Why should I care that you document your work properly?

Every once in a while a client (usually someone who is in marketing) will wonder why I bother to say ‘I document my work properly’ on my home page and in videos. They think it’s a minor detail; that it’s just not something clients will care about. But that’s exactly my point! I put that sentence front and center because it is an important benefit to the work we do here. And I’ve noticed that most clients need to be educated on the importance of having a well-documented web site.

Now if a client hires me to work on a site created by another developer, they often learn this lesson real quick. As an example, there are many occasions where I’ve started looking at a previous developer’s work and almost immediately run into a hold-up: a key piece of information is missing. When that happens I have to take time to locate that missing piece. If I’m lucky? It takes just a few minutes. But if I’m not so lucky? If the information really is unavailable? I may have to re-create his or her work from scratch, then send you the bill. And then you’re angry with me about an unexpected charge even though you should be angry with the previous developer! (Who most likely is in another state by now.)

Remember: most web sites are like our homes: they are both significant long term assets. Most of us are going to keep them both for a good while. And periodically all houses (and web sites) need at least some ongoing maintenance. So developers should provide (and you should expect) clear, thorough documentation about what they did and how they did it, leaving behind all the information the next worker will need in order to get up to speed quickly.

I made this comparison because a great deal of home building code is about good documentation: doing everything in a standard way and making sure that work is documented so that future workmen can properly maintain your home. That sort of best practice is a big part of every building project. And I strongly believe that you should expect your web developer to do no less. The developer should document his or her work to a professional standard in exactly the same way an architect or licensed electrician would do. This ensures that anyone who needs to work on your web site in the future can do so as inexpensively and safely as possible.

So before you engage any web developer you should ask them what their policy is on documentation. Ask them to describe the manual(s) they will leave behind when the project is completed. If they welcome the question and provide thorough answers to these questions, they are probably a safe bet. But if they look puzzled or try to gloss over the question with a flip answer? That’s a good indicator that you probably want to look elsewhere.