I wanted to hire a freelance designer to create a professional design for my website, but I wasn’t sure who would be the right person for the job. It was nerve-racking because I felt like I was in prime position to be taken advantage of:

• What if they wanted payment before the task was completed?
• What if they never completed the design after they were paid?
• What if they ended up designing something that I hated and they needed to make another design from scratch – would they charge me twice as much?

These questions loomed in my mind as I began contacting potential designers to help me with my website.

The Initial Contact

In November of 2007, I sent an introductory message to over a dozen webmasters, all of whom offered Web Design services. I explained that my blog “LifeReboot” was becoming more popular than I expected. I described how I was embarrassed about its current look (I was using a design that I pieced together myself) and that I believed the amateur blog design was turning off some of my visitors. I asked if they were willing to help me redesign my website with a more professional-looking theme.

Every response was practically identical: “I’m all booked up.” – “I have too many other projects going on right now.” – “Try contacting me again in a few months.” The only person who broke this mold was Jon Phillips.

One day after contacting Jon, I received his courteous reply: “Right now I’m working on 3 designs, but I should be done around the 26-28th, and could start working on yours. What are you looking for?”

Jon’s attitude was incredible. While every other designer played the “I’m busy” card, Jon was willing to consider my project regardless of how many other things were crowding his plate. His willingness to help made an outstanding first impression on me.

A Preview Of Things To Come

As I eventually learned, Jon’s introductory message was only a preview of things to come. Throughout the project, Jon repeatedly impressed me with his professionalism. During our correspondence he was patient, understanding, and courteous. During the redesign phase, he willingly experimented with design details to determine what I liked and disliked. Most importantly, Jon never came off as impatient, frustrated, or offended if I told him that I was unhappy with something.

In other words, Jon recognizes that although his designs are a reflection of himself, they ultimately belong to the customer. He respectfully listened to all of my thoughts and concerns about the design-in-progress. He quickly implemented any of my requested changes. In a sentence, Jon was willing to modify the design until I was completely satisfied with it.

The Project

Due to the large number of tasks Jon performed during this four-month project, it’s incredibly difficult for me to sum up the experience of working with him using only high praise. The only way to accurately describe Jon’s involvement in this project is to list some of the things he did. The following list of Jon’s talented efforts demonstrates his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty in an effort to satisfy his client:

Phase #1 – Concept
Jon asked me simple questions, and really listened to what I was saying.

He asked me if there were any specific websites that I liked, and what it was about them that appealed to me. He asked me what I was hoping to accomplish with the new design, and recognized my interest in creating a design that appeals to advertisers.

He took these points into consideration and developed some main ideas for the redesign.

He never overwhelmed me with technical jargon, choosing to concentrate on the main ideas instead of the behind-the-scenes details. He only discussed his compensation after he knew what I wanted. I felt like Jon was more interested in providing me with what I was asking for than the money involved.

Phase #2 – Design
Jon sent me a JPG image of a preliminary design. He created this “mock image” before creating any actual code so that we knew we were in agreement regarding the concept for the new design.

The image confirmed we were in agreement regarding basic layout and intended colors. The image also alerted us to the fact that we had not discussed the implementation of a search box. I let Jon know that this feature was missing, and he sent a revised image that demonstrated where he planned on putting the search box.

Jon created the actual code for the new design, and set up an area on his own website where I could test it out. This was incredibly helpful, because he effectively made a “sandbox” for us to “play in” – we could modify the design-in-progress without it affecting my live website.

Revising the design on the test site was the most exciting part of the project. We collaborated with one another using the test site for many weeks. I was able to test the new design in many different browsers, and confirm that it worked properly with certain plugins. I was able to use the test site to show the design-in-progress to some of my peers, and get their feedback.

Phase #3 – Implementation
Once we reached a finished design, Jon gave me two options:

• He could send me the necessary files so I could set up the new design myself
• I could provide him with login details to my website and he would set up the new design for me.

I was grateful to have a choice in the matter. Part of me wanted to do it myself, because I wanted to make sure that I knew how my own website worked. Another part of me wanted to entrust the task to Jon, who had proven himself as an expert.

We compromised: I enabled the new site design myself, but I also gave Jon his own administrative login to my website. This allowed him to quickly correct any problems that arose (due to different software versions, or other unexpected issues).

In addition to the finished design, Jon provided an easy-to-understand instruction manual, and his personal guarantee: If I ever needed help with the design in the future, he would be happy to assist me at no cost.

In Conclusion

As already mentioned, the above list is only a subset of the countless number of things Jon did for me regarding this project. Thanks to his remarkable efforts and explicit attention to detail, my whole experience working with him was stress-free. I’m certain that I will be recommending his Web Design services for years to come.

If you have any questions left unanswered after reading this letter, then I encourage you to contact me via LifeReboot.com

Sincerely,
Shaun Boyd