No matter what industry you're in, if you sell a product or service you will undoubtedly run into the occasional client who you just don't see eye to eye with.  They communicate too much or too little, they want to micromanage you at your job or there's just a general personality clash.  Sometimes you just tough it out and make it work, but if you've ever been in this position sometimes you just can't help but think, "There has to be a better way."

There's any number of excellent resources out there for helping professionals work through difficult client relationships (like Dave Kahle's Dealing with Difficult Customers), but we thought we'd address it in the web design world specifically.

"I really love it, but can you change the colors and design?" -From the book "Clients from Hell"

One thing that we've found works well is getting the client involved in the process in some way.  Whether it's having them hunt down potential content (old sales materials, how tos, manuals, etc.) that might make a valuable addition to the site, or organizing the roster of staff necessary to begin assembling new content, this gives them a bit of ownership over elements they truly are knowledgeable on.  If you can make that fly, you have a win-win situation. We also reached out to some other web professionals so they could share their stories and advice, and here's what we learned:

"Here at Glyphix weve designed hundreds of sites over the last 16 years and have had our share of challenging clients. We believe the key, sometimes, is to educate the client along the process. Often times clients have very little knowledge about the process or about realistic results. We clearly establish realistic expectations early on. Then we review as we go.

Another helpful hint in to document all changes along the way. At first we tried to be good guys and just accommodate client changes for no charge along the way. While easier and non confrontational. it sets a poor precedent and is a recipe for disaster. Document so each change is defined and tracked. By addressing these issues, we avoid major problems that can arise near the end of a project."

-Larry Cohen, President - Glyphix

"I get all types of design clients (mostly for web design) and there are always those few who come in who just seem to want the impossible. I get clients who want to add a million pages to their website, but don't understand the true meaning of why users are visiting their website in the first place. Or those controlling clients who want it their way or the highway. It can be difficult to present a website when the person already has a vision of what they want in their mind. You can never please those people, so more times then not you have to sacrifice design for the client.

Sacrificing design for the client is the last resort when convincing the client otherwise fails to work. I like to start with suggestions in my opinion of what I think would be best for their website. Sometimes they take my advice and other times they simply ignore it. But you can't let it bother you, at the end of the day they are your client and they are paying you for it. I've had a client in the past that was totally unreasonable in her requests, had a temper, and when I gave my advice she ignored it and got frustrated with me as to why it wasn't aesthetically appealing. At that point I already wasted two weeks of my time dealing with her and decided to cut my losses and let her go. When a client doesnt treat your line of work with respect you need to drop that client and focus on the ones that truly want your expertise.

"I have printed it out, but the animated GIF is not moving?" -From the book "Clients from Hell"

Lastly, I would like to end that clients for the most part are understanding and minor changes in the design are to be expected. Nonetheless in most cases they are satisfied with their website and value my advice that I give to them."

-Chuck LoCascio, Owner/Lead Designer - Designful Arts

"The best thing is to be assertive and back up designs with logic and market research. For example, If a client wants a crazy logo that is complex, and they want to use poor colors and gradients, we will explain to them what a logo should do. We'll ask them to minimize the logo on their screen/zoom out and see if they can see it. We will also place the logo on black and white backgrounds to show them.

For websites, we have found if we explain terms like "above the fold" and tell them why it is important, they are more likely to listen. If the client wants complex & unnecessary functionality, we have to usually explain the costs involved.

ALWAYS have a contract with a designated number of revisions to work with. And document all revisions (we have a revision form). This way the client can't legally argue."

-Gira Desai, Partner - Aleberry Creative

"At the outset, communicate clearly, and abundantly. What are the requirements, what will you deliver, and what will the clients involvement be?

Manage expectations and interests.

Report in often. For short term projects, report at least every 2 days. For anything over a week, report in every 4-7 days. Ask for feedback.

Most importantly, understand the client's expectations and preference. Take time to understand not only the business, but also how they run it. Understanding where they are coming from will empower you to take appropriate steps to ensure that expectations are managed and met.

Under promise, over deliver. Once you manage expectations, nothing thrills a client more than getting more than what they expected. This is great PR."

-Tabish Bhimani, Event Planner - Milestones Montreal

These are the voices of experience.  Next time you find yourself pulling your hair out trying to figure out how to see eye to eye with one of your clients, it may be worthwhile to run down this list and see if there's a way to get everyone back on the same page. Related articles

• An Exploration of Website Redesigns: Tips and Examples (sixrevisions.com)