I've been designing websites since 1997 and in 2003 I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Science in Interactive Multimedia Technologies which included, amongst other things, loads about graphical user interface (GUI) design for websites. Prior to 1997 I worked in the IT industry for over 10 years on micro-systems and main-frames (yep those old dinosaurs) and I was designing GUIs even back then. Sorry, not meaning to brag here, just setting the stage for the rest of this article ... So ... based on my experience I would suggest I know how websites and user interfaces should work.

So, I know how GUIs should work but I don't know how cars work. My car breaks down, I go to a mechanic. My refridgerator breaks down, I phone a repairman ... you're getting the idea I know ... in short, I call in the experts. Which is why we are hired to build websites, because we know what we're doing and how to do it right.

So this got me thinking about writing an article ... What can we do when clients go off track? When clients think they can design their own GUI? What do you do? In 2003, I wrote an article about interface design, you can read it here. It was aimed at developers, so I wouldn't confuse clients by quoting that article at them. What I would try to do, and it can be done simply with a piece of paper and a pen, is show a client a small list of golden rules that shouldn't be broken when it comes to GUI design. I would sit them down and:

• Make a list of all the main pages I imagine will be in their site, For example a small site could contain pages for; About Us, Products, Services, Contacts, Testimonials, Specials, What's New ... By writing these down as a list I could then explain to the client that this is the main navigation and there are 7 elements.
  
  And, further explain, that whatever GUI is designed it must contain those 7 elements on every page.
  
  Why? Because it is a basic rule of GUI design. Navigation should also have familiarisation elements, the visitor should know where they are and not become "lost" in the site.
  
  
• To expand further, at this point, I would make another list and write down all the product categories ... Imagine the site is for a beautician ... there might be product categories like cleansers, moisturizers, toners, cosmetics, bath gels.
  
  I would make it clear that this list is the "sub-navigation" and it has 5 elements.
  
  I would also explain that the sub navigation can be confined only to the products pages, so any design of the products pages must include these 5 categories and should appear on every page in the Products area. (Of course, you can go a step further and include this sub-navigation on every page).
  
  A simple looping effect occurs within the products area until the visitor clicks another element of the main navigation and leaves this area to go to, let's say, the contacts page.

I imagine that this basic run through would help to cement these GUI design rules ... and ensure that navigation continuity occurs throughout the site, avoiding our sinking ship metaphor.

Keeping an Open Mind
Of course, it's important to keep an open mind when dealing with clients because rules can be broken and sometimes ideas which sound wrong might actually work when put into use. Don't discard ideas immediately when clients begin making suggestions, listen and go away and think about the implications.

Don't be afraid to make a stand
If the client's requests simply will not work, then do not be afraid to make a stand. The website you are designing will be used for a number of years and it's the performance over this period of time that you will be judged upon, no one will remember that you said it wouldn't work, shouldn't be done, etc., so stand up for what you believe in and ensure your clients are happy in the long term.

Happy Clients Lead to Referrals
With an open mind and a gentle manner you can keep alot of clients happy and develop a site that will suit both their taste and your (hard core geeky) rules about interface design. And, a happy client will lead to referrals, you can bet on that.

Oh, and why do clients think they can design Websites? Usually, it's because they're not thinking, they're just being passionate about their business.