New Project? Ask, Ask, Ask

 

All the time as a creative professional, clients expect you to straight off know what they want and many continue to do so through the whole process. Between you and me, I know we cannot read minds and therefore we have a great tool that can help us gather as much information as possible before committing to a new project. Questions.

Client Questionnaire

I’ve got a standard questionnaire written down, with questions that I usually ask before I start a project. Having a set of questions like this can usually tell a lot about the project as a whole and get you the information that you need, instead of just asking them to provide as much information as they can (which is a hard task).

Below you can see some of the questions that I can ask a new client:

  • What is your website’s nature? (pick only one)
    • Business to Business
    • Business to Consumer
    • Combination
    • Branding
  • What is the purpose of your website?
  • What are the goals with the website?
  • What are the target demographic?
  • Do you have a business logo?
  • Are you looking for us to brand your website (new logo for example)?
  • Font Style Choice (multiple picks allowed)
    • Arial
    • Times
    • Courier
    • Georgia
    • Verdana
    • Geneva
  • Do you have a colour scheme you would like to use?
  • List a few websites you find compelling and note why.
  • Will this site use existing content?
  • Are there any elements you wish to have on every page? Which?
  • What are your short-term marketing goals?
  • How will the site help to meet them?
  • Do you have a marketing strategy for the site?
  • Who will do the updating of the website?
  • Do you want to be able to update the website through an online control panel (using a Word-like interface)?
  • Are you interested in our hosting services?
  • Target date for the website to be finished (if applicable)?
  • Do you have a special budget set?
  • Other

Save the Information

When you get questions back, don’t forget to save them in a good place. I prefer a database where I keep all client information as well as project statuses.

 

About Erik Bernskiold

Erik is the owner of online media company Bernskiold Media that runs tutorial website Bernskiold learning and he is a Web Designer, Photographer and Software-Trainer.

Where everyone learns Photoshop - National Association of Photoshop Professionals

  1. No comments yet.

  1. No trackbacks yet.