Website design questions we always ask our clients (and why).

We’ve already written about the questions you should be asking a web design agency before working with them. But what about the questions we ask you?

Finding out about your business is really important to the web design and development process. The information you give us (and the extra research we do on top of that) helps shape your website — everything from branding to layouts to calls to action to the pages we include.

When you choose Radical as your web design company, you start by completing a web design brief (here’s our handy website brief template).

Then, we hop on a call to dig deeper, fill in any gaps in your brief and really get to know what makes your business tick. We do that by asking you, our client, the website questions you’ll find below.

But first: why all the questions?

Why do you ask clients so many web design questions?

Our web design agency asks a ton of questions in order to:

• Reveal requirements you didn’t know you had. It can be hard to explain exactly what you want your site to look like — and what you want it to do — without the right prompts from us. Our questions help you put your dream website into words.
• Establish your goals. We learn what you want your site to achieve. And what ambitions you have for your business, too. This helps us build a site that gets real results.
• Create a great experience for your users. By getting to know your target audience, their behaviours and their problems, we create a website that works well for them. Because that’s how you ensure traffic, leads and sales.
• Design a website that reflects your brand. We get to the heart of your business to create a unique and memorable visual identity. So when people land on your website, they know instantly what you do and what you stand for.
• Develop a crystal clear plan. These questions help us develop a plan of action — and clarify the scope of the work. The result? A project that runs smoothly and a new website up and running before you know it.

20 questions we ask our clients before designing and developing their website

Onto the website questions we ask our clients — all 20 of them. Before our first meeting, it can be useful to think about these questions in relation to your business and future website.

But, if you’re not sure how you’d answer some of the queries on this list, don’t worry. It’s not a test! And — as an experienced web design and development team — we’re skilled at teasing out the information we need to know.

So, anyway, enough preamble. Onto the first category of questions — background information about your business.

Website questions for clients: business background

1. What does your business do?

A basic website design question. But a fundamental one. We need to understand exactly what your business does — whether that’s sharing information, selling products or selling services.

We need to understand what makes your product or service different. And which of your products or services are most important to your business.

With this info, we can start working out what web pages you need and how we’ll arrange them in terms of site hierarchy and your website navigation.

2. Who are your ideal customers?

Yes, we’re building a website for your business. But the people we’re really designing for are the ones you want to attract. So we need to know exactly who they are.

Where they live, their goals, the way they make decisions, the platforms they use and the tiny annoyances that push them towards (or away from) a purchase.

This shapes pretty much everything about your website. If your ideal customers skim-read on mobile, your website content needs to be succinct. If they compare providers carefully, your service pages need depth.

When we understand your audience, we can design a website that feels intuitive to them — one with pitch-perfect content, visuals and functionality.

3. What problems do your customers usually come to you with?

Potential customers probably don’t visit your site for fun. They arrive because something isn’t working — and they want it fixed.

Understanding the real problems that drive people to your website helps us design a site that meets them where they’re at. So we need to know the frustrations, fears and pressures that make them look for a business like yours.

Pain points become page headings. Common questions become FAQs. If most customers are overwhelmed and confused about their options, we design comparison tools and personalised pathways.

When your website shows that you understand a customer problem better than anyone else, it becomes the obvious place to go when looking for a solution.

4. What objections do potential customers usually have?

Objections are the little (and not-so-little) reasons a visitor hesitates before taking the next step on your website. Maybe the price feels too high. The commitment feels too risky. Or they’re yet to convince the other stakeholders involved.

We ask about objections because they influence the structure and functionality of your site.

If your buyers need the approval of other decision-makers (common with B2B sites), we create pages aimed at those extra stakeholders.

If trust is an issue, we showcase trust signals — like reviews, certifications, case studies or user-generated content — strategically throughout the customer journey.

If people hesitate because they can’t visualise the product, we introduce videos, demos or try-on tools.

When we know the barriers up front, we can design with them in mind, addressing those niggles and encouraging more website visitors to buy, sign up or download.

5. Who are your main competitors?

It’s good to know what we’re up against. Your main competitors will be clamouring for customer attention, right alongside you, on search engine result pages (SERPs).

Knowing your competition helps us position your website strategically. We look at their design choices, content style, messaging, SEO strengths and any gaps we can take advantage of.

We also ask what you like and dislike about their sites — it tells us a lot about your taste. But also where there are opportunities to improve on what’s already out there.

6. What makes your business different from competitors?

Every business has something that sets it apart. Sometimes it’s obvious (“we build everything in-house”). Sometimes it’s subtle (“we actually answer the phone”). But whatever it is, it’s the backbone of effective website message and design.

Your USPs shape how we write your copy, structure your pages and present your brand visually. Because when we highlight those differences clearly on your website, you stand out from competitors and stick in the minds of potential customers.

Website questions for clients: website performance

7. Are there any websites you really like?

Not everyone speaks design and development. So this is a handy shortcut that helps us understand the type of visuals and functionality you’d like your site to have.

Rather than trying to describe a shade of green or a style of illustration or “that hovery-scrolly thing”, you can simply show us what you mean with the help of real-life website examples.

If you’re in the early stages of considering a new website, we’d advise you start bookmarking standout sites now!

8. What does success look like for this website?

This website design question tells us what you want your site to achieve. Is it better visibility, stronger brand identity, more traffic, more sales, more subscriptions?

Once we know your priorities, we can design a website structure that supports them. It ensures every page, feature and call to action is working towards the outcomes that matter most for your business.

Clear goals also help us measure success later. Without them, it’s hard to know if your website is actually delivering value.

9. Is there any special functionality you’d like to incorporate?

There’s so much we can do with your website. A calculator that helps customers work out costs. A quiz that recommends products. Live chat tools. Customer accounts.

If there’s any functionality you’ve got your eye on, tell us at this point in the process. It helps us plan the design and technical build, so everything comes together smoothly.

10. What software do you currently use for your company?

The best websites integrate with the software you use for your business — CRM systems, email marketing platforms, booking software, e-commerce solutions.

By understanding what you already use, we can ensure your website talks to your existing tech stack. This avoids duplicated work and manual updates, while improving team efficiency and customer experience.

11. Where do you see your business in 5 years?

Next on our list of website design questions, we ask you to look into the future. Because you don’t want to be forking out for a new website in 12 months because this one no longer fits the needs of your business.

While you can’t predict every twist and turn your business will take over the next five years, sharing your ambitions helps us future-proof your website. We can ensure it has what it needs to scale effectively when the time comes.

Website questions for clients: website branding

12. How would you describe your brand personality?

One of our favourite website questions. If you’re looking to develop a new brand identity for your website, this is where we start.

We dig into your brand story, your values, what you stand for and how you want to make customers feel. We can then create a logo, colour scheme, imagery style and fonts that reflect exactly who you are.

Already got a logo and/or brand guidelines? Excellent! We’ll ask you to send them over so we can incorporate them into our design.

13. Are there any brands you particularly like?

This isn’t about copying anyone else. It’s about understanding the types of brands you admire and why. Are you drawn to their confidence? Their simplicity? Their humour? Or the impact they have on their audience?

By highlighting brands you like, we get a clearer sense of the tone, personality and visual style that resonates with you. We can then set about capturing that spirit in a way that’s unique to your business and engaging for your customers.

Website questions for clients: your existing website (if you have one)

14. What’s working well on your current site?

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We’ll ask you what you like about your current site, so we know what not to mess with when we’re redesigning and developing.

15. What don’t you like about your current site?

The other side of the coin. Learning about the frustrations you experience with your current site highlights the bits we absolutely need to overhaul — whether those issues are to do with your website’s design, performance or ranking on search engines.

16. Do you have existing copy, photographs or videos?

We’ll need to populate your website with content. Ideally, that means on-brand, SEO-optimised copy and professional photographs.

Website videos are also a really effective way to share information about your brand, products or services.

If you don’t already have these assets, the Radical team can help. If, however, you want to complete these tasks in-house, let us know who’ll be responsible for creating your website content and when it will be ready for upload.

Website questions for clients: practicalities

17. Who will be our point of contact?

A practical but important question we always ask our clients before getting down to the task of web design and development.

We may have to ask more questions along the way. And we’ll definitely be in touch to get your feedback and approval at each stage of the web design and development process.

Knowing who our main point of contact is helps us establish good agency-client communication from the very beginning.

18. Do you already have a domain name and host?

If not, we can help. We provide a dedicated hosting package. And if that isn’t the right fit, we can get you set up with a domain name and hosting provider that meets the needs of your website and business.

19. What’s your budget?

Ah yes, the dreaded money question. We get it — nobody likes talking numbers. But this one really matters.

Knowing your budget helps us shape a realistic plan for your website. It tells us which features and functionality are achievable, and where we might need to be a bit creative to get the most impact without overspending.

It also saves everyone time. Rather than dreaming up options that simply aren’t possible on your current budget, we can focus on solutions that give you the best bang for your buck.

20. Do you have a timeline in mind?

When would you like your website to go live? Knowing your timeline helps us plan the project realistically — from design and development to testing and launch.

Take a look at our blog post: How long does it take to build a website?

This will give you a ballpark idea of time frames. The average website takes between two and four months to build. It can be as quick as six to eight weeks for small, brochure websites. Complex or e-commerce builds tend to take longer.

Having a clear idea of your preferred launch date lets us set milestones and make sure everything stays on track. It also helps us manage expectations so everyone knows when your new site will go live.

Want a website that works harder for your business? Think Radical.

If your current website isn’t delivering results for your business — or if you want to launch a brand new online presence — we can help.

We’re a team of web designers, web developers, branding pros, animators and copywriters who can take your ideas and turn them into a beautiful website. One that reflects your company, drives traffic, persuades website visitors to take action and really drives business results.

So if you’re ready to answer all these website design questions (with a brew and plenty of guidance from us) — and move a big step closer to your perfect website — get in touch with the Radical team today.

FAQs about our web design questions and discovery process

How long does the discovery process take?

After you’ve completed your website brief, we jump on a call. This call can last anywhere from one hour to three. We then go away and do bits of our own research to get a 360-degree view of your brand and business.

What if I don’t know the answers to some of your questions?

Don’t worry. Some of our clients have a really clear idea of what they want from their new website. Others aren’t so sure. We can guide you through the process, teasing out useful nuggets of information that will shape the design and build.

Do I need to prepare anything before the discovery call?

Review these questions and have a think about your answers. The more detail you’re able to give us, the quicker and easier the process. Also, if you have any existing branding or marketing materials, send them our way. This includes brand guidelines, customer personas, copy, images and videos.

What happens after the discovery call?

After the discovery call, we have all the information we need to crack on with web design and development. We’ll send over a proposal that includes a quote, a timeline and details of the work we’re going to do. If you’re happy with what you see, we can sign contracts and get right to work.

Why is asking clients questions before web design so important?

By asking questions, we get to know your business really, really well. This helps us design and build a website that supports your business goals. Your website will also reflect your visual brand identity and provide the best possible experience for your target audience.