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A client discovery questionnaire turns a vague request such as “a simple business website” into a project you can price, build, and hand over. Use the 25 questions below, grouped into five areas, before you write a proposal. Then convert the answers into a written scope that the client approves before any development starts.
How to use this list
The checklist is a starting point, not a form to send unchanged. Discovery guidance published by The Kolachi Media on September 16, 2026 frames the goal as understanding the client’s business problem, audience, requirements, constraints, and expectations, and it says a page list alone does not define a project (The Kolachi Media, “Client Discovery Questionnaire for Freelance Web Developers: 25 Questions to Ask”). Several existing intake templates follow the same logic: a web development questionnaire from Content Snare recommends using its 26-question form before a discovery call or sales meeting (Content Snare, “Web development questionnaire template (26 questions)”). A Treehouse freelance client questionnaire adds questions on who is involved, whether the work can be phased, and who provides content (Treehouse Code Samples, “Freelance Client Questionnaire”). A FormGrid website design intake template adds current site, brand assets, reference sites, and content readiness (FormGrid, “Website Design Intake Form Template”).
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A common question from people starting out is what to ask a client who wants a website but has no idea how websites work. That phrasing comes from an online discussion rather than an authoritative guide, but it points at the real issue: many clients can describe a result but not the parts needed to produce it. Questions 2, 3, and 14 below are designed for that situation.
Whether you send the questionnaire in writing or use it as a live guide, the trade-offs differ:
#1 Best Overall
| Format | Strength | Weakness | Best used when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written questionnaire sent before the call | Gives the client time to find content, login details, and numbers; shows gaps before you speak | Clients answer vaguely, skip questions, or answer with “whatever you think is best” | The client is organized and has already done some planning |
| Live call using the list as a guide | You can probe vague answers immediately with follow-ups | Easy to miss items; answers are not recorded unless you write them down | The client is unsure what they need |
| Short written form, then a clarifying call | Combines advance preparation with live follow-up | Two steps to manage; the client may feel the process is longer | The project has budget, deadline, or integration questions that need discussion |
Tailor the list to the client type. A five-page brochure site for a local service business needs fewer questions in the scope and technical groups than a membership site with payments and a CRM integration. Asking every question to every client creates burden without improving the answers.
Business goals and outcomes
These questions establish why the site exists and how it will be judged. Answers here should determine the site’s structure and its primary action, so they come first.
1. What does the business do, and who does it serve?
- Ask for a list of products or services, not a description of the company’s values.
- Ask whether the site represents the whole business or one specific offer.
- Ask about geography: a local service site and a national shop need different content and different contact paths.
2. Why does the business need a website now?
- Ask how customers find them today, such as referrals, a marketplace, social media, or phone calls.
- Ask what the business loses if the website is not built. The answer shows urgency and the real problem.
3. What is the single most important thing the site should achieve?
- Ask them to rank the goal. A site that tries to generate leads, sell products, and publish news at once usually does none of them well.
- Record secondary goals separately so they do not compete with the primary one in the layout.
4. How will success be measured?
- Use concrete outcomes such as leads, bookings, purchases, account creation, or downloads. The Kolachi Media guide lists these examples.
- Ask what the current number is, if any, and who tracks it. A goal without a baseline cannot be checked after launch.
5. What would make this project feel like a failure six months after launch?
- This question surfaces expectations the client has not stated, such as “customers should not have to call us to book.”
- Turn each answer into either a scope item or an explicit exclusion.
Audience and current website
Once the goal is clear, find out who the site must serve and what already exists. Current pages reveal what the client is willing to keep and what they dislike.
6. Who is the priority audience, and what must they accomplish on the site?
- Separate decision-makers from end users. In a B2B project, the person who signs off may not be the person who uses the site.
- Ask whether they have analytics showing which devices visitors use. Ask for the data rather than assuming mobile or desktop.
7. Is there a current website, and what works and what does not?
- Get the URL and check the platform type if it is visible.
- Ask who controls the domain registration and hosting account. Access problems are common delays late in a project.
- Ask which pages carry traffic and whether any old URLs should keep working after a redesign.
8. Which competitor or reference sites do they admire, and why?
- Ask which specific element they like: layout, navigation, product pages, or checkout. “Like Amazon” needs to be narrowed to one feature.
- Ask which sites they dislike. Negative examples often clarify preferences faster than positive ones.
9. What must stay unchanged?
- Examples include the brand name, product names, URLs other sites link to, and integrations that already work.
- Confirm this list in writing so that a redesign does not quietly break something the client depends on.
Scope and functionality
This group turns the goal into pages and features. It is where a broad request such as “online payments” hides several separate requirements, so expect follow-up questions.
Rank #3
10. Which pages are required at launch, and which can wait?
- Ask for a draft page list, then ask which pages are needed on day one.
- If the client wants phased delivery, record which pages move to a later phase and what that phase depends on.
11. What should visitors be able to do besides read?
- Common answers include contact forms, booking requests, quote requests, file downloads, and newsletter sign-up.
- For each form, ask who receives the submission, through what channel (email, a CRM, or a spreadsheet), and how fast a reply is expected.
12. Do users need accounts or logins?
- Ask what a logged-in user sees and changes. A login that only shows a receipt is a much smaller project than a portal with roles.
- Ask about password reset, account deletion, and whether staff need separate admin accounts.
13. Do you need search, a database, or lists that staff must manage?
- Ask how many items the list will hold and how often they change.
- Ask which filters or search fields visitors need. Each filter adds build and testing work.
14. If the client says “online payments,” what exactly is being sold?
Treat this as several questions rather than one feature. The Kolachi Media guide lists the follow-ups that matter:
- What is sold: physical goods, digital downloads, services, or memberships?
- Are charges one-time, recurring, or both? Recurring billing needs a different setup and different cancellation handling.
- Which currencies are needed?
- Are refunds required, and who approves them?
- Which payment provider does the client intend to use, and do they already have a merchant account?
Content, design, and brand inputs
Missing content is one of the most common causes of delay late in a project. These questions identify what exists, who owns it, and what style the client expects.
15. What content already exists, and who will supply what is missing?
- Ask about copy, photos, product data, team bios, and legal pages separately. Clients often have some and assume the rest is ready.
- Agree a date for each missing item and name the person responsible. Ask whether you or the client will write the copy.
16. Are there brand guidelines, logo files, and fonts, and who owns them?
- Confirm that the client has the rights to supply logos, fonts, and photos. Ask whether any stock images are licensed, and check the license terms yourself before using them.
- If there are no brand guidelines, note that colour and typography decisions will be part of the design phase.
17. What tone and visual direction fit, and what should the site avoid?
- Ask for three adjectives that describe the brand, then one thing the site must not look like.
- Show two or three layout options only after the client has agreed on direction, so feedback addresses the chosen direction rather than unrelated styles.
Technical constraints
These questions identify what the platform must support and what must connect to it. They should be answered before you estimate hosting, integration work, or security requirements.
18. Is there a preferred content management system, platform, or existing hosting?
- Ask whether the client already pays for a platform, a hosting account, or an email service.
- Record who holds each login. Credentials should be handed over early in the project, not at the end.
19. Which tools must the site connect to?
- Typical examples include a CRM, email marketing software, a calendar or booking tool, analytics, and a payment provider.
- For each integration, ask whether it has a documented connection method or whether data would move by manual export. The effort differs substantially.
20. Will staff edit content themselves, and how often?
- If yes, identify which parts of each page must be editable and which are fixed layout.
- Ask who will be trained and whether the client expects a written guide.
21. Which security, privacy, accessibility, or industry compliance requirements apply?
- Ask what personal data forms and accounts collect, and where it is stored.
- Ask whether the client has accessibility or compliance obligations in its sector. Ask them to name the requirement, and recommend they confirm it with their own adviser. A developer should not assume compliance from a general conversation.
Timeline, budget, and decisions
These questions determine whether the project can proceed on the timing and money available, and who has the authority to approve it.
22. What launch date is required, and what drives it?
- Ask whether the date is fixed, such as an event, a campaign start, or the end of a contract with a previous provider, or whether it is a preference.
- A fixed date tied to an outside event changes how you should sequence content, review, and testing.
23. What budget range is realistic?
- Ask for a range rather than a single figure. A range helps you decide whether the scope fits, or whether phasing or a smaller first release is needed.
- Clarify whether the budget covers the build only or also ongoing maintenance and content changes.
24. Who approves the work, and how quickly can they give feedback and materials?
- Identify one decision-maker. Where several people review the work, agree who has the final word on each round.
- Ask how many review rounds are expected and how quickly the client will respond. Slow feedback is one of the most common sources of schedule slippage.
Launch and ongoing support
25. After launch, who maintains the site, and what support does the client expect?
- Ask about hosting, backups, security updates, bug fixes, content changes, and future feature work, and whether each is included or billed separately.
- Ask who will receive alerts when something breaks after launch. Without this, maintenance responsibility is often unclear until the first problem.
Reading the answers
Vague answers are normal at the first conversation. Treat the following as signals to ask a follow-up before you estimate anything:
- “It should look modern.” Ask for two sites that look modern to them and what they mean by it.
- “We need everything.” Ask which items would have to launch on the first date.
- “It is just a simple site.” Count the pages and forms together. A simple brochure site with a booking form and a payment step is not a simple project.
- “The content will be ready soon.” Ask for a date and a named person.
- “Whatever you think is best.” Offer two concrete options with trade-offs, then ask the client to choose.
Turning answers into an agreed scope
Do not treat the completed questionnaire as approval. Review the answers, identify what remains uncertain, and ask the follow-up questions the answers raise. Then write the decisions into a scope document that covers:
- Objectives, stated as the measurable outcomes agreed in questions 3 and 4
- Deliverables and included pages and features
- Client responsibilities, including content, credentials, and feedback deadlines
- Technical dependencies, such as third-party accounts and integrations
- Revision limits and what happens after the last round
- Estimated timeline and the milestones that depend on client input
- Payment schedule
- Exclusions, including anything discussed but not included
- The change-request process: how a request is submitted, priced, and approved before work begins
Have the client approve this document before development starts. Discovery reduces ambiguity, but it cannot guarantee that no changes will come up. A written change-request process is what turns later additions into agreed work rather than unplanned scope.
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