Your website development project is a big deal, and you want to do it right. Small oversights can add up and cost you time and money. By asking yourself the right questions before you design a new website or redesign your existing website, you can more effectively meet your goals and objectives.

We’ve compiled a list of over 70 questions you should ask yourself and your web design team before moving ahead on your project. Hopefully you will find them helpful in planning your website project.

Background Information

1. Who is your target audience?
2. What is the purpose of the website?
3. What are your goals for this website project?
4. What are your company’s core values?
5. How do you communicate your core values to your visitors?
6. What makes you stand out from your competitors?
7. Why should people do business with you rather than your competitors?
8. Do you have any visual branding guidelines (e.g. typography, colours) that need to be followed?
9. Do you have other marketing materials that the site needs to match with?
10. Do you want to completely overhaul your website and its functionality, or are you striving for just a new look?
11. What do you like most about your current website?
12. Are there features or functions on your current website that you plan to keep?
13. What are your top three frustrations with your current website?
14. What do your competitors have on their websites that you wish to have?
15. Are there any websites with designs that you like?
16. What design features from these websites would you like to incorporate?
17. What types of things do you see on other websites that you really like?
18. What types of things do you see on other websites that you dislike?
19. Do you have user names and passwords for your web host?
20. Who will be involved from your company in the design and development of the website?
21. Do you have a budget you are trying to meet?
22. What is your timeframe to launch the new website?
    
    

    Scope & Specifications

23. Do you plan on moving to a new host provider?
24. Do you need help finding the right web host?
25. Do you have an SSL certificate, or will you need this?
26. Will your site pages announce their use of cookies?
27. Will you need to plan for huge spikes in traffic, such as sales or giveaways?
28. Do you have a completed site architecture for the new site, or will that need to be part of the scope of work?
29. Approximately how many pages will the finished website be?
30. Do you have any page wireframes prepared, or will those need to be produced as part of the scope of work?
31. Do you have the content for the website ready, or will content creation be part of the scope of work?
32. Who will be doing the importing and formatting of the content?
33. What types of content will you publish?
34. Do you or your team need training for publishing content and making website updates?
35. Will we need to find or create any images for the website?
36. Will video or audio be part of the new website?
37. Will you provide us with the proper media files or will media creation be part of the scope of work?
38. Do you have any other media or PDF documents that need to be incorporated?
39. Do you have a preference for which content management system (CMS) to use?
40. Do you need help selecting the best CMS for your needs?
41. Will you need multiple levels of access?
42. Do you need to be able to manage content publishing approval processes?
43. Will you be looking for keyword optimization beyond the website development scope?
44. Will you do user testing during or after the development process?
    
    

    Features & Functionality

45. Do you require online or live chat features?
46. Will your visitors require any special accessibility needs, such as screen readers or larger fonts?
47. Do you have any specific mobile responsive requirements?
48. Do you need multi-language translation or support?
49. If so, in which languages will your website be available?
50. Will you need a shopping cart system for ecommerce?
51. Does your website need a blog or forum?
52. Will you allow users to comment on blog posts?
53. Will users need to log in to your website for any reason?
54. Do you need any password-protected areas on your website?
55. How many online forms (e.g. contact, sign-up) does your new website need?
56. How will you want the submitted forms handled?
57. How will users be able to share your website’s content?
58. Do you need any social sharing features to be built in?
59. Will there be any third-party applications that need to be integrated?
60. Will you need an events calendar feature?
61. Will you need a news listing?
62. Do you have any subscription services?
63. Do you use a third party for your subscription content delivery and/or payment?
64. Do you need printer-friendly options?
65. Do you wish to employ any rich animations on your website, such as animated banners?
66. Do you wish to employ any “content-on-demand” features (i.e. ability to show or hide content)?
67. Do you wish to employ any other interactive user-interface elements (e.g. popovers, tabs, overlays, etc.)?
68. What features, sections or information do you want to emphasize on your website?
69. How would you like that to be featured?
70. Do you need an internal site search feature?
71. Do you require a database?
72. What specific functionality will the database need?
73. Do you have any other specific functionalities that have not been addressed?
    
    

    Measurement & Analytics

74. Do you have an Analytics account?
75. What specific KPIs would you like to benchmark on your website?
76. What types of data would you like to review on a monthly or yearly basis?

By taking the time to think about your requirements, you can ensure a great website launch and save your company valuable time and money. Here's another blog about different ways you can get the most out of your website. 

Talk to a web design expert today

Book a free consultation and learn how Graphically Speaking can help you cover all of these essential pre-launch questions for your website to function and convert perfectly.