Website discovery questions for a new client build

What are website discovery questions?

Website discovery questions dig into the details of a build once the client has said yes. They cover the people the site serves, the jobs it has to do, and the old site or setup it takes over from.

The fit and pricing questions you asked earlier are a separate set. For questions for the first call, before a quote, see questions to ask before you quote.

Who the site is for

• Who are the main groups of people who will visit the site?
• What does each group want to find or get done there?
• What questions do your customers ask you most often by phone or email?
• What would make a visitor trust your business enough to reach out?

What the site must do

• What should a visitor be able to do on the site, step by step?
• What should happen after someone fills in a form or books a time?
• Which tasks should your staff be able to handle on the site without help?
• What should the site do when something goes wrong, such as a full calendar?

What the site replaces

• What works well on your current site, and what doesn't?
• Which pages, posts or files should move to the new site?
• Which web addresses on the old site get visits or links that you'd want to keep?
• Which pages or features on the current site must keep working the same way?

Some of these can go to the client in writing ahead of the session. For the written questionnaire, see the client questionnaire.

What should you include in a web design brief?

A web design brief should hold the goal of the site, the people it serves, the page list, the features, who supplies the content, the dates and who signs off. Write it from the discovery answers, and send it to the client to confirm.

A brief can hold these parts:

1. The goal, in plain words.
2. The people the site serves, and what each group wants from it.
3. The page list, with a line on what each page does.
4. The features, such as forms, booking or a members area.
5. The content plan: who writes the words, who supplies the photos, and when.
6. The dates for design, build, review and launch.
7. Who approves each stage.
8. What's left out of this project.

Once the client agrees the brief, the detail of each feature can go in a fuller document. For writing the requirements down, see the website requirements template.

Which website design deliverables should discovery agree?

Discovery should agree a written list of deliverables: each thing you'll hand over by the end, so both sides know when the job is done. Put the list in the brief, and get the client's yes on it.

Common deliverables to agree include:

• the design for each page type, shown as mockups
• the built site, working on the client's domain
• each feature named in the brief, working and tested
• the content you'll load, and the content the client loads
• logins for the client, set up for the people who need them
• a short guide or walkthrough on updating the site
• the items you won't deliver, written down so nobody assumes them

If a white label partner builds the site, the list reaches them through you. DeskTeam360 works that way: the agency stays the one who talks to its client and carries the client's notes, while the team does the build behind the agency.