We don’t have to tell you twice: The web design process can get messy. Each project has so many moving parts to it, from interfacing with clients to all that goes into any iterative design. That makes it all the more important to come equipped to each project with a standard process you trust in that’ll guide you and your client from onboarding to handover. (Sidenote: have you seen the work-in-progress content that's taking over the internet?) The payoff is big. For example, settling on when to introduce full content into your sketches, or when to establish guidelines for the feedback process, doesn’t just let you use your time most effectively. It also helps you win the trust of more clients. However, arriving at the right process can take several cycles of trial and error. So we say: Skip out on the learning curve. That’s why we put this list together for you. The 7 recommended steps to a more efficient web design process Read through each section below for valuable tips on how to streamline your workflow. Create an intake form with the right questions Craft a persuasive web design proposal Start designing your client’s website Finalize your design Test the website before client handoff Launch the website Monitor and maintain the website I. THE CLIENT ONBOARDING PHASE 01. Create an intake form with the right questions Before embarking on the web design process, you first need clients. And the way you generate leads - including the information you make available about your services on your website - is how you land your business in front of the eyes of great potential clients. Forget spending time engaged in discussions with clients whose budgets don’t reach the minimum charge of your services. Or with ones who aren’t exactly sure what they want yet. The new objective is finding those clients who bode good news for your bottom line, and who will know how to make use of your skills and time. One way to immediately identify these leads is by creating a page on your website that clearly states how much you charge and the range of your services. This allows visitors to self-select, so neither of you are wasting the other’s time. Placing an intake form on your site can help you evaluate from the get-go whether a client will be a good fit. Some sample questions to pose include: Contact information: What is your email address and phone number? What service is needed? (A drop-down menu could work well here) What industry is your business in? What business goals are you hoping to accomplish with your website launch or redesign? What is your timeline? What is your budget? What are some examples of websites you like? What stands out to you about them? Open space to write additional notes Based on the responses you receive, you can reach out via email to schedule a meeting with the clients who you want to work with. There, you’ll share your proposed roadmap to business success with this potential client. If possible, in-person meetings are ideal, yet phone, video, and email are all suitable alternatives. 02. Craft a persuasive web design proposal Assemble a web design proposal that wins you a contract: After your meeting is set, it’s time to write the project proposal that advances your relationship with this client towards a contract. Besides making a notable impression, a thoroughly-researched proposal helps you get in sync with the client from square one and lay out a pathway to a collaborative relationship going forward. Granted, your original proposition will probably undergo a few drafts after this stage, as your client becomes more precise with their ‘asks,’ or as they match their budget to the reality of what is possible. Entering the meeting with a strong vision is also valuable for proving why you’re the best one for the job. Remember - you’re not selling a website. You’re selling a solution that aligns with and advances the client’s business goals. To underscore that point, every excellent web design proposal should include these key components: Demonstrated understanding of the client: Conduct extensive research into their brand. What product or service do they offer? Who are their competitors and how does this product or service differ from others out there? What is the tone of voice and story they are trying to convey? Speaking the language and story of a particular brand will resonate well with that potential client. Clearly articulated goal: Identify the challenge at hand, and then name the solution that you will provide. This answer should be defined as a measurable, business-oriented outcome. In short: What is the value that you will provide to them? This is arguably the most important stage of the entire web design process, because it will inform every aspect of what you continue on to do, from the way you structure the website to the wording of CTAs. Some examples of possible KPIs (key performance indicators) could be: Increasing landing page conversions by 30% over one year. Doubling eCommerce sales each month. Reducing the average cart abandonment rate by 15% over 6 months. Be specific and confident in your ability to do a fantastic job. Yet still make sure to conduct market and client research to know what’s feasible when you name a number. Once you close the deal, this goal will become your motto for the rest of the project. Sitemap: All successful websites can trace their origins to an airtight sitemap. This is a hierarchy of all planned web pages that illustrates the connections between each of them. It’s the blueprint required before any further building can be done. When determining what to insert into your sitemap, return to the goal you articulated together with your client. Perhaps it’s our example from above of reducing the abandoned cart shopping rate by 15% over the next 6 months. What website elements and pages will be necessary for realizing that metric? Where will the product and checkout pages live in relation to the homepage and each other? Attractive design: Put simply: If you’re going to be trusted with their entire website, show off the talent you’re made of with a professional proposal design. Outline logistics: Even if you've listed your pricing info and standard turnaround times on your website, it's important to discuss timeline and budget directly with your client. Visualize the projected project timeline in your proposal. And whatever your pricing model is, name it and note the dates on which you will expect payment before proceeding. Present the web design proposal in a stakeholder meeting After you’ve delivered the proposal and walked your client through your vision, there are a few takeaways to capture before the end of the meeting. These are the final details that will elevate the document you already hold into the final, actionable version. Take the opportunity to ask the client these questions (and if their answers are similar to what you found in your prior research, that’s a sign of a job well done!): What is the narrative surrounding your brand? What are your product or service’s strengths? What’s your brand’s personality? Who is your target demographic? As the client sees you’re understanding their business, their confidence in you will grow. Plus, the additional data you’ve collected will prove useful as you sharpen your stated goal. It’s also a good time to solidify expectations in the client-designer relationship in a brief: What assets (e.g. logos, style guidelines, copy, etc.) will you need from them, and by what stage of the process? What are your norms for updates and feedback during the design process? This is your moment to set up boundaries aimed at keeping you safe from the dreaded scope creep, when projects are thrown into endless limbo as clients keep adjusting their vision or requirements. Give a firm number for the rounds of revisions you allow, when they will occur, your preferred communication method (phone, email, in-person, etc.), and what can be expected in the client feedback process. If you enforce a pricing mechanism for additional requests down the line, mention it here, too. Use this opening to also officially appoint who from their organization will be the one giving you feedback. Yes, there may be multiple stakeholders involved on their side, but it’s best you agree in advance of the project who your one point person will be to avoid any confusion in the future. Confirm the timeline and budget again. Based on your pricing model, confirm the amount you are owed at each stage of the project. If you charge fees for actions like missing the deadline on submitting assets or feedback, this is also the time to review those policies. Finally, share your working hours when your customers can reasonably expect to contact you for any questions they may have throughout the project. Throughout it all, keep reminding yourself that you are the expert in the room. Listen carefully to what your future client is saying, but don’t hesitate to add your professional opinion into the discussion. After all, they’re hiring you because of your expertise. Sign a well-negotiated contract The standard contract you use should cover all of your bases: pricing, deadlines, client assets, late fees, to name a few. We recommend sticking in a clause about what conditions could allow you to terminate a project. After your client consultation, implement all of the specifics you agreed upon and send it, along with the final version of your web design proposal, to the client. The anxiety of looming deadlines or the urge to jump into new creative projects are both real pulls. But refrain from pursuing any work until the signed document is back in your hands. II. DURING THE PROJECT 03. Start designing your client’s website Most web professionals generally follow a standard progression of design stages, from basic sketches to full-blown mockups. Doing the design in stages gives yourself time to check in with clients to make sure your visions continue to be synced. Do your visual homework We recommend immersing yourself in the visual identity of the brand you’re working for, and that of its competitors. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with any pre-existing visual language guidelines your client has sent your way (e.g. logo, color scheme, fonts, etc.). Also browse the websites of similar products or services, building a visualization board as you go using screenshots of elements you liked. As you go, keep a pen and paper close by for the moments when new ideas jump to mind. Move your ideas into wireframes Once you have something down you like, turn to wireframes to synthesize your beginning sketches and sitemap. These prototypes show the web structure without delving into too much detail too soon. That’s their major benefit: Expressing the format of the future page without needing every high-quality image in place or text box full of the exact copy. Once you have your wireframes completed, loop back in with your client to present it to them and get their feedback. Since wireframes are quite flexible, it will be much easier to make adjustments at this point in the design process. Be diligent about SEO Web professionals have many different ways of handling SEO (Search Engine Optimization). For some, it’s a flagship part of their expertise. Others require that clients prepare and submit all keywords they want to target and all text for the website. There’s no one right way here. Whatever approach you choose, be upfront about it during the early project phases, and emphasize the importance of the deadlines you put in place for keeping the whole process moving ahead. This section contains advice for those partners who are owning SEO strategy development in some capacity. As strong SEO is instrumental to any website’s hopes for high visibility and organic web traffic, it makes the most sense to perform keyword research before writing (or editing, if your content is client-generated). Just as the sitemap became the blueprint that guided your more fleshed-out wireframes, your list of targeted search words will serve as the scaffolding for your finished text. Some tools we like for keyword research are the Wix SEO Wiz, Google AdWord’s Keyword Planner, or Answer the Public. Always cross-check promising high-volume search terms against how they appear on the SERPs in your client’s country (use an anonymous search browser so your personal data doesn’t influence the algorithm of what’s displayed) to evaluate intent. For a more in-depth overview, see this guide to finding the perfect keywords or to choosing an SEO strategy for your client’s website. Create mockups with client-ready content One common industry tendency is first finalizing your design, only then to return to insert the intended content. While we love Lorem Ipsum, those Latin words perform less well in your final mockup. Why? Because they are an unrealistic estimate of what the copy will actually be. Depending on your arrangement with your client, this material will either be written by them or a team of freelance writers you’ve hired. Regardless of where it’s being sourced from, adding real content will make your mockup stronger, and therefore result in a higher chance that the client will be more enthusiastic about what they see. Once you’ve fit all of these pieces together, you can show the client for approval before moving on to actually building the site. 04. Finalize your design As you enter this final stage, keep revisiting the question: How does this support the goal I identified together with my client? First create the homepage, and then present it to your client. Draw links between your design choices and their business strategy, demonstrating how each visual element supports the goals the two of you have established for the website. Compile and implement the feedback they give. Once you get approval, you can then proceed to create the next series of pages. After finalizing the design of all the pages, organize another meeting with your client to preview the site together. It’s always a nice touch to send screenshot images of each page prior to your conversation. As you speak about the website, explain the decisions you made along the way with confidence. Believing in your direction and your work will help them feel similarly confident about it, too. Once you get approval on the desktop version of the website, you can move on to optimizing it for phones and tablets using mobile-friendly web design best practices. After finishing this part, get one final approval from your client. 05. Test the website before client handoff The projected launch date is nearing, and your design has been approved. Here’s a checklist of some crucial site elements to test before publishing: Double check every link and linked element to ensure it leads where you want. This includes, but is not limited to, email subscribe buttons, eCommerce purchase options, contact forms, and social links. Review the personalized plan Wix SEO Wiz has created for you to ensure each page is accompanied with everything it needs, from alt text to meta tags, to compete on search engines. For websites where you’ve used the Advanced SEO Panel to take full control over how the website will appear on SERPs and social platform, open up the panel again to read through your custom meta tags and structured data. Test the loading speed. Wix Turbo technology makes Wix websites faster than ever. Use the Wix Speed Test to calculate the site’s loading time and assess whether any changes need to be made before publishing, such as altering your video placement or moving content out of iFrames. 06. Launch the website Both the desktop and mobile sites are designed, created, and approved. Sharp content appears on its pages, and you’ve worked hard on the SEO for each one. You’ve tested each link, measured the loading time, and iterated as needed along the way. After one final run through with your client, you’re now officially ready to go live. Before you do, make sure to enable any tracking and analytics marketing integrations that will help you and your client monitor the website’s performance vis-à-vis your key metrics. III. THE CLIENT OFFBOARDING PHASE 07. Monitor and maintain the website Perform website maintenance At some point between your initial meeting and the website launch, it’s a good business practice to raise the possibility of performing ongoing website monitoring and maintenance for your client, otherwise known as upselling. You will generally find your client is more open to the idea after the project is underway and they’ve grasped the value you provide to their online presence. If that’s something you and your client have agreed upon, then select the marketing integrations that generate the information you’ll need to do your job effectively. Monitor traffic with Google Analytics, and gain insight into on-page user behavior through tools like Hotjar and Crazy Egg. Different information will help you identify if and where you need to make edits to your website. For example, statistics (bounce rate, page views, etc.) and data compilations (heatmaps, session recordings, etc.) will help you decide if you need to move the CTA, sharpen the page headline, or any number of other related edits. Complete the client handover Wix makes the client handoff process easy, letting both you and your client make updates as necessary on the completed site. Kick off the transition by offering your client a mini site introduction session to display and explain the overall picture. Besides preemptively answering lots of questions your clients might have for you in the future (saving you from having to respond to a bunch of intermittent urgent texts), it also lets your web expertise shine. Your client will appreciate you taking the time to teach them how to use their Wix website (and don’t forget, you can - and should - charge for this!). To boost your delivery, there are ready-made presentations waiting for you amongst the tools and guides available to Wix Partners. Below is a sampling of the resources and knowledge to share: Records of any branding visuals you’ve selected: fonts, colors, images used, etc. SEO best practices for future blog posts or other content they might write. Business solutions at their disposal, such as Ascend by Wix. How to integrate their social media presence with their website. Don’t be afraid of introducing upselling here, too. Mention, when appropriate, other services you offer that they might be interested in. Remember to take screenshots for your personal portfolio before you transfer the site and a client can enter to make changes. Finally - and very importantly - make sure you have received your last payment, as agreed upon in your contract, before handing the website off. Follow up Even though the site is now in the hands of your client, your job isn’t done just yet. There are a few more opportunities for you to help translate a one-time project into future references or an ongoing business relationship. First, immediately send a ‘goodbye and thank you’ email to the client after transferring ownership of the site. Ask them, while you have their attention, to submit a testimonial, which you can then display on your website. Also ask if you have their permission to post their website to your social media accounts and website, so you can expand your online portfolio. If your client hasn’t opted for continued website maintenance, it doesn’t mean they never will. Consider setting reminders on your calendar for three months, six months, and one year out from the project completion date. At each of those intervals, follow up with the client to ask how they’re feeling about their website, and remind them that you’re here if they ever require additional consultation services or website optimization training. Did we miss something? Have you discovered a tip that has changed your whole workflow? Tell us about your web design process in the comments!

Between providing excellent service, exercising creative direction, and generating profit, you know just how challenging - and exhilarating - running a digital agency can be. The powerful engine behind it all, of course, is your clients. It’s this base that keeps your agency moving forward and growing. So, how do you ensure that you’re continually finding new clients? If you’ve spent enough time in the industry, you probably have the basics down: a website, a carefully formulated brand identity, and at least one marketing channel that’s directing a decent number of new leads your way. (Side note: If you’re still exclusively depending on referrals for new business, it’s time to change that. Trust us - you’ll thank us later.) This article is for those agencies looking to accelerate their lead generation and tap into new markets. Guided by the collective experience of thousands of agencies that are providing web services with Wix, we present practical tips for how to get new web design and marketing clients. Also check out some B2B lead generation strategies for agencies. Before you start: Shift away from the global marketing trend Before we introduce some of the more practical suggestions, we want to present one idea that is fundamental to lead generation. Even though today it seems like everyone’s focusing on the global market, we strongly recommend prioritizing your local market instead - as counterintuitive as it may sound. Yes, the global arena can be tempting with its seemingly endless demand for web services, but having an international clientele comes with its own set of risks: pricing challenges that eat up your margins, language barriers that complicate communication, and awkward mishaps caused by cultural differences. And don’t get us started on how tough it is to work with different time zones. Instead, focus on your immediate surroundings. This is where you can create stronger, long-term relationships - at higher price points. Plus, every satisfied client becomes another voice solidifying your place in the market. It’s here that you can easily establish yourself as a subject matter expert and offer impeccable service to people who trust you, for years to come. To make this vision a reality, the following eight best practices are here to guide you through the process. 01. Approach your SEO in a new way First things first, you’ve got to have your basics covered. For easy reference, we’ve included a checklist here: Indexing your site. Optimizing your page titles and site content with relevant keywords. Choosing simple, descriptive site page URLs. Adding alt text to images. Developing content or an FAQ page to answer the most common questions prospects ask. Once your SEO groundwork is laid, it’s time to implement a more advanced strategy. Primarily, one that articulates a precise match between your web presence and your average searcher’s intent. To begin, assess how many visitors convert into leads - and ultimately into clients - and if you can identify any patterns or points of commonality amongst them. That intel will lead you to your most profitable audience. Once you have that answer, begin tailoring your SEO efforts to attract this type of traffic. These are some areas you can cover in your web presence to zero in on your target audience: Location: Many clients would prefer working with a local agency, and search accordingly. Establish yourself in the local market by incorporating names of cities, counties and even states in your page titles and site content. We also recommend spending time crafting content that’s meaningful from a local perspective. What are the unique challenges and opportunities for clients operating in your city or state? Demonstrating your awareness of these factors - as well as the particular skill set you possess for addressing them - will reassure visitors that your agency is a reputable choice. We strongly recommend investing some time into this. Good, quality content keeps potential clients happy and helps your search engine ranking. It’s a win-win. Services: Figure out what kinds of services your customers are searching for. This will give you a good indication as to what interests them. And if you don’t offer a specific service, don’t worry. You can still position yourself as relevant to these clients by creating engaging, educational blog posts that speak to related topics. Using keywords naturally within the body of these posts will help draw your audience in and bring you traffic. Clientele: You’ll also want to think about the types of clients you serve. Is there one type that turns to you more frequently? For example, you may build websites primarily for restaurants or law firms. If so, be sure to include this in your website. One option includes creating separate pages on your website for those two types of clients. Fill out each section with unique keywords, terminology, and blog content that are familiar to those client profiles and signal that you know what you’re talking about. This is another great way to establish yourself in the market, and it will help these types of clients feel more confident choosing you. 02. Invest in paid advertising Paid advertising is the most predictable and dependable source of leads - once you figure it out. Its inherent cost means more is at stake, though, so it means approaching this investment with a wisely-crafted plan. Your goal is to reach a point where your ROI is positive and the amount you make exceeds the amount you spend by a big enough margin. If you’re just starting out, prepare for it to take a little time as you experiment with different avenues until you find the one (or ones) that are financially worthwhile. Whether it’s Google, Facebook or LinkedIn, just start by jumping in and creating campaigns on each to find your niche. Remember that when it comes to generating leads, you shouldn’t focus on increasing your reach. Instead, aim for precision, targeting exactly the right audience with the right message - even if it means consequently decreasing your reach. Finally, be careful about how you measure success. At the end of the day, your campaign works depending on the amount you earn - not views, clicks, leads or projects. 03. Create shareable content for social media You probably already have pages on social media, yet are you utilizing them to their full business potential? These pages function as a great resource for web searchers to see that you’re active and credible when they look you up online. Even if a particular post of yours has a low engagement rate, it still becomes part of a record that curious clients-to-be can review when making a decision about your brand. But if you want to generate leads from social media, you’ll need to take it a step further. Beyond informative social media profiles, create engaging social content and measure what works. It could be contests, polls, sharing blog posts you’ve written or liked, visuals, and so much more. See which forms of content people share, and if it has a noticeable impact on your business performance. (And don't forget a strategic welcome email sequence.) Keep in mind, only about 10% of your followers see your content - and it’s not because 90% aren’t interested. Social media algorithms have changed dramatically, making it difficult for you to spread your content. So, how do you work around this? Develop content that’s compelling enough that your followers will want to share with others of their own accord. This grants you access to their networks - and, now, potential new clients. Here are our top tips for developing a stellar social media presence: Don’t copy what corporate accounts are doing. A lot of social media content is generic, developed for a huge audience. Remember, your target audience is much smaller. You understand your client base so speak to these people and you’ll create posts that are highly relevant. Be clear and action-oriented. Give readers a reason to share - and the specific audience they should share with. And yes, it’s okay to ask directly! For example, let’s say you wrote a piece about the three biggest mistakes you can make when building your website. Tell readers to share with people they know who need or are building a website. The clear direction actually makes it easier for your followers to complete the task. 04. Build your PR network We’re just going to say it: PR is hard! If you already have journalists and bloggers in your network, consider yourself lucky and treat these contacts well. If you’re starting from scratch, don’t worry. To start developing a presence in the communications world, you’ll need to create relationships with journalists and bloggers. These connections are made easier when you produce content that their readers will find meaningful. So, how do you do that? Stay relevant. Find things that are happening right now and connect yourself to them in some way. For example, is there an upcoming industry conference happening in your city? Think about how it’s relevant to what you do. That way, the local news or reporter will find it interesting. Look for follow up opportunities. Check out the articles a journalist has previously written. Maybe there’s an opportunity for them to create a follow up article. For example, if they wrote about trends six months ago, you may have something that goes against or builds upon what they wrote then. Reach out and let them know. Keep in mind, PR is a process and sometimes it feels like it won’t pay off. If you don’t have an edge right now, you can always save this step for further down the road. 05. Join an online marketplace You want to be where the high-intent clients are. That’s why it’s a good idea to join an online marketplace. Marketplaces usually have a ranking and review system, so consistently delivering great work will give you a competitive edge. Make sure to completely fill out your profile, so interested parties can get a sense of your professional capabilities and determine whether you might be a good fit for their budget and specific web needs. 06. Host and attend industry events Hosting a meetup is a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader and professional in your market. As a digital agency, you have lots of expertise to share with your community and clients. If you’re not sure what topic to pick, website creation basics may be a good place to start. It’s also a good idea to pursue opportunities to speak at local events or conferences. You want to start branding yourself in a subject matter expert, so focus on smaller events where you’re more likely to have a competitive edge. Remember, you don’t have to go at this alone. If breaking into this scene by yourself feels daunting, assemble a panel that includes your own agency alongside complementary businesses. For example, if you specialize in web creation, recruit some SEO experts so you can present together on digital marketing best practices for small business owners. This kind of collaboration brings us right to our next point. 07. Treat networking as a process You don’t have an endless amount of time, so prioritize impact. Networking is a great way to expand your reach to prospective customers. Start by setting goals for yourself. For example, decide you want to meet a certain amount of people who have the potential to refer you to clients. The larger your circle, the greater the potential for new leads. Find people who can help you expand your reach to possible partners. Here are our top tips: Find meetups happening near you through avenues like meetup.com. Attend local conferences. Connect with friends of friends. Search on LinkedIn and ask mutual connections to make introductions. Find partners that offer complementary services. Track each of these efforts and notice what results they each produce. Does one route seem to generate more leads than another? Gathering this information will help you manage your time and energy more wisely in the future. 08. Partner with others Start by looking for organizations that serve the same clientele, to check whether or not they offer complementary services. Your goal is to create partnerships that produce mutual referrals. For example, if you build websites for restaurants, you may want to partner with a food supplier or kitchenware supplier. These companies tend to give a lot of referrals. As a bonus, you can generate additional revenue streams by setting up revenue sharing, commission agreements, or affiliate marketing so these referrals can also function as a source of income for your agency. To summarize, shifting your focus from a global perspective to a local one will help you identify and reach out to a high-intent audience. Orienting your outreach efforts around this target demographic, then, will be your key to meeting your lead generation goals.

Good web design isn’t something that you toil over on your own, then finally unveil as a finished piece to a wide-eyed client. As a professional, you know that building a website is about providing a service to a customer, and is therefore a much more transparent, back-and-forth experience. For that reason, you and your client need to establish a channel of communication right off the bat. Forming a crystal clear understanding of what your client needs would not only help you make your design spot-on, it can also help them have a better idea of what to expect from working with you. It’s up to you, as the service provider, to take initiative and ask the right questions at the right time (the right time being, by the way, as early as possible). These 12 questions are here to help ensure you don’t leave out anything important: Understand the project What’s the budget? This important question should be approached straightforwardly. Don’t beat around the bush on this one, and don’t postpone it for a later stage in the process. If the budget is minimal, you’d better find that out now than after several extra meetings with the client. This will significantly influence what you include in your website design proposal. What’s the timeline? It’s important for you to know the scope of what you’re signing up for. Some clients haven’t considered their schedule yet, and in those cases you can offer a recommended course of action based on your experience, and see if it works for them. Familiarize yourself with your client's business What does your business do? This one might feel like too obvious of a question to bring up. Yet, in fact, it’s always best to hear about the business in your client’s own words. Hearing it come from them can clue you in on their view of the business and help you see what matters most to them. There are businesses that you know very little about (such as the career of a freelance taxidermist), so it’s always useful to become familiar with your client’s practice. But even in instances when the profession sounds pretty self-explanatory, like a dog walker, the values you might choose to emphasize can vastly differ based on how they describe their business. For example, saying, ‘I never walk more than five dogs at the same time,’ implies that intimacy and familiarity are the main values in this business, whereas someone saying ‘we go on long walks and play games together’ emphasizes spending quality time with the pets. Try to see the business from the perspective of those who run it, so that your design can reflect their values and personality. What makes your company stand out? As a follow up question, this one can help you learn what sets your client apart from their competition. This time, open the question up so that you’re not only asking about the product or service itself, but also about the whole package, including any added value that they provide. Going back to the dog walker example, some professionals might tell you that their added value is the adorable pictures of the dogs that they send to owners every day. Knowing this kind of information can cause you to include a picture gallery in a website that doesn’t necessarily call for one. It’s a small decision, but one that can make the website much more unique and true to that particular business’ style. Find out if the company has been around for a while or is just starting out, and what ts size is. Ask about the weaknesses - not only their strengths - so that you can form a holistic understanding of who they really are. Who are your competitors? This preliminary question should be followed up with some research on your part. Once your client names their main competitors, make sure to check out their respective online presences. See their web design, social media engagement, and more to learn about the market that your client is in, and some of the common practices for their field. Who is your ideal customer? While it’s the client that’s hiring you, the people you’re really meant to be designing for are your client’s customers. Those people will ultimately be the ones browsing through your website, and for your work to be truly successful, you must understand them and their needs. Ask your client about their customer’s target audience, both in terms of demographics - age, gender, etc., and in terms of motivation - what do they like most about the product or service; what do they expect to find; what frustrates them, and so on. Get to know your client's vision What is the main goal behind building the website? Many clients know that they need some kind of web presence, but don’t really stop and think what they want their website to accomplish. For your web design to truly meet your client’s needs, you must help them to clearly articulate their goals. Ask them if their main objective is to increase brand awareness, educate site visitors about their different features and services, encourage online sales or anything else. The more specific their goals will be, the better you will be able to meet them in your design. What features must your website include? Now that the objective is clear, it’s easier to address the question of what activities you want your site visitors to engage in. Ask your client whether they want their site visitors to book different services online, read a blog, sign up for a newsletter or chat with a live representative. Defining the types of features to be included in the website should be done in the early stages of the project, and not further down the line after you’ve put a lot of effort into perfecting some other, less important element. What are your favorite websites and why? Ask your client to send over three to four favorite links, with a brief explanation of what makes each of them appealing. Similarly, direct the client to a few examples in your own portfolio and note what traits they have in common with what you’re thinking of creating for them. State very clearly that you’re not copying an existing website, but rather using these examples loosely as inspiration and reference for the two of you. Understand the company's existing design Do you have an existing website, and what do you like and dislike about it? Go over the entire site with your clients, asking them question over each and every page in order to understand what bugs them. Is it the design? The lack of features? The bandwidth? For this stage, bring a notebook and a pen and take notes. If your client is using Google Analytics, request to take a look at the data and see what can be learned from it: what pages do site visitors linger on most, and what makes them close the tab? Ask your client if they own the domain, and explain that it can be easily be transferred to their new website with Wix. Are you active on social media? Social media is its own form of web presence, and seeing what works and what doesn’t work in your client’s communication with customers on social platforms, can be translated into the design of their new website. Find out if they want their website to link to any of their active social media channels. Do you have a style guide or any existing images? Your client might have a clearly defined visual language that is carried across their stationary and Powerpoint presentations, and yet not share it with you as it’s unrelated to web design (or so they think). Ask for anything that might help understand their existing aesthetic and look-and-feel. Find out if they’re happy with this visual language, or whether they prefer to change it in any way. Make sure you request to use photographs or other images that they might have, which can turn out to be a perfect fit for their new website.