When managing a growing list of web design clients, it’s crucial to keep a system for storing all of the files associated with each client.  Just about everything we do in web design involves saving files – all different types of files.  Without a reliable folder struture, it’s easy to lose track of your work.  Organization avoids all sorts of problems.

The Benefits of Organization

Before I share my method of managing client files, I’d like to first point out the benefits of staying organized at all times.

• You will never lose anything.  Obvious.
• You know exactly where to look for a specific file.  Saves you time.
• Your clients rely on you as their backup.  Lets be honest, most of our clients aren’t very organized.  That’s where you come in.  Reassurance that all of your client’s materials are secure in your hands is a great benefit, and it will keep them coming back to you for additional work.

Web Design Client Folder Structure

Here is how I set up every one of my web design clients.

I keep all of my clients files inside one folder, called WEBSITES.  I place this folder right on my desktop for easy access, and regularly back up this entire folder to two external hard drives.  Backing up your files is crucial.  More on this another time.

Each client gets their own folder.  Within that folder are four main sub-folders:

1) Design

This folder contains all design files.  Photoshop documents, Illustrator files, design comp screenshots.  I place the main design files at the top level of this folder (homepage.psd, second-level.psd, etc.).

Within the Design folder, I create a folder called “Production Graphics”.  This folder contains design files that are pieces of a larger design.  For example, sometimes I’ll create a PSD for creating a special type of thumbnail image that gets repeatedly created.  Or I might have a PSD for a complex header graphic that gets re-used with different content.

Then I’ll create sub folders for other design related stuff like “Logos”, “Screenshots”, “PDFs”, etc.

2) Development

This folder contains all of the development files.  These are the files that make up the client’s website.  The files and folder structure mirror the structure on the web server.  When I connect via FTP (usually the built in FTP client in Panic Coda), I preset it to open the Development folder on my local machine for easy file transferring with the web server.

3) Documents

This folder contains the project proposal, project contract(s), and any other legal documents.  I also use an online fax service, efax.com.  This folder contains the efax documents for this client.

4) Materials

Here is where I place all of the materials for the project.  These materials usually include raw copy documents provided by the client, unedited photos, guideline documents, and other production-related documents.

This folder can quickly get filled up, so it’s important to create sub-folders to organize this folder even further.  For example, I often create folders named “Photos”, “Copy”, “Feedback” (clients often provide feedback in word documents).

Important! Don’t put off placing your client’s materials in the Materials folder.  Things can get pretty hectic when your inbox gets jammed with client requests, projects are flying at you from every direction, and the tweets keep pouring in.  Don’t let that distract your mission of keeping all of your client’s files organized!  As soon as they email you a document, drop in the Materials folder for that client.  You can get working on it later, but at least you know where to find that file when you need it.  Plus, you will avoid an embarrasing phone call to the client asking them to resend the file because you lost it.

Google Documents

Lately I’ve been utilizing the power of Google Documents.  I usually make personal notes for each project and save them here for quick access from any of my computers (I’m up to three now : )  Again, I separate each client into their own folder within Google Docs.  Organization people!

Over to You

How do my methods for web design client file management differ from yours?  I’m always interested to hear how others do what they do, so please share your organizational tips in the comments section.