What Clients Mean vs What They Say: A Web Designer’s Translation Guide

At Baslon Digital, a lot of our work involves translation.

No, not languages, exactly — it's more to do with interpreting perfectly reasonable human thoughts into something a website can actually do without it falling apart. Now, this does require a level of skill, especially when you're dealing with enthusiastic clients.

Everyone involved is speaking English, however, entire conversations sometimes still need to be translated, made clear, and sometimes a pause is necessary while someone puts the espresso coffee on.

This isn’t a complaint. It’s simply what happens when people who run businesses must collaborate with people who build and design things on the internet.

One group is thinking about their customers, sales, and reputation, of course. The other is thinking about Google, website layouts, fonts and why that button has moved to the left for no apparent reason.

Translation helps.

When a client says, “Can you just make it pop?”, what they’re really saying is that something feels a bit boring. “Pop” is a very flexible word. What does it mean? It can mean; clearer headings, maybe a change in visuals, or simply that the site needs something more to help it to speak with a bit more confidence. It’s quite vague when a client says “Can you just make it pop?” — but I guess it's also quite honest.

Our job is to work out which version of “pop” they mean, usually by trying a few sensible options and discussing with the client why adding a brightly coloured border would not be the solution here. What Clients Mean vs What They Say can be a challenging journey to negotiate but here at Baslon Digital, we're masters at understanding our clients needs and often we help them to understand what they want and more importantly, what they actually need to help their website to gain traction.

Another coffee is often involved at this point.......

What Clients Mean vs What They Say

Then there’s the promised “I’ll send the content over shortly.” 

This is rarely a lie. It’s more of an ambition on the client's part. What it usually means is,

“I fully intended to do this, but today has unfolded in ways I did not expect.....”

Writing about your own business is actually not so easy. You’re expected to sound confident about it without overly bragging, friendly without rambling on too much, and professional too, all without sounding like a brochure that is malfunctioning.

It's not surprising therefore that the content we receive often arrives late in the evening, perhaps in several parts. This is quite normal. We plan for this. We quietly open it at 11:47pm......and move forward....

Occasionally we hear things like, “Can we make it a bit more like Apple?” This sounds very ambitious, but it’s actually quite helpful.

Translation: they want a clean looking, modern and simple website

Apple has spent decades and 'quite a lot' of money experimenting on what good design looks like, so it’s not surprising that they come up as a reference. Our role is to understand the client's feeling without promising them a website that results in being recognised globally (yet), or people queuing outside their office for reasons no one can quite yet explain.

Another phrase that needs to be handled very carefully is “It’s just a small change.” 

Sometimes it genuinely is.

Other times it’s like the digital equivalent of asking, “Can we just move that wall?” only to discover it’s holding the entire house up.

Websites can be described as delicate ecosystems. You find that nudging one thing results in several others suddenly starting to collapse if you're not careful. When we pause and ask questions, or reach for the kettle, it’s not that we're reluctant — it’s experience screaming at us....

Deadlines have their own dialect, you could say. If the client suddenly expresses “We need it live by tomorrow” it's rarely that they planned poorly. It's probably because something unexpected has happened: perhaps a new opportunity has just appeared. Has a deadline been moved? Or, someone important has asked a question that starts with “Why isn’t…”.

Sometimes speed really does matter, and here at Baslon Digital we do everything possible to help. Our clients genuinely appreciate that about us (trying not to sound like we're bragging, or anything....)

Other times, what’s actually required is a calm conversation, a very sensible plan, and a reminder to the client that websites launched in a mild panic will often need immediate follow-up therapy.

Then there's 'Feedback'. When someone says, “I don’t really like it… but I can’t say why,” this isn’t a design failure — it’s simply a human response.

Did you know that design is emotional?

If something feels off, that matters, even if the client doesn't know why. With a bit of patient discussion (and, yes, possibly more coffee at this stage), it usually becomes clear whether the issue is tone, maybe it's the layout, or simply that the site doesn’t yet feel like you. That’s not a problem. That’s the process working as it should.

Sooner or later comes that hopeful question: “Can people find us on Google yet?” This is usually asked shortly after the website has been launched.

Well, how do I put this?.....The reality is that SEO, unfortunately, is not moved by anyone's enthusiasm. It is a slow, steady process involving time, structure, consistency, and patience — ideally without checking your search results every ten minutes obsessively like it’s a medical monitor. That's not going to improve your SEO, the same way checking your blood pressure every ten minutes won't improve it, so stop it!!!!

If you sign up with Baslon Digital for a monthly SEO package, we’ll keep you abreast of what’s happening with SEO, what’s improving, and why Google is not ignoring you personally.

Now, one phrase we particularly enjoy is “Our customers aren’t very technical.” 

Translation: our customers are normal people.

This is excellent news. It means we can focus on making your website clear, simple to use, and, importantly, not make anyone think too hard. Your visitors really don't want to think too hard, take it from us! Clear navigation, readable text, and buttons that actually look like buttons are not compromises — they’re just signs of a website that want its visitors to have as easy an experience as possible.

If there’s one thing we want to make clear from our side, it’s this: when we ask questions, suggest alternatives, or now and again push back, it’s not because we’re being difficult. It’s because we’ve seen what happens when websites just focus on speed, guesswork, or “just getting it live”. We want your website to work properly, to communicate as clearly as possible, and support your business.

Of course, that’s usually exactly what clients want too. We just tend to say it in different ways, on different days of the week.

If you’ve recognised yourself anywhere in this article, don’t worry. You’re not unusual.

You’re not a “difficult client”. You’re simply doing something you don’t do every day, with people who do it all the time.

That’s why web designers like Baslon Digital exist: to translate what clients actually are saying, guide you, reassure you, and occasionally explain why something that looks simple is actually not simple at all.

And yes — if all else fails — we can make the logo a bit bigger.

I’ll just make one tiny tweak

And then there’s the moment after launch, when the website is live, it's working perfectly, and curiosity gets the better of someone. “I’ll just make one tiny tweak.” 

A font is changed...... A button is nudged, a little...... A bit of spacing is adjusted....here and there.

Before long, nothing quite lines up anymore and the site looks… very confused.

Soon after, we get a friendly message that starts with, “It was fine a minute ago.......” 

A-hem…

Don’t worry — this happens all the time. It’s a perfectly natural stage of website ownership. We step in, gently untangle things, fix it all up, and restore calm to the website once again — hopefully not too often though.

A very subtle call to action

So, are you thinking about a new website, or giving an existing one a little more needed care and attention?

Whether it’s a full redesign or “just a small change”, a calm and considered approach usually saves time and a whole lot of stress.

Baslon Digital designs beautifully calm, clear, hard-working websites — with a steady supply of coffee and tea behind the scenes.

Get in touch (whenever you're ready), before or after the kettle goes on.....