So, you’re an independent marketing professional or you work for a digital agency, and you’re going to use a “white label” service to design and build a website.
This means you need to hand off a website design project to a designer who is not going to have direct contact with the client.
What questions can you ask the client so you can provide the website designer with the best possible chance to understand the needs right from the start?
We have put together a list of questions that we ask our partners to use when sending us design requests that we’re happy to share so you can use it yourself.
If you let your client fill it out, make sure you review it for consistency and for making sure you understand what your client wants. We’ve seen one or two come straight from the client that weren’t that good…
Before we start designing, your job is to translate what they say into what they want and need, so the brief we get leads to a great website.
A.Who is the audience?
1. Who is the audience?
2. What are the age ranges and interests of potential site visitors?
B. What is the purpose of the site?
1. Why is the site needed?
2. What should the site communicate?
3. What are the primary objectives and goals (long term and short term) for the site?
4. What are the key reasons users may have for visiting the site?
5. How will the visitors use the website?
6. What should visitors of the site take away from it?
C. What type of content will be presented?
1. What content will be needed for the site?
2. List the main pages that will be included and their features.
3. What content already exists and what needs to be developed?
D. Basic look and feel
1. What are some websites you really like?
Maybe it isn’t even the entire website, maybe it is just an element of a website like the header or how the slideshow works.
2. What are some websites you absolutely hate?
Again, maybe it isn’t the entire website – maybe it is just a particular element that rubs you the wrong way.
3. Do you have particular fonts that you love?
4. Do you have particular colors in mind, or a general idea of a color palette?
5. Are you thinking about a background image? Gradient? Texture?
6. How would you describe the overall look you are going for?
Is it trendy or classical? Do you want the site to convey trust, excitement, knowledge, sophistication, what? Do you want a “corporate” site, a minimalist site, a non-profit organization site, a magazine or news site?
E. Questions about the home page
1. Do you want a home page slideshow?
2. What type of animation do you like? Fade? Slide left? What?
3. What are the major “calls to action” on the home page?
4. Do you like square corners or rounded corners on elements like buttons?
5. Do you like beveled/3D looks on elements and drop shadows or do you want the site to look “flat”?
6. Do you like the long form home page with a series of “rows” or do you want a more traditional home page?
7. Do you want drop down menus in addition to regular menus?
8. Do you want any of these elements on your home page?
- Welcome Text
- Quote
- Slogan
- Calendar
- Upcoming Events
- Featured Property
- Link List
- Search
- Random Testimonial Module
- Featured Multimedia Module
- Latest Media Module
- Linkable Image Modules
- Blog Excerpt
- News Excerpt
- Account Sign-in Module
- Location Module
F. Header/footer/sidebar widgets
1. Do you want social media icons anyplace on the site?
2. Do you want a feed of any social media accounts onto the website?
3. Do you want an email newsletter subscribe form anywhere on the website?
