I’ve taken on a number of large web projects this year. That might not sound particularly remarkable for someone who describes themselves as a designer who works with websites. But for me, it has represented quite a significant shift in how I work.
Moving from an in-house leadership role to running my own design consultancy has meant making some pretty fundamental changes to my process and approach. In particular, this relates to my responsibilities after a design stage is complete.
I’ve always had a good working understanding of the web. I’ve designed plenty of websites, worked alongside developers, dealt with CMSs, and had a reasonable understanding of the launch process; moving from stage to live. But in my previous roles, I usually had a team around me to take things through the final stages; developers, co-project managers, and other specialists. I could hand over the reins, give design direction or answer questions, and then move on to the next project.
Now I work for myself–and by myself–I no longer have that luxury.
Adapting my role
With these recent projects, I’ve found myself much more involved in the complete lifecycle of a website.
That means getting involved with hosting and domains, DNS, SSL, redirects, managing migrations, troubleshooting plugins, thinking about SEO and performance, fixing things that inevitably break and, eventually, pushing the launch button and setting the thing live.
None of this was completely new territory. The foundations were already there. But there’s a big difference between understanding how something works and being the person who has to make it actually work. And that has also occasionally meant a steep learning curve.
I’ve had to become more comfortable with the technical side of websites, more aware of the things that can go wrong and, perhaps most importantly, much more proactive about solving problems rather than simply passing them on.
The good, the bad, and the stressful
There have definitely been moments when I’ve questioned the wisdom of taking on quite so much responsibility. Websites have a habit of behaving perfectly until they don’t. Something that looks straightforward can turn into an afternoon (or an evening) spent trying to figure out why it doesn’t work. It’s been a bit wild at times. But also hugely rewarding.
There’s a particular satisfaction in seeing a website go live when you’ve been involved in virtually every step of getting it there. Having a deeper understanding of what happens after the design stage has changed the way I approach the design stage itself. In particular, I can now see where seemingly simple design decisions can create unnecessary problems further down the line.
Getting it over the line
I’m still a designer. That’s my bread and butter and it’s still the bit I enjoy most. But when it comes to my web projects, I’m increasingly comfortable being the person who maintains control after the design is finished.
That’s been one of the unexpected benefits of moving from an in-house role to running my own consultancy. There’s obviously more responsibility, as well as more things that can go wrong. But there’s greater ownership too which is where the reward lies.
And when something finally goes live, there’s a slightly different sense of satisfaction in knowing that you didn’t just design it, you also launched it. You pushed it over the line.
It’s been a great learning curve. A bit wild, occasionally stressful, and sometimes just plain frustrating. But in the end, it’s also been massively rewarding.
With great stress comes great pride in the outcome.
