subject: Walking Clients Through Web Prototyping [print this page] Interactive agencies who know what they're doing understand how critical website prototyping is to the whole process of creating a website. However, in many cases, they have clients who are not technically savvy and may have no idea what website prototyping is let alone why it should be done. In this situation, it is very important for the agency to educate their clients about the process.
One of the first impressions of clients who are not familiar with website prototyping and who are working on tight budgets and deadlines is that it's just an additional step. They don't see the point why creating a prototype is necessary when they already discussed their needs for the website.
Building a website without going through website prototyping is like building a house without a blueprint. Imagine having to tear down an entire room because the homeowner suddenly realized that a room is not a good idea in that part of the house. This happens all the time in website development where the client wants to change something about the site.
In response to schedule and budget concerns, the agency should point out that website prototyping is exactly the process that ensures there is no time and money wasted on reworks of the website. By creating first a working model of the site and then presenting it to clients, it will allow everyone to see if the web architecture of the site is laid out how it should be. Necessary corrections can then be carried out much easily.
When educating clients about web prototyping, make sure to clarify how they should use the model. It is normal for nontechnical clients to expect something that looks almost like the finished site and they may be puzzled when they see the prototype is all made up of boxes and lines. Simply explain to clients that they should review the model by interacting with it just as they would a normal website.
Let clients know that their part in the process of web prototyping is to determine if the layout, graphics, navigation, placement of the copy and other elements will make sense to their end users and achieve their goals for the site. This kind of client involvement during the planning process is critical to the success of the project, allowing it to be completed on budget and on time.
