Yes, I know this questionnaire is daunting and extensive. However, it is also a comprehensive & effective tool to help you create a premium website. Taking the time to thoughtfully and thoroughly answer the questions will grant me a clearer picture of your design, content and budgetary needs and expedite the proposal process. Please feel free to contact me with any questions but please note that for any new project to begin, I will require that this questionnaire be completed to help organize both your thoughts & content and my design plans.

You can complete this questionnaire in the manner most convienent to you:

• cut and paste the questions into an email message and fill in the answers
• cut and past the questions into a Word .doc file, fill in the answers and email as an attachment
• prefer to fax your questionnaire? contact me for a fax contact number

Individuals and organizations, please frame the following questions to your needs and identity even though they often reference a business model. Please answer "N/A" to all questions that don't apply. If you don't understand a question or any design terminology, please note this in your answer so I can make sure to clarify during the proposal process.

potential client questionnaire

General Information

1.  Will your website be for a business, organization, or individual?

2.  What is the name of your business?

3.  How long has your company been in business?

4.  What is the mission statement/primary goal of your business?
(Note: your mission statement may be different than the goal of your website. For example, your organization's mission may be to promote adult literacy but your website.)

5.  Who will be the primary contact(s) for your design project?
(Please include name, email and phone number for any people who will be responsible for providing content and/or making design decisions.)

6.  Do you already have a domain name (eg. www.mywebsite.com)? If yes, please note the URL.

Current Website

1.  Do you already have a website at this or another URL? If it is at another URL, please note it here and indicate if you will be keeping this website or deleting it.

2.  How long have you had this website?

3.  Who is your current website host? Please provide the URL for your web host and indicate what plan you are using.

4.  What are your reasons for wanting to redesign your website?

5.  What specific areas of your current site do you feel works for you and your users?

6.  What do you like about your current website's aesthetic?
(navigation, layout, color, images, logo, etc)

7.  What aspects of the website must be maintained in a redesign project?
(logo, color scheme, pagination)

8.  What feedback have you received from usesr on your site?
(please include both positive and negative comments)

9. What specific areas of your current site do you feel do not work for you or your users?

10. Do you want to use existing copy (text) from your current website on a new site?

11. Do you want to use existing images (photos or graphics) from your current website on a new site?

Website Mission & Demographics

1.  What is the goal of your website?
(To promote you or your business, to sell products, to share information on a specific topic pertinent to your users, to network, to write a blog)

2.  Who will be the primary visitors to your website?
(Potential clients? Current clients? Members of your organization? Friends?)

3.  Who will be secondary visitors to your website?

Website Aesthetic

1.  Do you have a logo or do you need one designed as part of this project?

2.  Do you have a color scheme in mind?

3.  What adjectives would you use to decribe the aesthetic and feeling you want your website to evoke? (modern, whimsical, minimalistic, retro, corporate)

4.  Please list two or three websites that are similar in content or purpose to your website. What do you like about these sites? What do you dislike?

5.  Please list two or three websites whose aesthetic or features you like. What do you specifically like?

Features

1.  Do you need a blog on your website?

2.  Do you intend to include an online store on your website? If yes, please indicate what you will be selling and provide any other details you know such as how large the product catalog will be, potential shipping and payment options, frequency of updates required, etc.

3.  Do you need a calendar integrated on your website? Will this website be updated solely on your side of the website or should it be interactive?
(For example, a salon might want to give clients the ability to schedule appointments.)

4.  Do you need a photo gallery on your website? If yes, please indicate how you wish to use the photo gallery and also how often you will want to update it.

5.  What are other features do you know must be included on the website? Search capabilities? Flash or animation? Embedded movies or music playesrs? Multiple contact forms or questionnaires? Language translations? Anything else?

Content

1.  How much work have you already done to develop content specifically for your website? For example, do you know what pages or categories you will have on the site? Have you begun writing your content or collecting images? Please elaborate if possible.

2.  Do you need assistance procurring photos and other images for the website?

3.  Are you interested in using irmacreative's copywriting and/or copyediting services?

4.  Upon launch, will you want the ability to update the website yourself or will you want to hire someone else to make changes as necessary?
(Note: "updates" refer to changes in copy, not in the design or layout of the website)

Further Design Services

1.  Do you currently have any printed materials you use for publicity? If yes, what?

2.  Do you want irmacreative to design other publicity tools such as business cards, flyers, magazine adverts or brochures? If yes, please indicate what your needs are.

3.  Will you need help designing an email marketing or newsletter campaign?

H.  Marketing & Search Engine Optimization

1.  What marketing campaigns -- both on and offline -- do you currently participate?

2.  What has been successful and what hasn't been successful in your past marketing initiatives?

3.  Do you participate in any online networking websites?

Note: all websites designed by irmacreative are created to be easily indexed and accessed by search engines using standard SEO techniques and clean coding. In the same vein, content services include optimized and thoughtful writing that will make your website even more appealing to search engine ranking. Upon the completion of your website, you can opt to hire irmacreative to continue working with you to further market your website and improve your SEO page rank using content and networking or ask for a referal to an SEO company that specializes in pay per click and other paid advertising campaigns.

Timeframe & Budgeting

1.  What is your project timeframe? Is there a specific deadline you need to reach such as a product launch, event or store opening?

2.  Do you want to launch your website in stages?
(For example, launch an informational website ASAP and then roll out an online store, photo gallery, blog and/or interactive features down the road as time, content or budget allows.)

3.  How prepared do you feel to have content ready to meet your timeframe? What assistance from irmacreative would empower you to reach your deadline?

4.  What is your budget for your website design? This is, for sure, the most difficult to answer and the most pressing question for both you, a potential client, and me, your potential designer. It is important that you are honest about what your budget allows and what you expect to receive for that amount. In turn, I will be honest if I can provide a quality and effective website that will fit within the boundaries of your budget. My rate for a project is based on the complexity of the design, the technical backend requirements, the size of the website and the content services needed. If there is a pressing turnaround requirement, this may also affect the project rate. Click here for further explanation on how I determine my project rates.

5.  What is your budget allowance for continued website maintenance and for any marketing needs your website may need?

Phew. You're done! What happens next?

After reviewing your questionnaire, I will contact you within 48 hours to schedule a phone consultation. During our consultation, we will discuss exactly what we need from each other to determine if we will make a good collaborative fit. In most circumstances, I will provide PDF mockups of my first-draft version of your website, an itemized breakdown of my fee for the project and a proposed timeline for development and launch. During this time, you may be requested to provide more information about your business or website scope to help me finalize the proposal. Once we've come to an agreement on our working relationship, I will draft a contract for you to approve and sign along with paying the intitial deposit so we can begin!