20 things you say that really annoy your web developer

Want to wind up a web developer today? Try saying any one of these 20 things to them.


1. “My 13 year old could do this for free!”

Wonderful. Why not hire them, then?


2. “Could you fix the printer?”

😐


3. “Get it done by tomorrow.”

#@$*£%! (Is what your web developer is thinking.)


4. “I want a Flash animation here.”

Unless it’s a Flash Gordon GIF, no.


5. “Why doesn’t it work on Internet Explorer 5?”

Really? Please update your browser.


6. “Dress to impress.”

Nobody in a collar wants to code.


7. “Sorry to butt in…”

Tip: don’t interrupt. Especially when the headphones are in.


8. “Can’t you just…”

This breeds resentment. Development can be tricky, you know.


9. “I want it to be innovative.”

That’s a buzzword, not a brief.


10. “Can you build it using Perl?”

Why not hieroglyphics?


11. “Front-end dev is just colouring in.”

Stop putting different types of development into a weird, woefully misinformed caste system.


12. “React.js is rubbish.”

Shut your dirty mouth.


13. “It’s not working.”

Fixing the undefined is hard. Detailed bug reports and screenshots get you a gold star.


14. “We need to change direction…”

Aka ‘The Pivot’. Big changes in project scope are every developer’s nightmare.


15. “You can build the site without content, right?”

A website can’t live on code alone. Your web developer needs assets in advance to do the job properly.


16. “What login credentials?”

Cue sleuthing work to find the username and password for your hosting account.


17. “Web development is obsolete.”

Good luck building that major ecommerce site on Wix, then.


18. “Can you build a prototype for free?”

One for freelance web developers. Constantly getting asked to give your time and expertise away for free is a real perk of the job.


19. “Copy this competitor’s site exactly, but make it different.”

Or a close equivalent: “The same as this site, but with more oomph.”


20. “Using WordPress is a copout.”

God forbid you make the job quicker and easier for everyone involved.


Any requests?

If you’re a web developer and we missed your personal pet peeve, tweet us and let us know!


Useful links

Software project estimation: handling the dreaded ‘how long will it take?’

The security risks of outdated software

Front-end vs back-end: are the lines blurring?