FMtC
All of my clients get complimentary access to the From Mockup to Code Toolkit, a mini-course I created in partnership with Krista Rae that teaches designers how to collaborate seamlessly with developers.
To redeem your free course access, use the following coupon code when checking out: CLIENTLOVE
Working together has allowed me to be a much better designer, since I can put my clients’ objectives first, instead of feeling limited by the development options. I’m able to take on more ambitious projects and really elevate my client experience.
Outsourcing the coding was the very BEST decision for my business I could have ever made. I've sold low cost websites that were designed poorly because all I could do was do my best to attempt to work around the template. Megan has given me complete freedom to design anything I can imagine and completely WOW my clients with custom designed gorgeous sites that I could never create on my own.
You exceeded my expectations in every way! You made a plugin that looks identical to my mock-up, and bonus - you talked me through Retina issues, which I’ll be focusing on moving forward. I can’t thank you enough for that!
Communication Expectations
For Projects
- Projects are managed via Asana, so most communication about a current project should be done in Asana. This allows us both to keep track of all project-related items in a central location and prevents important information from being lost in long email threads.
- You’ll receive an email invite to my Asana team (and our project tracker) a couple of weeks before our project is scheduled to begin, so keep an eye out for that invite in your inbox.
- For communication in Asana, I generally respond within 1 business day. If you haven’t gotten a response within that timeframe, feel free to tag me again to make sure your notification didn’t get missed.
For Retainers
- Retainers are managed via Asana, so most communication about retainer tasks should be done in Asana. This allows us both to keep track of all retainer-related tasks in a central location and prevents important information from being lost in long email threads.
- You may add me to your Slack team for quicker responses during office hours. Slack is great for fast questions that don’t need in-depth answers; task assigning should still be done in Asana.
- You’ll receive an email invite to my Asana team (and our retainer tracker) a couple of weeks before our first month of retainer work is scheduled to begin, so keep an eye out for that invite in your inbox.
- For communication in Asana, I generally respond within 1 business day. If you haven’t gotten a response within that timeframe, feel free to tag me again to make sure your notification didn’t get missed.
General
- Email and Asana are the only channels I consistently monitor for communication. My social media account inboxes/notifications aren’t always checked regularly.
- For emails, allow 2 business days’ response time unless you have a current project or retainer.
- My office hours are generally Monday through Friday, 9AM-4PM. My current office hours along with any planned out-of-office days are always in my email signature and on my contact page.
- I usually do not respond to communication outside of my office hours unless there is an emergency. I’m a single Momma of two and my out-of-office time is being spent with my kiddos and my dog. 🙂
- Current projects and retainers have communication priority, meaning I’ll respond to those before I respond to inquiries or other communications. If it’s taking a bit longer to hear from me than usual, I’m probably busy taking care of my other clients who have active projects in the works.
- If you need a proposal created, please allow 2 business days of lead time once all information about the potential project is sent and all questions are answered.
- More communication tips can be found in the communication section of From Mockup to Code.
Your communication and responsiveness were amazing. I so appreciated the way you kept me up to date on every phase, were able to understand and interpret my crazy emails, and ask for direction on things I hadn’t even thought of.
The results - the site is exactly what we want, and is a huge improvement!! Megan was also really helpful in answering all our questions thoroughly.
Your work was done to a ’T’, but more importantly, I was super impressed with your thorough email responses. Not a single question was missed, despite my many quick emails.
Timelines
For Projects
- Our anticipated timeline is included in the Timeline section of your proposal. When the project Asana tracker is created, all important dates will be laid out inside it as well.
For Retainers
- For retainer clients, time to complete a retainer task depends on my current retainer queue and the size of the task. For “normal” tasks, I try to have them completed within one week of being assigned. Please plan for at least a week of lead time where possible.
- If there is a certain date by which you need a task completed, let me know when you create your request so that I can accommodate you. I do my best to get things done in a timely manner, especially for my retainer clients! 🙂
You did a great job, and I loved your easy, transparent process through Asana. I’m a sucker for a timeline with firm due dates and people who stick to what they say they’ll do. In the creative world, that isn’t always easy to find.
I was skeptical that you’d be able to meet the timeframe you offered - which you EXCEEDED! 🙂 I was able to delight my client with a fabulous, well developed and bug-free site to my client in an awesome timeframe.
Megan was very responsive, attentive and willing to work through the changes I requested. She even took the time to troubleshoot a couple of issues that popped up during the project that helped us have a better end result. I appreciated her organized process and also being willing to do a quick turn-around for my client who had a tight deadline.
Payment Terms
For Projects
- Payment terms are included in the contract, but in general:
- retainers are due at least one week before the project is scheduled to begin.
- for projects with one payment in addition to the retainer, the payment is due after revisions are complete but before the project is delivered.
- for projects with two payments in addition to the retainer, the first payment is due either on delivery of the testable site OR one month after development has started, whichever is sooner; the second payment is due after revisions are complete but before the project is delivered.
For Retainers
- Monthly retainer payments are due by the 1st of each month.
General
- I use Dubsado for invoicing; you can make payment via PayPal, credit/debit card, or ACH.
- For hourly accounts, payment of outstanding invoices must be made in full at least once every 30 days.
- You have a 5 business day “grace period” on payments before late fees apply. I know sometimes invoice emails get missed or you just get swamped and forget!
- I reserve the right to charge fees on any late payments of up to 10% of the outstanding invoice amount per month.
I've been so pleased with the results of our working relationship and that you've become one of my go-to developers on WordPress and Squarespace projects. In the beginning of my business, I felt like I was always hopping in between service providers, trying on different developers on for size, and always finding something lacking. What I really wanted was a partner who demonstrated both a high level of skill for their work, as well as a high level of respect and understanding for working with designers. It was starting to feel like that person was a unicorn until I met you! Now if I get a project inquiry for WordPress or Squarespace, I don't have to worry about wasting time finding the right developer -- I already have one!
Whenever I work with you Megan, I never doubt you can do what I'm designing. I know I can be as creative as possible. That's worth its weight in gold right there. I can give my clients so much more now and really convey their individuality in the design because I'm no longer restricted by website builders. I always sing your praises when someone is looking for a developer - Although I better not shout them too loudly or other designers might steal all of your time, haha!
Working together has allowed me to be a much better designer, since I can put my clients' objectives first, instead of feeling limited by the development options. I'm able to take on more ambitious projects and really elevate my client experience.
Process
For Projects
- Signing the contract and paying the retainer fee officially books your spot in my development calendar. Your project isn’t booked until both of those steps are complete, though.
- About two weeks before our project is scheduled to begin, I’ll send you the Asana tracker for the project that includes all important dates from the proposal/contract and to-do items for both of us.
- Mockups and site assets (ex: fonts, images, graphics) are due the day before development is scheduled to begin so that I can work full-steam ahead starting day 1 of the project.
- On day 1, I start on development; you sit back and watch project tasks get completed via our Asana tracker. Peace of mind is great! 🙂
- If I have any questions for you during development, I’ll create a task in the “Things I need from you” section of our tracker and assign it to you with a due date.
- I deliver a testable demo version of the project to you by the agreed-upon date.
- You’ll have one week to review the testable version before revision requests are due. Your revisions method selection is due a couple of days before the first feedback so that I can set up the revisions area of our tracker to hold your feedback.
- When revisions are complete, I send the project over to my junior developer for cross-browser testing (CBT) and make sure any bugs uncovered are fixed before launch. CBT generally takes less than a week.
- During this time, you send over access credentials for the client’s host and domain registrar so that I can launch the site stress-free for you.
- I launch the new site and you celebrate with your client!
- I offer an optional “closing call” of up to an hour in length during revisions or within 1 month of site launch. You can ask me any questions you have or get 1-on-1 training on anything site-related during this call.
- If you don’t need the call, you can “trade” it for up to an hour of additional development work not covered by the original project scope.
- I offer bug fixes for up to a year post-launch. I will fix any bugs discovered during that year that are the result of an error in my code and are not caused by changes to the site, including plugin/theme/core WordPress updates.
For Retainers
- You assign me tasks via our Asana tracker. Included in our tracker’s admin section is an explanation of how to create new tasks so that I have all the information I need up front to start working.
- I work on your task and update the time tracker in Asana as I go.
- I’ll let you know when your task is complete, and when any needed revisions are finished, you can mark the task as complete and I’ll move on to the next task! 🙂
General
- I accept mockups in many different formats: AI, PSD, INDD, etc. I’m comfortable with all Adobe programs. Bonus points if you deliver mockups via InVision! 😉
- Image files should be delivered in the appropriate file format (ex: photos in JPG, illustrations in PNG) and cropped as desired.
- For MUCH more detailed information on providing assets in the best way possible, check out the Prepping for Development lesson in From Mockup to Code.
- For hourly work, projects are managed via email - it’s quicker and easier since these are normally short-term, one-off items.
This was a really creative project, and I knew I needed a developer who could bring it to life how I envisioned without telling me some of the little details weren't possible. Besides the creative ability, one of the most important things I need in a developer is a good communicator who is highly organized and can finish the work on time, and Megan is really good with this. I love your streamlined process and the way I can see things getting checked off in Asana and know you're on track.
I would definitely recommend working with Megan. She made the process very easy for me and was able to implement exactly what my client wanted, and as a result, made me look good!
I knew you were going to get the work done and done well. I could hand off my designs and know you were executing them beautifully, without me having to double check everything or micromanage. Or write a 20 page PDF outline all the obvious information.
Feedback Guidelines
For Projects
- Any feedback you have should be held until we reach the revisions phase of the project. I allow clients a week to review the site before revisions officially start, so save all your feedback until either round 1 or day 1 of revisions begins.
- I sometimes send sneak peeks of project progress to clients (especially on our first project together). If I do send you a preview, though, remember to save your feedback for revisions.
- Once you choose a revisions method, I’ll set up the revisions area of our Asana tracker so that you can place your first and any subsequent revisions in the correct place.
- For revisions in a standard project, you have the choice of either 1 week of unlimited revisions or 3 rounds of revisions spread over no more than two weeks’ time. For mini-projects, you can choose between either 4 business days of unlimited revisions or 2 rounds of revisions spread over no more than one week’s time.
- If you need more revision time for a project, this can be added either at the time of proposal creation for a flat rate or during the revisions phase at an hourly rate.
- I aim to turn around revisions within 1 business day so that you have ample time to review the changes. If a task is unusually complex or large it may take me longer, though.
- Once the final day or round of revisions is complete, I send projects over to my junior developer for cross-browser testing. This process usually takes 3 business days or less, then the project will be ready for launch!
- Each revision request should be entered as a subtask for either the day or round of revisions we are currently working on. Once you’ve finished entering subtasks, please tag me and let me know you’re ready for me to start work: Asana does not notify me when new subtasks are added, so I won’t know your requests are there unless you tag me.
- If I have any questions about a revision request, I’ll leave a comment for you in the subtask; otherwise, I’ll mark it complete when I’ve finished.
For Retainers
- Feel free to leave any feedback you have in the retainer task in Asana once I deliver the first version to you. Retainers work differently than projects, so there’s no need to hold requests.
General
- I usually work on revisions on my local development server and upload them to our demo site once the entire round or day has been finished, so don’t panic if you notice revision requests being completed but can’t see any changes reflected on the demo site yet.
- For hourly work, revisions function similar to retainers, but they’re usually made via email since hourly projects don’t get an Asana tracker.
- If you want more clarification on what qualifies as a revision and what doesn’t, check out the revisions vs changes section in From Mockup to Code.
You were always so patient with my nitpicky requests and never complained if we had to adjust things 1 or 2px to make it perfect. It makes such a huge difference to work with someone who understands the insanity of that and doesn't make you feel like a burden for wanting it.
Megan was very responsive, attentive and willing to work through the changes I requested. She even took the time to troubleshoot a couple of issues that popped up during the project that helped us have a better end result. I appreciated her organized process and also being willing to do a quick turn-around for my client who had a tight deadline.
What was the one most positive thing about working with you? The fact that you worked hard to make sure everything was up to my standards. I so appreciated that you continued to work on the press page when it wasn't as user friendly as I would have liked. I respect that you're super upfront with your policies and boundaries, but also really appreciate that you make sure you deliver above and beyond.
I thought my design might end up looking a little, or even a lot, different from my mockups and I was so worried it wouldn't translate well on the web, but the final product was absolutely PERFECT and exactly to a T what I designed. EVERY single part of my layout was placed in the exact spot I had intended, and I truly don't know how she did it, but Megan did a spectacular job!