Q The Cake:
My partner and I were approached by a client that was taking steps in starting her own cake decorating business. Our client asked us to build the website for her new business. We did some of our own research looking at other bakery websites within the Pittsburgh area. Then we took that information and shared what we found with her. During that meeting we found out she was looking for a site that was not too formal, was very colorful, and would be a fun representation of her cake designs.
After the first meeting we had our client choose a hosting site that fit her needs. We were able to provide her a list of options for her to pick from. We concluded that a WordPress site would be the best platform solution for our client since it would allow us to eventually hand the site over to her to edit on her own.
We used scrum team methodology and had the client help us make a list of backlog tasks, which the team members then signed up for. I was tasked with designing the first layout and template on WordPress. My teammate worked on coming up with names for the client and helping with a logo. The client chose the name "Q The Cake" for her business.
During the second meeting I showed the client the first design. She liked some things about the site but asked for a few changes. She thought the site was “fun” like she wanted but did not like the color scheme of the template. She felt it was to “girly.” The client requested we try a color scheme like the artist Piet Mondrian used in his art work: the use of primarily blue, yellow, and red.
At the end of the meeting, we asked the client to send us photos of cakes she had designed for people so we could create a gallery page for the site to show off her work. The client also asked for a contact page so that customers could contact her about possible cake requests.
The development team began a second sprint, and I worked on the main page and the contact page, while my partner worked on the logo and gallery page. I found a template that fit our client’s needs better. I struggled trying to work in the color scheme she had requested while trying to give the page a professional look.
Final Outcome:
In the end we had a fully functional site to present to the client and she was pleased. We then wrote up instructions to help her update and add to the site on her own in the future.
Overall, the team had a good experience working with a client, taking their ideas and bringing them to life as a website. I came to realize a valuable part of my job was keeping in contact with the client and prompting her to send us content like text and photos for the gallery. I also had my first experience of building a design that I felt was good but then discovered it was not what the client wanted. So more than once I had to go back to the drawing board and make changes. But our agile development methodology embraces the idea that a client may not know what she truly wants until she sees a prototype of the site, and then requests for changes are inevitable. It's a methodology I will continue to use with clients in the future, to make each project a rewarding collaboration.