What To Do When Your Client Destroys Your Beautiful CMS Template

After a day or two goes by, you decide to check in to see how the new site is progressing. Or, even worse, you get an email from a friend who is wondering how you created such a messed up website for this client. Or the client calls to ask why the website isn’t functioning properly and looks so different than originally planned.

You quickly open the website in your browser and are horrified by what has happened to your design in so short of a time. New content input by the client utilizes several different fonts in a variety of sizes and colors, none of which integrate well with the original design. Some article text is center aligned while others are right aligned or justified. Extra large images have been added to posts that break down the layout entirely, displacing the sidebar to the bottom of the page. New pages or posts have been added that make your pristinely-designed navigation menu now reside on two rows instead of one. Plugins or modules have been introduced that either break the site’s functionality or are just plain contradictory in design style.

You fall to your knees, look to the sky and explode in a guttural scream: “Noooooooooo!” You jump back into your chair and race to remove the site from your portfolio before someone else traces this monstrosity back to you. You call the client and ask them what they have done, why they failed to follow the instructions and training you so carefully gave. The oblivious client replies, “What are you talking about? We love the site! It looks great! Can you just fix some of those broken plugins?”

Thanks to the growing widespread use of content management systems such as Joomla, Drupal, WordPress and many others, people and organizations that have little or no understanding of HTML, CSS or any other languages can now add content via WYSIWYG editors and administer the backend of their own website. This is extremely valuable for website owners because it gives them the ability to basically maintain their own site rather than pay for a professional to do it. Unfortunately it also puts so much power over the website into the hands of the client that it is almost inevitable they will at some point get in over their head and need the professional’s assistance again.

While there are a number of things that can be done to prevent this from happening, in over 15 years designing websites I have yet to find a way to avoid it altogether. Writing “bulletproof” code, providing detailed and quality training and instructions, and other preventative measures still do not guarantee against the client who loves to do their own thing, playing with font styles and colors and the like. So what do you do when this happens? Here are a few ways I have handled the situation in the past. Hopefully they will help you be prepared for this occurrence should it happen to you.

Create A “Do Not Touch” List

Obviously it is not feasible to spend hours explaining to a client the basics of web design, typography and usability, it is always helpful to provide a simple, reasonable explanation alongside a list of things that the client should not mess with when adding content or administering their site. Telling them to avoid changing font colors, for instance, and explaining that the code you have created will keep the font colors within the design concept they originally approved, should keep the color-crazy-clicker at bay. Here are some other key elements that could be included in your “Do Not Touch” list:

• Font sizes, styles, families, colors – let the CSS do this work
• Text alignment – the site design already dictates this
• Image sizes – provide maximum & minimum sizes for posts to keep them within the framework
• Pasting content from MSWord or Outlook – use “Paste from Word” button when available, otherwise paste to a simple text editor first, then to the CMS to remove MS formatting
• Adding plugins, modules or any other additional functionality – leave this to those with experience
• Adding categories, pages or other elements that could dynamically affect site structure

Remove The CMS Site From Your Portfolio

As much as you loved and were proud of that original design, it is simply not worth risking the damage to your credibility and reputation to keep it in your portfolio once the client has demonstrated their desire to create their own design within yours. Visitors perusing your portfolio will have no idea this was the client’s doing, and will likely assume that you are displaying what you consider quality work. You will probably lose potential clients and peer respect. So don’t hesitate. A bare spot in your portfolio is better than one populated with poor work.

Create A New or Revised Maintenance Contract

When the client originally requested a CMS so they could maintain their own site and avoid future costs, you likely failed to warn them that future maintenance could occur should they decide to color outside the lines you have drawn for their use of the CMS you designed. Sometimes you can get a sense that this may be the direction the client will eventually go and you can provide preventative measures such as this warning. For the times when their CMS destruction snuck up on you, protect yourself with a clearly articulated maintenance contract that describes the “what if” scenarios and your charges for correcting mistakes. Include all of the imaginable possibilities (and maybe the unimaginable) along with a detailed explanation of the corrective procedures. Quite often this will be the most important tool in preventing future destruction of the template, because the client usually wants to avoid any further charges, one of the main reasons they opted for a CMS-based website in the first place. Help them understand that every time they tamper with the layout or design it requires time on your part to correct it, which translates into payment for services. This could end up being the end-all.

Be Patient and Remember

This may be obvious, but it is important to remember that you were hired to design the website because you DO understand design, code, usability, etc. and the client does not. This point should help you maintain your cool and strengthen, rather than weaken, your relationship with the client. You should expect that their lack of web design knowledge lends to the possibility of the CMS destruction, and therefore be patient and understanding in your communication with them as you try to remedy the situation. Standing firm on additional charges or steps toward maintaining your design does not have to mean you belittle the client or communicate condescendingly. These are the times to utilize every bone of patience in your body and display an extreme level of professionalism throughout. In the end, both you and the client will benefit.

Have you experienced a client destroying your beautifully designed CMS theme or template before? What steps have you taken to move forward and prevent it from happening again? Be sure to share your stories and ideas in the comments below.