I know that clients get frustrated because we insist on a signed-off, completed blueprint before we build a website.
I do know this, truly. I understand that they want to see 'the pretty bit' and that a blueprint can be one of the most boring things in the world. (Unless you're me, that is).
So I've hastily prepared a little diagram to make it easier to explain why changes (those "quick changes") can't be made to your full-graphics website after it is built.
Here's the "quick change" from the client - "Please can you change ABOUT and CONTACT to ABOUT US and CONTACT US. We think it sounds friendlier that way..."
As you know, graphic links are ... um ... graphics (images, pictures, whatever you want to call them). So are headers. Each graphic has to be located in its own cell. It's the cells on a website which are its structure; they hold the whole thing together. Here's a simple diagram of a very basic navigation:
See how ABOUT and CONTACT (and all the other links) are in their own little rectangle? Each rectangle is a cell.
Now, imagine that we have to create new graphics saying ABOUT US and CONTACT US. Yes, it's only adding a couple of characters (a "quick change"???) but notice that the new graphics which include the "US" will not fit into the cells.
Well, can't we just make the cells bigger? Yes, but notice the two black bars down either side. If the ABOUT and CONTACT cells are made bigger, those cells which are shown in black need to be made smaller and it's more than likely that they will contain graphics too, which in turn will have to be recreated in smaller versions....
And if your links have rollovers, the rollover graphics will have to be recreated and recoded ...
Notice too that the CONTACT header is in its own cell. We can't change that to CONTACT US without making THAT cell larger which in turn, effects all the other cells on the page ...
In short, adding "US" after ABOUT and CONTACT will mean completely rebuilding the page. Now if we're talking about one simple page, that's fine. But what if your entire site has been built? Obviously, we will need to rebuild the whole site.
Can we do that? Yes, of course. But there will be a charge, of course. And you probably don't really want to go to the additional expense so .... (I'll say it again and probably again next month and the month after that and the month after that...) GET IT RIGHT ON THE BLUEPRINT.
Here's a pretty simple site:
Now let's look at its structure:
That is just outlining the images; it isn't showing the hundreds of cells which go towards making the page.
So, what was that "quick change" again?
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