Account vs. Project manager: why it’s better to have both on your project team

Updated March 2026

When it comes to a successful web project, it takes a village. That’s why we have a team of Account Managers and Project Managers to serve our clients in the best way possible.

When embarking on a web project with IDHL, you will be provided with a dedicated team who knows your objectives inside and out and is equipped with all the necessary project management skills. There are a number of benefits to us taking this approach, so we chatted to Account Director, Sarah Pickles, who has been with us for 10 years. Keep reading to find out how these two roles work in unison to deliver the optimum client support.

What’s the difference between an Account Manager and a Project Manager?

The Project Manager and Account Manager work very closely together but have different roles. We split it so that our Project Managers are very much an internal resource while the Account Manager is the primary relationship holder with our clients, focusing on maintaining a strong working relationship with the client. This is the person who really understands the client’s business and what they want to achieve. They offer real value and ongoing advice through their ongoing relationship. Responsibilities include running meetings, updating the client regularly on progress, or anything else that they need to be aware of during the project.

The Project Manager will look after the project itself, managing timescales, budgets, and the schedule, ensuring all disciplines are scheduled in as and when they need to be. For example, if something crops up in development that the client needs to be aware of, it’s the Project Manager’s responsibility to raise the issue with the Account Manager.

What are the benefits of having both working on a web project?

Many agencies only designate a Project Manager. When the project is complete and moves into the ongoing relationship phase, that is when an Account Manager steps in. 

For me, this is where IDHL has an edge since one of the biggest benefits of having both is communication. Both roles are involved from the very first project kick-off meeting, meaning they have a clear understanding of who the client is, what their objectives are, and what the end goal looks like.

Having an Account Manager and Project Manager working in unison on the same project provides peace of mind for the client that they'll always have somebody they can contact. If needs be, the Project Manager will step into a client-facing role and vice versa. We work extremely close to ensure that we’re both aware of exactly what's going on at every stage of the project.

Robust communication between the two means everyone knows everything they need to know from the start, including the research and discovery stage. So, when the site goes live, we have a clear roadmap to follow and don't miss anything that we had initially set out to do. 

Having two people who are consistently close to the project on our side also means if someone was off sick or on holiday, the second contact has the same knowledge of the project and can continue progress in their absence. Our Project Managers and Account Managers have clearly defined roles - we know what's expected of each other. This works seamlessly as the whole team knows who their point of contact is.

How does this unified approach help overcome common website project challenges?

Dedicated Account and Project Managers ensures the client gets the most value out of our time and their investment.

There are many reasons why a web project can’t go live on time, but I’ve found the majority of delays usually happen within the preview and content entry phase. Often, it’s easy for clients to underestimate the amount of time needed and the effort involved to collate an entire site’s content. We have a content modelling process used by our UX and Design team to give an overview of what detail is going to be on each page so the client can start planning early on. The Account Manager can work with the client to ensure that progress is on track from their side and then feed this information or any expected delays back to the Project Manager.

Hosting is also a frequent delay in projects. Many businesses have an IT team who know exactly what they’re doing, where the site is going to be hosted, and how access will be granted. But these types of conversations need to happen with the Account Manager early on, so the impact can be taken into consideration during the project.

Linking into this, a key factor that the Account Manager would discuss with the client is scope creep as this can have a big impact on delays too. Team members not signing off on different stages in the agreed timescale can cause delays also. For example, if a member of the team delays a sign off by three days, that doesn't necessarily mean a delay of three days on the project. It can actually be a lot more damaging because we have to move things around in our schedule and put people on other work. These are factors what the Project Manager can work to overcome by optimising scheduling time to keep the project moving.

Ready to start your web project?

In short, having these unified roles helps to overcome challenges by always having two pairs of eyes on the project. The Account Manager can focus on the client’s business and offer ongoing advice through necessary conversations, while the Project Manager can focus on managing the individual components of the project.

Like the sound of how we work? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team to discuss our services more.