We lately became interested in finding out what are the hinders and annoyances web professionals face in their daily design work. Facilitating discussion on popular design discussion forums seemed like a good idea to collect information. Based on the feedback, there clearly was a need to vent. What we got was pretty straight forward - it wasn't too hard to pick out the TOP 3 angst provoking web annoyances.

1. Dim or down right nasty clients

Clients. You love and hate them. Their demands and deadlines cause you anxiety. They make you question your own talent and skills. They drive you mental in numerous ways...And they pay you. At least when they like what they see. And if they don’t, they’ll try to convince you that the globe image is great in conveying the company's international mindset, that kittens make everything cuter and removing the search function will make the visitors stay longer on the site. It sometimes seems like the client is totally incapable of expressing any kind of wishes until the site is practically finished. And when they do, there can be ideas that dramatically contrast with the agreed specs. However, questioning the skills and artistic advisory of the designer is not the same thing as giving useful feedback. I mean, we hardly raise a doubt whether the doctor is giving us the right medication, do we.

The webmosphere is getting more and more populated with beautiful and polished web services backed by an army of developers. This kind of development curve makes many clients expect you to magically pull something like Facebook out of the oven in no time (and expense). With expectations of quality hitting the seiling (and those of cost the basement), it can be hard to justify your price. This is because the business of web design is still in quite an early stage and the clients simply don’t always understand the amount of work needed to create the agreed project.

Own your role as a professional

However, before we choke on our angst, let’s consider the good sides. At best, tricky clients can push you to reach better results and soar higher in your professional ambience. The designer should be able to read the clients and get a feel of their level of understanding. Every project should start with a clear expectations setting session so that the parties are at the right track and the process can continue as smoothly as possible. So remember that you are the professional web designer and your client is there seeking your help. They don’t need to be aware of all frills of the web. That’s why they hire you. Ending a complex and unprofitable customer relationship can also be done tactfully. In case the pain is more than the gain, no need to put yourself through a bad experience.

2. Bad third parties and posers

The web is a playing field of all things cool as well as a platform for reckless self promotion. We compete of global attention to our blogs, podcasts, videos and other pieces of digital creative outbursts. Same applies to web design. It can be hard to tell apart the true professionals amongst the vast spectrum of experimentalists. Especially small businesses will be tempted to pay peanuts for someone’s 13 year old nephew designing with hacked trial versions of photoshop, dreamveawer and the likes. Sure it’s cheap, but is it sustainable and data secure? Another pain are visually impaired coders that the client has selected to implement functionality. These guys do what they please. Either they do it so-so, or ditch your design and create it with their own “better” ideas.

3. Old browsers

Or, to be frank... old versions of IE.