{"id":7605,"date":"2018-10-09T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T19:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=7605"},"modified":"2021-01-29T09:17:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T14:17:04","slug":"8-things-you-should-never-say-to-a-web-developer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/8-things-you-should-never-say-to-a-web-developer","title":{"rendered":"8 Things You Should Never Say to a Web Developer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hiring a Web Developer? Working more closely on a digital project? There are a few things you should keep in mind. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s tossing around terminology you don\u2019t really understand or casually undermining the value of their work, there are certain things that will leave a Developer shaking her or his head.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you avoid that? Here are eight things you should never say to a Web Developer<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could do this myself if I had time.\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you have some programming experience, or you believe you possess a great eye for web design \u2013 regardless, if you\u2019re not a developer, you can\u2019t do a Developer\u2019s job.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This kind of condescending attitude is most common when negotiating. But some Developers have even heard a more insulting variation: \u201cI could get my teenage daughter\/son\/niece\/nephew to do this for half the price.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s great. Go hire your nephew,\u201d <\/span>vented<\/span><\/a> Amy Masson, the co-owner of Sumy Designs, LLC.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are professionals, and while your nephew may be great,\u201d she added, \u201cdon\u2019t compare your Developer to a 15-year-old computer geek.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan\u2019t you just re-use this section?\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your Developer is suggesting a new approach, there\u2019s probably a good reason (which can involve any number of design or coding issues, both now and for the future). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By asking this kind of question, you\u2019re discounting their creativity and essentially signaling that cost and speed are more important than building a quality digital product. A better approach would be to ask why<\/em> they\u2019re recommending certain changes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you take my website and keep it the exact same, but transfer it to a new CMS?\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This strategy \u2013 where a website is dragged from one CMS to a new one without any modifications to front-end code \u2013 is often called the \u201clift and shift.\u201d Developers hear this request frequently from clients who believe it will be cheaper and more cost-effective.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, transferring content from one CMS platform to another is a far more complex and potentially problematic process than most realize.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMigrating content from one CMS platform to another requires the consideration of a vast number of variables,\u201d <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> Adam Trissel, SVP of Technology at HERO.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst, there is a significant possibility the URL structure of the content will change. Internal relationships defined as hyperlinks must be rewritten. Leveraging the authoring capabilities of the new platform will require refactoring the content. Lastly, you will need to review the CSS and JavaScript to determine if they can be migrated to the new platform without changes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds like a lot of work, doesn\u2019t it?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that few of the people asking for a CMS migration actually understand the time-consuming nature of it, another problem tends to arise: totally unrealistic deadlines. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust upload it to the cloud.\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It might be tempting to throw around buzzwords (\u201cthe cloud\u201d) or programming languages when talking to a Developer,  but it\u2019s easy to look foolish in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an example, Java and JavaScript are different, and according to the 2018 <\/span>Stack Overflow Developer Report<\/span><\/a>, JavaScript is the most commonly used programming language among developers \u2013 69.8 percent utilize it \u2013 while Java is used by only 45.3 percent.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the uninitiated could quite easily confuse C, C++ and C#.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another issue is that non-Developers sometimes have a hard time differentiating between different roles. Some struggle with the difference between Front-End Developers and Back-End Developers, and might innocently use a term like \u201cFront-End Designer.\u201d In reality, all Designers are focused on the front-end.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many potential pitfalls like this, so your best bet if you want to avoid making your Developer\u2019s eyes roll? Don\u2019t toss around language you don\u2019t understand.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow about adding an autoplaying video\/Flash animation\/a pop-up?\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just going one-by-one through these specific suggestions: videos that autoplay are annoying; Flash is on its deathbed and <\/span>will be extinct in 2020<\/span><\/a>; and pop-up ads deteriorate your user experience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But more broadly, it\u2019s just best not to dictate design elements to your developers \u2013 unless you’re a Developer yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Developers know best which elements will help your digital product stand out, and which will leave you looking tragically outdated. Trust their experience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan we hide this information in a hamburger menu?\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hamburger menus can be occasionally effective on mobile devices, but on desktops, they <\/span>have been found<\/span><\/a> to cut discoverability almost in half, while task time and task difficulty both increase.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Nielsen Norman Group\u2019s study found that hidden navigation even provides a worse user experience in mobile phones, across any number of UX metrics.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan\u2019t you just quickly turn this into a mobile app?\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course not. It takes time to develop an app \u2013 especially a good one.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

App development company NineHertz <\/span>found<\/span><\/a> that it takes almost 18 weeks on average to develop a mobile app. For more complex, highly multifaceted apps, that number jumped to more than 900 hours. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implying that your Developer can wave a wand and create an effective app will make you look a little ignorant \u2013 or just indifferent to quality.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m locked out of my email. What can I do?\u201d; \u201cCan you fix my printer?\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It shouldn\u2019t have to be said, but your Developer is not there to provide IT support.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer to all those questions will be no \u2013 or perhaps something a little less polite.
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to learn more about web development? Find out more about <\/span><\/i>BrainStation\u2019s Web Development courses<\/span><\/i><\/a>. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re hiring a Developer, there are a few things you should keep in mind. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[97],"tags":[600,176,100],"yoast_head":"\n8 Things You Should Never Say to a Web Developer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hiring a Web Developer? You might want to keep a few things in mind before looking foolish. 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