5 sites that the client likes the design of irrespective to the content
What are 5 web sites that you like the design of? These sites can be any on the internet. Provide a quick description of what they like about the site, such as navigation, colours, fonts, etc. This will give us a good idea of what your tastes are. Now this may vary a bit from what the web site will eventually end up as, as the goal of the site may differ from what your personal likes and dislikes are, but it is very much a good window into where you are coming from.
3 people/companies/organizations they would consider their competition
This is particularly helpful if you don’t know anything about the design they need or like. If your market has a certain look and feel to it, you will most likely want to make sure you are competitive. The competition may also give you more insight into the clients market then they are able to provide in an explanation.
5 descriptive words they would want people to think of when they see their site (conservative, traditional, modern, spacey, web 2.0, etc)
All pieces of marketing material, web sites included, attempt to convey messages quickly as possible through colours and style. This, even above your content, can put into a visitors mind their impression of you, your product/service and organization. If you want to be the new hip hang out coffee bar you are going to want a theme that reflects that look and likewise a conservative law firm doesn’t want to look like a skating rink. Getting a feel from you about how you want to be presented can dictate colour schemes, design elements and overall layout fairly quickly.
What is the web site goal… is it for people who hear about you and then go to the site, will be people finding your business through search engines, is it existing clients looking for support, etc.
While many organisations just want a web site for the sake of having a web presence, a good web site also has a purpose. Whether is be to sell a product, provide support, showcase a portfolio… whatever, the design of the site, specifically the homepage is really dictated by what you want to accomplish with the site. If you are trying to sell a product for example, a design focusing on product quotes and call to action statements will provide greater success.
Do you have all the resources available that we will need and can we see them before we start?
Ideally we require access to any graphic elements they may have. While we can recreate logos from old single layered images the final results are never as good as originals. Where is the content for the site coming from? Content sourcing and creation is your responsibility.
What is your budget?
We take a very straight forward approach when it comes to business and we need to know if your expectations relate to the amount of money you are looking to. Once we determine a customers budget it allows us to comfortably work together knowing we are both thinking the same thing. If the budget doesn’t match your expectations, we can explain what we can do for you within the proposed budget and perhaps even create a long term plan that starts out with a lower cost for a smaller set of goals and then grow that foundation as funds become available and systems prove themselves.
What is the project time frame
Tell us if there are any deadlines that need to be met such as a roll out of a new product or holiday season.