A website design questionnaire collects the information an agency or freelancer needs to plan a client's website. It should explain the business goal, audience, required functionality, content responsibilities, and practical constraints. The useful output is a brief you can review with the client before promising a scope or launch date.

These 20 original questions are a bank to adapt, not a requirement to send every client a 20-question form. Start with the short version below for a new enquiry, then ask relevant follow-ups during discovery. This is for the client commissioning the website; a website visitor questionnaire asks a different audience about using an existing site.

Illustrative website brief: consultation enquiries need an enquiry path; missing copy needs a content owner; a fixed launch date needs a scope review.
Original illustration: connect each client answer to a decision about the project.

5 questions about the website's goals and audience

Start with what the website needs to help someone do. Adobe's creative brief guidance includes objectives, audience, deliverables, budget, and timing. Translate those topics into decisions you can discuss with the client.

  1. What does your business offer?

    Ask for a plain description a first-time visitor would understand. Note which services or products need their own explanation.

  2. What is the main reason for this website project?

    A new business launch, a changed offer, and a difficult-to-maintain site need different conversations. Identify the problem before choosing a solution.

  3. Who is the main audience for the website?

    Identify the people the site must serve. If buyers and end users differ, decide which pages need to address each group.

  4. What is the most important action a visitor should take?

    Choose the primary action: request a consultation, buy, apply, or find information. Avoid treating every possible action as equally important.

  5. How will you judge whether the new website is useful?

    Agree on an observable signal, such as relevant enquiries or fewer support questions. Record a baseline if available; a redesign alone does not guarantee improvement.

5 questions about scope and functionality

  1. Is this a new website or a change to an existing one?

    For an existing site, follow up with its URL and what must be preserved. A redesign may involve content migration and existing links as well as new layouts.

  2. Which pages or types of content are needed at launch?

    Separate essentials from later ideas. Service pages, a blog, and a searchable resource library have different maintenance needs.

  3. What must visitors be able to do on the website?

    Ask for the task rather than only a feature name. “Book a paid consultation” is more informative than “add a calendar.” Clarify the steps in a follow-up conversation.

  4. Which existing tools must the website connect to?

    Collect tool names and the intended handoff, such as sending an enquiry to a CRM. Review connection methods, account requirements, and fees before preparing a proposal.

  5. What should the team be able to update after launch?

    Identify routine changes such as prices, staff profiles, or articles. Discuss who maintains them and whether training or support belongs in the scope.

5 questions about content and design direction

  1. Which brand materials are already available?

    Ask about logos, brand guidance, and approved photography. Request a shared link or appropriate files rather than assuming they exist.

  2. What is the current state of the website copy?

    Distinguish finished copy, drafts, and copy that still needs writing. Discuss editing or writing work separately from page design.

  3. Who will own the content preparation?

    Name the person who will gather and approve text and images. Confirm responsibilities in the project plan after discovery.

  4. Which website examples help explain your preferred direction?

    Ask for the particular detail the client likes. A navigation pattern or photography style is more useful than an instruction to copy another website.

  5. What should the design avoid?

    Record constraints and reasons: unfamiliar terminology, difficult text sizes, or imagery that does not represent the business. Discuss audience needs alongside personal preferences.

5 questions about budget, timing, and responsibility

  1. What budget range have you set aside for the project?

    Explain what this covers. Keep the build budget distinct from hosting, subscriptions, advertising, and maintenance. Allow “not decided” if that is an honest answer.

  2. When would you like the website to launch?

    Ask for the desired date before promising it. Review the work and dependencies with the people delivering the project.

  3. What makes that launch date important?

    An event creates a different constraint from a preferred date. If timing is fixed, agree which work is essential for launch.

  4. Who will approve the project deliverables?

    Identify the decision maker and how other feedback reaches them. Agree on review stages rather than assuming every stakeholder approves independently.

  5. Who manages the domain and hosting accounts?

    Ask for an owner, not a password. Arrange access through the provider's supported permissions when the project is agreed.

A short website design questionnaire for the first enquiry

For someone deciding whether to contact your studio, start with six topics and a reply address:

  • The business and its current website, if any.
  • The problem the project should solve.
  • The main audience and visitor action.
  • The essential launch requirements.
  • The preferred timing and any fixed deadline.
  • The budget range or help needed to define it.

Use the remaining questions in discovery once both sides want to discuss the project. GOV.UK's question-page guidance recommends asking only for information you need and explaining why you need it. Do not make an asset inventory the price of an initial conversation.

Worked example: turn three answers into a brief

This fictional consulting project shows how to use the answers. It is an illustration, not a customer result.

  • “We want consultation enquiries.” Plan a clear service explanation and enquiry path. Confirm whether the next step is a manually reviewed request or an actual calendar booking.
  • “Our service copy is still in draft.” Agree who will finish and approve it. List content preparation as a dependency before setting the page-design review date.
  • “We have an event in six weeks.” Review the essential launch scope against capacity. Separate later additions and record what happens if approved content arrives late.

Summarize the goal, scope, responsibilities, assumptions, and open questions in a brief the client can correct. A questionnaire is input to scoping; it is not an agreed proposal, contract, or permission to access accounts.

Build the questionnaire in Youform

Start with a website design quote form or client intake template, then adapt your copy. These are starting points; the examples above do not describe a template's preset questions or logic.

Youform supports text, choice, website URL, and file-upload questions. Use conditional logic to ask for an existing-site URL only on the redesign path. Review the block documentation and test every path before sharing.

The Free plan includes logic, embeds, and uploads up to 10MB each, with unlimited forms and responses subject to fair use. Custom branding, custom domains, and partial submissions require Pro. Assign someone to review the answers; a form does not automatically prepare a proposal.

After the work is agreed, use a client onboarding form for kickoff materials. Create a free Youform account to make the questionnaire your own.

Sources and review notes

Reviewed . Youform publishes this guide and provides the form builder described here. Questions, examples, and artwork are original editorial suggestions. Product guidance is documentation-based; no client project or live response was submitted during review.