Deciding what questions to ask a client is crucial to understanding your client’s needs and creating a successful website that meets their expectations.

In this article, we will dig into:

• What is a web design questionnaire?

• What questions to ask web design clients

• How to create a client onboarding questionnaire (the quick and easy way)

Let's get into it!

What Is A Web Design Questionnaire?

A web design questionnaire is a crucial tool in the web design process.

It allows you to gather essential information from clients, ensuring that their vision and goals are aligned.

Simply put: it's asking the right questions.

So, why is a web design questionnaire important?

Let’s explore its two main benefits:

1.) You Understand the Client’s Vision:

A client questionnaire allows you to gain a deep understanding of the client’s vision for their website.

By asking questions about their business, target audience, and unique selling proposition, you can align your design choices with the client’s goals and objectives.

2.) You Manage Expectations:

A well-crafted web design questionnaire helps set and manage expectations between you as the freelancer and the clients.

By asking about the client’s preferred features, style preferences, and desired launch date, you can ensure that you deliver a website that meets the client’s expectations.

It also helps avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary revisions down the line.

What Questions To Ask Web Design Clients

If you just want to stick to 10 basic questions at the minimum, ask your client these questions before building a website:

1. What does your business do?

2. Who is your target audience?

3. What action should website visitors take?

4. What sets you apart from competitors?

5. What's the value of an average customer?

6. How do you acquire new customers?

7. How many clients do you get in an average month?

8. Do you have professional branding and imagery?

9. What's your project completion deadline?

10. Any additional information I should be aware of?

Here are more questions grouped to help you better understand the project and client's needs:

Project Scope:

Questions to ask a client to understand the Project Scope:

• Do you want to build a new website or redesign an existing one?

• What is the primary purpose of the website? Is it to generate leads, sell products, provide information, or something else?
  

Business and Target Audience:

Questions to ask a client to understand Business and Target Market:

• Describe your business in a few sentences.

• What products or services do you offer?

• What are the key challenges or pain points that your target audience faces, and how can the website address those?
  

Branding and Design Preferences:

Questions to ask a client to understand Branding and Design Preferences:

• Do you have an existing logo or brand identity that should be incorporated into the design?

• What are your preferred colours, fonts, and visual styles?

• Are there any specific websites or designs that you admire or would like to use as inspiration?

Content and Structure:

Questions to ask a client to understand Content and Structure:

• Do you have existing content or would you need content?

• Do you have any specific requirements for the content management system (CMS) that will be used for managing and updating the website?

Functionality and Features:

Questions to ask a client to understand Functionality and Features:

• Do you need e-commerce capabilities, a blog, contact forms, or any other interactive elements?

• Are there any integrations or third-party services that need to be included?

Timeline and Budget:

Questions to ask a client to understand Timeline and Budget:

• What is your desired launch date for the website?

• What is your budget for the project?

• Have you allocated a separate budget for ongoing maintenance and updates to the website after its initial launch?

Maintenance and Support:

Questions to ask a client to understand Maintenance and Support:

• Are you interested in content marketing services or SEO optimization?

• How frequently do you anticipate needing updates or changes to your website?

By including questions in these key categories, you can gather comprehensive information that will guide your web design process.

How To Create a Client Onboarding Questionnaire

In this section, we will explore how you can use the client onboarding questionnaire builder in ClientManager to create a client intake form in minutes.

The builder offers various question types to choose from, ensuring flexibility and customization.

Text Input Questions:

Text questions allow you to gather both business and design-related information.

Images Upload Questions:

If you require clients to upload images as part of the intake process, you can use the image question type.

Single File Upload:

A single file upload question type enables clients to upload a single document or file. This can be useful for collecting important documents like style guide PDFs.

Multiple File Upload:

In cases where clients need to provide multiple files or documents, the multiple file upload question type is ideal.

Once you have designed your questionnaire, you can save it as a template for future use, and/or share a unique URL link with your clients to complete.

Client Questionnaire Template

Besides using ClientManager's intake form and questions, you can use this template as a guideline [right click → save + download]:

Conclusion

Designing a website is an exciting and intricate process, and a well-crafted website design questionnaire is an essential tool to ensure its success.

Ask the right questions and gather comprehensive information from clients and you will create a website that aligns with their vision, meets their goals, and resonates with their target audience.

Remember, the ultimate goal of a website design questionnaire is to create a website that exceeds the client’s expectations.

As you embark on designing websites for clients, make sure to customize your questionnaire based on their specific needs.

Every project is unique, and tailoring your questions will help you gather the right information to guide your design process.

Hope this helps 🙂

Kyle & CM Team