the project is completed when the new one begins and the life cycle starts back over again.