A website client questionnaire you can download without signing up: the questions to ask about goals, audience, services, proof, domain ownership, forms and privacy, a fully filled example, and how to turn the answers into a build brief.
<p class="lead text-xl text-[#3a3a3a] mb-8"> A website client questionnaire collects everything you need before designing: what the site must achieve, who it is for, what the business sells, what proof it can show, who owns the domain and content, and which forms and integrations it needs. Send it before the kickoff call, then use the call to clear up gaps. Below is a free editable version, a filled example and the reason behind each question. </p>
<h2>Download the questionnaire</h2> <p><a href="/downloads/website-client-questionnaire.txt" download>Download the website client questionnaire (.txt, editable)</a>. No sign-up. Paste it into Google Docs, Word or a form tool, and delete questions that do not apply to the project.</p>
<h2>1. Business objective and audience</h2> <ul> <li><strong>What should a visitor do on the site?</strong> Call, book, request a quote, buy, or visit. Ask for one main action and at most two secondary ones.</li> <li><strong>Who is the typical customer?</strong> Location, what they are trying to solve, and what makes them hesitate.</li> <li><strong>How do customers find the business today?</strong> Referrals, Google, social, repeat. This tells you which pages matter most.</li> <li><strong>How will we know the site works?</strong> Agree a check you can actually run, such as "a test quote request reaches the owner's inbox", not a promised number of leads.</li> </ul>
<h2>2. Services, prices and proof to collect</h2> <ul> <li>List of services or products, in the words customers use, with the most profitable ones marked.</li> <li>Whether prices are shown, shown as "from" prices, or quoted only.</li> <li>Proof the client can supply and has permission to use: licences with a register link, real reviews, photos of their own work, certifications. Never write placeholder reviews into a live site.</li> <li>Service areas or opening hours, exactly as they appear on the Google Business Profile.</li> </ul>
<h2>3. Domain, content ownership and existing URLs</h2> <ul> <li><strong>Who owns the domain</strong>, and at which registrar? The client should hold the registrar account in their own name.</li> <li><strong>Existing website:</strong> its address, and a list of pages that get visits or have links pointing at them. Those need redirects if the addresses change (Google explains this in its <a href="https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes" rel="noopener" target="_blank">site move guidance</a>).</li> <li><strong>Email on the domain:</strong> which provider, so DNS changes do not break mail.</li> <li><strong>Who writes and supplies content</strong>, and by what date. Missing content is a common reason launches slip.</li> <li><strong>Logins the client controls:</strong> Google Business Profile, Search Console, analytics, social accounts.</li> </ul>
<h2>4. Forms, integrations and privacy needs</h2> <ul> <li>Which forms (contact, quote, booking) and which fields each needs. Where submissions should go.</li> <li>Third-party tools to embed: booking, payments, newsletter, maps, chat widgets from the client's own provider.</li> <li>Personal data collected, and whether the client has a privacy policy. Rules differ by country; the UK's <a href="https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ICO guidance</a> and the EU's <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection_en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">data protection pages</a> are official starting points. You are collecting facts here, not giving legal advice.</li> <li>Accessibility needs of the audience (older visitors, screen reader users). See the <a href="/guides/website-accessibility-checklist">website accessibility checklist</a>.</li> </ul>
<h2>5. Filled example (a labelled demonstration)</h2> <p>This example uses a fictional business, "Harbour Line Plumbing". It is not a real company and no results are claimed.</p> <pre><code>Main action: call or send a job request from a phone Secondary: check areas served Customer: homeowners on the North Shore with a leak or no hot water How found today: referrals, Google Maps Check it works: test job request reaches owner@ inbox; tap-to-call dials Services: drain clearing, hot water systems, bathroom plumbing Prices shown: call-out fee only; everything else quoted Proof: licence number + register link, 12 own job photos, Google reviews link Areas: North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby (matches Business Profile) Domain: owned by client at registrar, client login Existing site: none (Facebook page only) Email: provider on the domain, keep MX records unchanged Content: owner supplies service notes by [date]; designer writes copy Forms: job request (name, phone, suburb, problem, photo optional) Integrations: none at launch Personal data: name, phone, suburb; privacy page needed Accessibility: large tap targets, readable text for older homeowners</code></pre>
<h2>Turn the answers into a build brief</h2> <p>Each answer maps to a page or a decision: services become service sections, proof becomes the trust block, the main action becomes the header button, and areas become an areas section. The <a href="/guides/website-design-brief-template">website design brief template</a> shows that format. With the brief agreed, pick a starting design from the <a href="/website-templates/business">business templates</a>, and use the <a href="/tools/website-cost-calculator">website cost calculator</a> to sanity-check the quote.</p> <figure> <img src="/images/app/dashboard-prompt-1200.webp" alt="The We.Inc dashboard with a text box for describing the website to build" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="750" /> <figcaption>Pasting an agreed brief into the We.Inc dashboard.</figcaption> </figure>
<h2>Known limitations</h2> <ul> <li>A questionnaire does not replace a conversation; clients often answer what they think you want to hear. Confirm the main action on a call.</li> <li>Keep it short enough to finish. If a question does not change what you build, cut it.</li> </ul>
<h2>Build from the brief</h2> <p>In the <a href="/website-builder">We.Inc website builder</a> the Free plan gives up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI credits and no custom domain. Starter at $20/month adds AI building and custom domains; Pro is $50 and Max $99 a month (<a href="/pricing">pricing</a>). Agencies can run client sites under their own brand with <a href="/white-label">white-label</a>. After launch, check the site with the <a href="/tools/website-grader">website grader</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://my.we.inc/signup">Start building your business website</a></p>
Ask what visitors should do on the site, who the customers are, which services and prices to show, what proof they can supply, who owns the domain and content, which forms and integrations they need, and what personal data the site will collect.
Before. Clients answer the factual questions in their own time, and the call is spent on the main goal and gaps.
Yes. Download the editable text file, no sign-up needed, and adapt it to your projects.
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