Designing a Website? Ask Clients These 10 Questions

So, you just landed a client who wants to create their first website or want to have their current one redesigned? It can be pretty easy for website designers to get lost in the creative process of designing a website. Jumping the gun so to speak. They might get ahead of themselves and start designing a website that is both beautiful and easy to navigate for users. What they may have missed though, is asking the client some crucial questions.

Without getting client input before designing a website, you can risk creating a great website that doesn’t suit the client’s needs and objectives which can leave the client frustrated and your web design team with a website that won’t be used. To avoid any potential issues from surfacing, you need to ask the client important questions before you can begin designing the website.

Why Ask Questions Before Designing a Website? 

You must ask the right questions at the beginning of the website design process before you start working on the website itself. Why? Because without getting the right information that you need from the client, you might start designing a website that they can’t use and benefit from since it doesn’t address the needs of them and their users. 

One of the main reasons businesses want a website is to help them reach their objectives. Usually, this consists of 1, driving traffic to the website, and 2, keeping that traffic engaged long enough to make a positive action, such as entering an email address or making a purchase. To do this, the website must have engaging and relevant content for the users. 

Creating or designing a website without that information can lead to the website not performing as expected, which can lead to the client being disappointed with your product. Be sure to ask the client questions regarding the website’s design so you can avoid any issues when it launches.

The 10 Questions

What are the right questions you need to ask clients for their website design? Well, we’ve curated somewhat of a list of those questions to ensure that you get everything that you need to resolve these issues. These are the questions that we think can best help get your website design process off of the ground and running smoothly. Do take note that these questions aren’t organized in the order in which they should be asked. 

Do You Already Have A Website? 

Probably the most important question you must ask is whether or not the client has a website already. The reason for this is to help your website design team determine how much resources and time they must allocate to it, based on if they need to create a website from scratch, or if they just want to make some changes on an already existing website. 

What Websites Do You Get Inspiration From? 

A common thing among clients is that their websites usually draw inspiration from others. The reason for this is because it helps them get a visual idea of what they’d like their final website to look for both them and their target audience. You need to ask them this question that way you can have a visual reference of the sort of website design they are going for. 

Going in blind works… sometimes, but that doesn’t always turn out positive. This is where it helps to have a reference point to ensure that everything on the website is reflective of what the client wants. Go through the websites they draw inspiration from with them and keep note of the things they like from the websites so you can create something that has similar features. 

What Is The Purpose Of Your Website And What Is The Main Objective You Want To Achieve? 

Asking your client what their goals are for the website and what is the main objective they want to complete from using it is an integral part of website design. Like I mentioned earlier, creating a website that seems to lack a purpose and goal is like learning to drive even though you aren’t really going to be driving. The website has to be designed around its purpose and help the client achieve the main goal they want. 

Who Is Your Target Audience? 

The website must be designed for not just the client, but for the target audience as well. Think about it like this. Would you create a website for a client who is in the automotive industry and on that website there are assets more associated with homecare? It just doesn’t make sense to create a website like that. Understanding who the target audience is can help ensure your website design team creates a website that both the client and their users will appreciate. 

Who Are Your Competitors? 

This question might strike you as a bit surprising considering that every business wants to beat its competitors. Why ask them this question then? Well, your competitors might or might not be doing things that can give your client’s website a competitive advantage. Once you know who their competitors are, go and browse their websites. Take note of everything they’ve done right on the website, as well as all as everything they’ve done wrong or are missing out on. You can communicate your findings with the client so they can help you plan out what their website will look like to help them have an advantage.

What Makes Your Business Unique From Your Competitors? 

Adding upon understanding who their competitors are, ask your clients what makes them unique or different from them as well. In a world full of websites that are in the same industry, websites have to stand out. With a unique selling point, your client’s website can have that one thing that their competitors don’t have. The selling point can set them apart from the competition and ensure that they get traffic that is interested in their unique offering. 

What Should We Avoid Putting On Your Website? 

Knowing what clients don’t want on their website is just as important as knowing what they do want on it. The website design process can be pretty time-consuming depending on the scope and caliber of the website. It can be frustrating once you’ve completed the website to find out the client doesn’t like some of the features and integrations you’ve plugged into their website. It takes extra time to remove features. Precious time would’ve been saved if you asked the client for a list of features they don’t want. 

What Words Best Describe Your Business? 

What your clients tell you when they answer this question needs to be reflected on their website. As soon as users click their website link and land on their homepage, they need to feel those words. If they don’t, then the website doesn’t reflect the description of the business. This can turn their target audience off from the website, which is exactly what you don’t want. You want to hold their audience long enough to take positive action on the website. 

How Do You Measure Your Website’s Success? 

Clients have their own way of defining website success. What you need from your client are the proper analytics that they want to look at to ensure that their website is meeting their goals and expectations. Things like organic traffic and clicks to and on their website are popular examples of how clients will measure their success. Understanding this can help you create a more efficient website. 

Why Do You Want To Create Or Redesign A Website? 

Your clients all have a reason for why they’ve decided to create a website or have their current one redesigned. Understanding why they’ve decided to pursue this project can help get your website design team a better idea of where they got their inspiration from. Instead of going into the website design process blank and having no idea why they want the website, your team can draw an idea from the client’s reasoning. It is the first question you should ask to ensure that both you and the client don’t spend the time and resources on a website that they don’t have a goal for. 

Asking your clients the 10 questions can give you a better scope and understanding of what their website needs to be, what it intends to accomplish, and who it is targeted for. Every successful website has taken some careful planning and strategizing to ensure that it is launched successfully, and provides the client and their audience the best possible experience. 

Design The Website 

Asking the aforementioned 10 questions will give your design team a great starting point and a good idea of what the website should and will look like. Gathering all of the crucial information from the clients will make the website design process go a lot more smoothly than if you haven’t asked them those questions. Asking the right questions will ensure that the time and resources you’ve spent towards completing the website are not wasted and that your client is happy with the final product. 

Here at WunderRE, we design websites that both our clients and their users will appreciate having and using for their business needs.  If you are looking to have a website of your own created or have your current one redesigned, contact us here so we can get started with the process!