ProjectHuddle Review – How To Efficiently Collaborate & Communicate w/ Clients

How To Efficiently Collaborate & Communicate With Clients On Website Development

If you are a web designer in you design or
build websites for clients or a graphic designer

in your doing graphic design work for clients
then this video is for you hi my name is Adam

from WPCrafter.com where I make WordPress
videos for non-techies and I want to share

with you this tool that I just came across
and I’m actually kinda blown away by it and

it solves a huge huge problem if you are working
with any type of clients for any kind of work

that you deliver over the Internet and so
this would probably be web design in it doesn’t

have to be a WordPress website any kind of
web design work or building a web app or anything

at all related to that and also if you’re
doing any kind of graphic design work where

you’re showing your client or your customer
some of the work you’re doing and you’re getting

feedback I don’t know about you but when I
was doing client work for people there was

one thing that would drive me nuts and I thought
it was the biggest problem with doing any

kind of work for someone else and that is
all the time that gets consumed calling them

up on the phone or doing a Skype chat or any
kind of communication with your client and

all the time that that takes it’s so exhaustive
getting their feedback showing them something

and then listening to all of their thoughts
and opinions on it and then having to write

notes and then do the work and then call them
back to show them the changes this is the

biggest problem and I think it’s the biggest
time eater whenever you’re doing any kind

of web based work for anybody where you’re
building a website or building an app assist

communications problem so anyways I just came
across a product that I want to share with

you and him to show you exactly how works
and you can see if this might fit for you

now I will give you a little bit of context
I use to build websites for people and I’m

considering doing that again but the biggest
hurdle in my mind is this problem with the

communication and is also issues with keeping
communication organized so this product solves

all of that and it’s called project huddle
in here is the website right here Dante the

cost of this right up front it’s not a software
as a service or anything like that is essentially

a WordPress plug-in and I’m a show you how
it all works of the worry about it it’s a

WordPress plug-in I think it’s $89 it’s only
89 bucks and you only need to install it on

one website anyways there it is $89 I think
if you go to the website you never get off

he offers you a $10 off coupon to I don’t
know how long that’s can last for but the

cost is really nothing for what it does so
for a minute don’t even think about the cost

and it’s just $89 for this plug-in and I’m
sure exactly what it does it is so stinking

cool no actually let me tell you I found out
about this plug-in from Lee Jackson he has

the WP innovator podcast and it’s a great
podcast I was actually on it once with him

I had a great time but is a really great guy
he was talking about this because he owns

an agency and he has this challenge as well
which is the client communication and I think

this is just awesome to solve that let me
just tell you what it is in a nutshell you

set up a maybe on a subdomain I did it on
a subdomain so I put it on projects.WPCrafter.com

I installed WordPress I put this plug in in
there and then what you do is you would add

your clients website it could be any website
not WordPress it can be anything you just

have to add a little script to it demonstrate
how to do all this so you basically create

a user account for your clients and this will
be a login for them and then you create a

project a website or design projects offer
a website project you put that in there and

it’s getting give you little snippet of code
that you then go and put on that website and

then what you do is you add that client to
this project in its can automatically send

him an email and is gonna be a link in it
when they click on that link and then login

it’s can it take them back to their website
but then they’re going to have these tools

to mock up what you’ve done for them and this
is essentially what it looks like right here

they can click anywhere and leave a note and
then these all get organized in the back end

and you can either address them communicate
back or you can assign them to maybe your

own staff I want to show you it also it fully
makes sense to you so works on mockups and

websites anything on the web it’s going to
work on and it’s a self hosted app which I

love and everything is completely brand-new
boy just I’m almost surprised at how cheap

this plug-in is considering it solves this
massive massive problem and also makes you

look like a rock star as you have this awesome
organized system of communicating with your

client so let me just go ahead and show you
not want to do this multiple web browsers

thing because I don’t want to be I’m I’m logged
in in this web browser is the clients and

then on the other web browser him to be logged
in as the owner of the site so okay so let

me go in here so here is a WordPress installation
I put it on projects.WPCrafter.com don’t go

there because I’m probably gonna take it down
anyway right after this video switch auditors

want to go here and just install the plug-in
in the plug-in is right here just project

title and what it’s going to do is add these
three options the back end of your WordPress

website first let’s look at the options panel
on this right here under project huddle and

what you do you customize everything you can
toss your logo in there you can change the

colors to match your branding it’s really
going to make you look like a pro and here

is the same customizations for the mockups
that you might want to do and mockups are

just graphic so if you’re creating any kind
of graphics and you want to have that feedback

communication that’s what this is going to
be perfect for or if maybe you’re doing custom

coded websites and you’re starting off of
a Photoshop design that’s also an ideal use

for the mockups so if you still do websites
that way and you can totally customize out

all of the colors and the text right here
and I hear is the same that you can do for

the websites everything is fully customizable
for your branding here is for the emails and

this is just to turn on let’s one of the best
things about this is all the back-and-forth

email notifications that come through on the
system updates is just for tossing your license

and it says extensions here but there aren’t
any currently available I can think of one

or two that I would like to see but maybe
I don’t have the best perspective on this

so anyways these are just your basic settings
so this is what you do and this is what I

did is you going here to websites if you want
to do website if it’s mockups it’s different

in the sense that there is a descriptor can
actually upload your graphic so I’m to go

here to add a website and what happens is
already added this website here let’s just

do it’s right here so you can add a website
all you need is a project name or whatever

you’d want to call it and then the URL so
let me enter that in now once you enter that

in your gonna see it generates a permanent
link this is actually the link that gets sent

off to your client so when they click on this
link there to be prompted to log in and then

there going to be taken back to their website
or wherever you have that or if it’s a mockup

there to be taken to the mockup so just be
careful what you name this project right here

because it’s going to be part of the slug
this a link that gets sent out then toss your

website address and and then go ahead and
click on next and what’s going to do is it’s

going to give you this little snippet of code
now this little snippet of code like I said

this can be added to any website it doesn’t
have to be WordPress-based as long as you

can add this little snippet of code your fine
now let me go back to the other browser and

show you how to do that so here I am on the
site that I set up that I’m in a show you

how this works and you just go there and you
want to install this plug-in right here if

not depending on the website if your theme
already has a place where you can paste that

in you can go ahead and put it there and if
your web developer you already know where

to do this but if your theme does not have
it you can add this plug-in called insert

header and footer and you gets a free plug-in
and then you can paste that in right here

for scripts in the footer and then click on
save and so that’s what I did in order to

link this up to my website there so when we
go back here so that once you do that you’re

going to go ahead and click on verify installation
and it will go there and make sure that it

sees the code and if it does you are all set
then what you’re gonna want to do is you’re

going to want to create a user account that’s
can it be for your client okay so after you

do this you can go down to users click on
add new and then just for the username I always

like to use a full email address so put their
email address then put their email address

again put their name and all of that you deftly
want their first name and last name because

it’s going to send them emails when there’s
communication going back and forth you deftly

want to put their name the way it should be
but then write your word says role there are

these new roles that you can assigned to this
user so in the example I’m gonna show you

I chose project collaborator know each of
these different roles have different rights

on what they can and cannot do so you’ll want
to make sure you have a clear understanding

of what the rights are for each of these know
what you would also want to do if you have

employees or staff you will want to get them
in the system as well because when your client

is requesting these changes or doing this
communication so say client saying I want

this color change you can then take that and
assign it to one of your staff and make sure

that they get it done so there that’s why
there’s these different user privileges here

that you want to be clear on but what I did
in the example I’m showing you is I chose

project collaborator so you can see I’ve actually
already added it so this is my project collaborator

right here you can see it’s the project collaborator
so then what you want to do is you want to

go back into that website so this was just
a test project and then you want to go right

here it’s his email notifications what this
does is it actually adds that clients to or

that project that new project collaborator
it’s going to go ahead and add them to this

project so all you have to do start entering
in the information so I started typing that

in I would go ahead and click on it right
there and it’s pretty much done now they are

added to this project so I’ve actually already
done that right here I created this project

called show the demo and it’s a website project
I’ve actually been working for a video series

on how to create an online course and so you
can see I actually already added them right

there so anyways now let me show you what
ends up happening so as soon as you add your

client therein to get an email like this this
is actually why you want to use the proper

names for everything so was actually sent
to the proper name but it’s using my WordPress

username right here I should’ve on my WordPress
username probably put my name and then had

it show that name whenever.WordPress does
anything so the way you would actually do

that this is citing a publish and even add
it’s all right here for username I shouldn’t

have username I should put my name right here
and then display publicly choose my name I’m

sure that would’ve solved this issue right
here anyway it says I invited you to collaborate

on show the demo and then here is a link in
here is that link in that slug that slug I

was telling you to be careful what you name
your projects so I named the project show

the demo so that’s why the slug is perfect
so you could name that the clients business

name or maybe whatever you refer to as the
name of the particular website so now when

they click on this let me go back to my other
web browser this is what they’re going to

see there going to be on the domain name where
you have project huddle installed in order

to be on that link in there taken to this
login form and I think some of the colors

here were customization options I have to
double check that but then that would be pretty

cool to even put your branding right here
but anyways they could put their log in right

here in it doesn’t log them inside of anything
and leave them on this subdomain it’s can

it immediately put them right on their website
so with soon as you login it will redirect

you straight over to their website and they
have these new controls that are just going

to float over the website right here and this
is how they’re going to collaborate with you

so if you train your client to not send you
emails to not have to pick up the phone every

time they want something changed if you teach
them and train them that the most efficient

and the best way to get changes done are to
just click on that link log in and this is

all they have to do actually created one right
here but let me show you to say your client

does not like what this headline says the
most amazing course all they have to do is

click on this little plus then they would
go and click anywhere so I’ll click right

here to leave a comment and right here I’m
going to type a comment there it is I just

put a comment then I said change to teach
and grow rich so it’s put here there is a

record of this now and all I have to do is
click on add comment and so now the user your

customer has mocked this up they pointed out
specifically what they want change and they

added a note to it and what happens is now
I am email because I’m also a collaborator

on this project and I’m notified now let me
show you what happens in the back and so I’m

going back to the backend here I’m in a go
into that project right here show the demo

and look at this here it is changed to teach
and grow Rich which was the same note that

I just added now I can either add comments
or maybe do this make this change and let

them know okay go check it out or something
like that or I can assign it to staff that

will deal with all these changes obviously
this is an easy change you can do it in just

a few minutes but the point is you can see
all the changes based on page that thereon

so this is the homepage right here and you
can assign these around now what I really

like about this is you have this audit logger
this tracking log of what your clients asking

for in the amount of work and what you’re
doing in it so in my mind the way I see this

is the others would probably be a great way
of having maybe a billing tracking system

with your clients where after you’ve delivered
I obviously see all the benefits before you

deliver website just the going back and forth
but even after you deliver website that we

will do X amount of changes for you X amount
of text changes or image changes and there

is this audit log of everything they’re asking
you so they can actually see everything they’re

asking you as well because they’re the ones
asking for it I know for me a lot of the challenges

I had when I was developing websites for people
were related to them saying all these things

they want to email and it’s hard to track
emailing them saying all these things on a

phone call and maybe I’m trying to listen
to them and write it down and I missing something

and all these little things are dropped balls
that don’t really make you look so professional

but this is a way of organizing it all in
this professional manner and let me go back

here so what you could do is your client can
see there are two comments in the can click

right here in this panel is revealed now remember
like I said on this panel here you can customize

in these colors they give you the power of
putting your branding in there so actually

I haven’t tested this yet let me try responding
to one of these and see what happens were

doing this in real time I don’t know if it’s
going to need a refresh but let’s see so here

is a comment that says this right here so
I’m in a go ahead and click right here and

it reveals this and I can start communicating
back with my client this is how I could assign

it to a user and here’s some information on
what they are actually seeing so let me type

a comment back okay so I just typed a comment
back on the click add comment so now it’s

added is why you want to make sure your user
accounts have a proper name so this can think

of but the little better but that’s okay so
I just added a comment now let’s go back in

the other browser and I don’t know if I need
to refresh the page or what let’s see I’m

sure it’s not pulling it back and forth let’s
just do a quick refresh and see what happens

so it pulls back up so here is the little
speech bubble and I can click on it and there

it is it saying right here day and here’s
my, back are you sure you want to change that

and what’s nice is there’s this resolved checkbox
so Mike could have replied okay I made the

change if you like how it looks click on the
resolve checkbox and then they can go ahead

and click on that like here and they’ve marked
it resolved and now that the color change

to green which is all customizable and you
can see right here now it’s been marked resolve

and it’s green there as well so this is an
excellent they can see right here the changes

requested per page right there so now let’s
go ahead and go back into the back and when

we do a quick refresh here and see okay it’s
already it’s gone if you notice because it’s

resolved in right here it says one resolved
thread and there it is so I gave you actually

a very long demo of this because I wanted
you to see how simple this solution is but

how professional it would make you look and
it’s only 89 bucks now there are actually

services that do this that I hear are like
$1000 a year something like that I don’t know

I haven’t looked at too much into it but there
are very expensive solutions that do the same

thing however this is pretty awesome to me
this solution right here it’s only 89 bucks

you can do the same thing you saw me do what
you can do it with mockup so your standard

images so if your workflow is you start with
the image you could do that way or even if

you’re just a logo designer or a you design
flyers or any kind of design work you can

do it through the mockups right here so let
me just put in some final thoughts here on

the project total website they do have an
online demo that you can try and you can read

through the features list and all of that
there are some things that I think would be

really cool if it did because the way I’m
thinking this would work in if I did start

designing websites I would only want to ever
want to make it very clear and defined what

I’m going to do and what I’m knocking to do
it with what they pay so in my mind I’m only

going to want to change text and I’m only
going to want to change images while what

I would like it if they did was had a way
to maybe have the client upload a photo so

say my client comes to the sides and they
want this testimonial image change that they

could go in use this tool and then actually
upload that image in that box so when I go

right here and do the little plus and I click
right there I wish they could actually upload

the image right there so someone is requesting
a change there that they can upload the image

watching what I think would really be nice
is an extension if my client clicked on that

they can choose what they’re asking if they’re
asking for a text change maybe have a checkbox

and image change and have a checkbox in but
if it is an image if they could just upload

that image right there because the way that
I see it working as those are the only changes

that I want to do for whatever price on the
charge if they want other things done it’s

going to cost more money so anyways this also
gives your client a visual idea of the amount

of effort you’re putting into this thing you
know when you’re working with clients they’re

not sitting there thinking wow I just asked
him to do 20 things and they they they just

ask and it’s out of sight out of mind they
just expected to be done but when you have

a system like this where there they have to
manually put in those 20 changes they want

and then they have this visual indicator that
wow I just asked this person to make 20 changes

that’s a lot of changes so when you are sending
the bill or when you’re justifying the cost

that you charge for website you’re like yeah
I’ve got change 50 things for you of course

I’m charging you three or four or $5000 on
this project so anyways I think this is a

must-have for anyone doing any kind of work
on the web it’s definitely a must have its

can make you look awesome and professional
only 89 bucks I’ve got links down below to

project total go ahead and click through my
link to check it out and I would like is here

from you down below if you think this is something
that would work in your workflow or ways that

you think this could be useful to other people
that might be watching this video