1. Tell us about your company.

2. What specific services does your company provide?

The answers to this question can help us understand what design elements and keywords to focus on.

3. What sets your company apart from your competition?

This will tell us your unique selling proposition (USP), unique value proposition (UVP), competitive advantage, or strengths so you can show their potential clients why they should choose them.

4. Who is your target client?

This should include all applicable demographics, such as age, location, gender, education, occupations, etc. Understanding the client’s target audience will give you insight into what design elements — such as colors, images and fonts — to use on their website.

5. Do you currently have a website?

We will need to assess the site and compare it to the company’s goals to see if this will be a tweak or a complete rebuild.

6. What keywords will your audience use to find your website?

The answer to this question will show what keywords the client’s site currently ranks for (if any) and what they want to rank for. We will research which keywords are the better choices, but knowing your target keywords will help us understand the audience and genre.

7. What do you like about your website?

The response to this question will help us understand the website elements that mean the most to you. Defining the new website’s purpose, understanding its current weaknesses, and creating a detailed feature list will help us build a solid foundation for a successful project.

8. Why do you want a new website?

Like the preceding question on the web design client questionnaire, this question helps us understand the weaknesses of the current site and see what’s not working for you. It will help us understand the new website’s purpose. It could be that the site just needs a new feature added or a different theme, or it might need to be built on a new platform with a different layout and features.

9. What features will your website need?

This answer needs to be as detailed as possible. Features include: Forms Maps Social media buttons Click-to-call buttons Online ordering / eCommerce Search Portfolio / gallery Pricing tables Calls-to-action Forum …etc. Again, encourage the client to consider their audience and the goals for the website when coming up with the list of necessary features.

10. What similar websites do you like and what is it you like about them?

This will show you what styles they like and provide examples of features that might be difficult to describe. It can be especially helpful for the client to point out features they like on competitor sites.

11. Who will provide content for the new website?

Not all clients understand what you mean by “content,” so start out by explaining what website content includes — website copy, graphics, images, logo, fonts, etc.

12. Does your company have established branding?

Branding includes materials that the website will need to match, including colors, fonts, business cards, newsletters, flyers, logos, signs, etc. If the client hasn’t established their brand, here’s a fun quiz to get them started.

13. Do you need a new URL?

Depending on the client’s technical sophistication, you might first need to explain what a URL is and how it’s related to the website (i.e., it’s the website’s address). If the client does need a new URL, who will be responsible for securing the domain? Maybe they will need your advice.

14. Do you need hosting?

Again, you might need to explain the concept of web hosting and what to look for in a web hosting provider. If the client does need hosting, will you provide this service? If you don’t provide hosting at all or the type of hosting that the client requires, they need your recommendations.

15. Will the old site be moved to a new location?

Migrations can add a lot of time and cost to the project. Be sure to set the right expectations.

16. What is the deadline for the website?

You can use this information on the web design client questionnaire to determine if the client’s needs can be met by the deadline. You might need to provide a timeline to show what can be done by the deadline and what can be added later and when.

17. What is the budget for the website?

Defining a budget will let you know if you can meet the goals of this project.
Explore opportunities for ongoing work The web design project is just the starting point of a lasting relationship. You should consider ongoing opportunities. If you don’t provide these services, maybe you could partner with someone so you can recommend each other. Adjust the following questions according to the services you offer. This will also show the client that these services are provided at an extra cost and help them adjust their budget accordingly.

18. Do you want us to handle maintenance?

This question shows that ongoing website maintenance is not part of the website design project and that it will be an additional cost they will have to budget for. A website maintenance plan can include updates for themes and plugins, changing themes, adding new features through plugins, as well as ongoing changes such as images, prices, backups, etc. If you provide this service, you could supply the client with different pricing options based on the services they want.

19. Would you like us to handle content marketing?

The client needs to understand that creating the site doesn’t guarantee traffic and that traffic is not your obligation unless they want to pay for this as a service. Content marketing and promotion can include SEO, local SEO, social media, newsletters, ad campaigns, articles, etc.

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