Look for a web designer who's doing more than just designing a nice website. SEO and strategic marketing awareness ensures that they can create a high-performing website that will generate leads and transfer individuals down the marketing funnel.

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1. Describe your organization in a few phrases

Give us your best elevator pitch, in other words. The company of your client can seem blindingly evident in certain instances, but you can never presume something. In a few short phrases, ask them to sum up their business; this is the essence that needs to be instantly apparent when visitors land on their new website.

Often, dig deeper. Try to find out what their core beliefs, their level of business expertise and future vision, as well as their scale, position and history are.

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2. Do you have a website at present? What's/isn't working for you, if so?

Unless you start from scratch, the current website of your client is a wealth of data. Find out what CMS they are using, how long they have been using it, and how easy it is to upgrade it. What are they going to like, and what can't they wait to see from behind? Can they have a Google Analytics report for you?

 

You will learn more about the likes and dislikes of your customer, as well as learn from any errors they made last time around, by spending some time reviewing the latest website.

 

3. For this project, what are your objectives?

This is a line trotted out by customers sometimes. Although it's undeniably real, you need to know a little bit more so that you can build a truly productive platform. You should take a step back at this stage, and use your experience to tease out the motives of your client.

Ask about the concept of success for your client. Do they want to increase the number of visitors, increase the average order size, or improve their web forum users? They may want to promote greater interaction through their blog, increase the awareness of their brand, or encourage people to sign up for their newsletter/free trial/white paper email, etc.

You have a greater chance of producing a successful solution by establishing the pain points of your customer and evaluating the problems they are trying to solve.

 

4. Who is your goal crowd?

Style is subjective and beauty is very much in the beholder's eye. You do not design this website exclusively for your customer. It needs to resonate deeply with its users and target audience, or they would simply not use it. Today, due to the highly competitive market, online viewers are exceedingly fickle.

Delve into their consumer demographics and psychographics, such as their media viewing patterns, slang terms, and lifestyle preferences. What are their buying patterns? Will you need to close the gap between the target market and the existing audience? The more you can assess the appearance, layout, and navigation of the website, the more you know about the end users.

 

5. What unique features on the web do you want?

At the beginning, decide whether your customer has any unique features that they want to include on their new website. Maybe some things are clear. For example, if your client operates a restaurant, they may need their opening hours and menu included, while they may want an online booking form if they operate a hotel.

A forum, website chat, integration of social media, photo galleries, a separate mobile or sensitive site, video integration, or a communication form are other possibilities. Often explain at the beginning to prevent late additions to the web that could cost time and cash to marry.

This is also the point of asking if your customer has any branding materials or style guides that need to be integrated into the design of the web.

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6. How are we able to prevent failure?

It is equally necessary to know the dislikes of your customer. If you're halfway through a project, removing something built into a website is just as irritating, costly and time-consuming as putting something in.

Ask them to present their least favorite websites to you and highlight the elements, features, and styles of design that make them shudder. This way, before you get into the project's nitty-gritty, you can strike out possible failures.

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7. Who are your primary rivals?

Discovering the major rivals of your client gives you another valuable source of knowledge. When their key rivals have been established, you can collect information that will help direct your web design. Look at the elements on their pages that perform well, and see if there are things that fall flat. Your desire here is not to repeat what has been achieved before, but to learn from their accomplishments and shortcomings. Asking your client to point out the things they do and don't like on the websites of their rivals is another valuable indication of the likes and dislikes of your client.

 

8. What differentiates you from your competitors?

Knowing the unique selling point of your customer will help you build a platform that stands apart from its rivals. To be successful, companies need to be truly remarkable in the busy, noisy, competitive online environment. So how do you attract the attention of people when they land on the site? How do you make the first impression tricky?

This doesn't have to be something significant; it can be as simple as a free consultation or awesome customer service. Other items that make companies stand out include quick or free delivery of goods, storing the cheapest or best quality products in their area, providing an outstanding warranty or return procedure, or offering unique packages. You will deliver a site that does the same by studying how your client differs from their competitors.

 

9. What's the project's scope?

Finally, explain the project scope. In order to keep the project on track and ensure that you live up to standards, you need a clear understanding of the final deadline of your client as well as any specific goals they wish to achieve along the way. You will need to know the budget and, most importantly, decide if the timetable and budget have any flexibility.

 

This is also the time to explain who your key contacts are for the project, as well as who provides the web content so that clear lines of communication can be created.

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