Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
I've done a quick search and had a browse through the forums but I can't seem to find any information on this subject.
Basically I've just got a new job (building websites for the education sector) and I have my first meeting next week to find out what the client wants from the site.
What I'm interested in finding out is what questions should be asked and how to capture this.
I know the basics like "What will you use the site for", "What's your core audience" etc. but what other questions would you ask?
Also, is it better to go into the meeting armed with a pad to scribble on or a pre-formatted form to fill in?
Thanks for your help
Katy
I wouldn't go in with a pre-printed form (this inhibits free thought!), but I would go in with some pre-conceived questions.
A blank piece of paper but a mind full of ideas please!
The obvious ones are:-
- what do you want to achieve? more sales, more enquiries, brand promotion, build a mailing list?
- who are your competitors? you may already know this, but compare lists!
- who is your target audience, and what will they search for? I recently had a meeting with a client who gave me a definitive list of search terms, and insisted point blank that there were none he had missed... two minutes with Overture proved him wrong
- how much do you want to spend? the answer to this will be 'er, erm, how much does a website cost?' and you'll then go in circles for a few minutes
- what will you be supplying? photographs, text, logos, and in what format? Are you aware we charge extra if we have to source information or create it ourselves?
- is this list of specifications correct, and do you understand them? Are you aware we charge extra if you change the specifications half way through?
- what are your expectations in relation to project timescale, visitors in the first six months, search engine position in the first six months, enquiries.. etc.? It is VITAL to find out if they are expecting to achieve with the site. This I have found out when clients used to phone me up and point out they weren't top of Google for every keyword under the sun after three months, or their e-commerce website wasn't making a profit in the first six weeks despite it being a new company and them spending under £200 on marketing (seriously).
If you can find out a) what they want, b) what they need (a very different thing!), c) what they expect, d) when they expect it by and e) what they expect to pay for it, you are in with a chance...!
Slightly off-topic, but related, make sure you keep a written, dated record of everything they ask for and that you say you can do.
Also, make sure they understand what you're talking about. I had a big problem with a client who requested that I set up a message board for his website - turned out (after I had done the work) that he meant a content management system. That was fun!
Let the customer describe the 'what' and you provide the 'how'. For me the trick is to keep the customer from attempting to tell you 'how' to solve a problem before they define 'what' the problem is. Most people cannot control themselves in this area so sometimes it's really important to stress that problems cannot be solved until they are completely defined.
As they talk I take a lot of notes but I reserve the right side of my note pad for certain things that I hear. Specifically, proper nouns and verbs... Those almost always become my building blocks for solutions, features, objects, properties and methods.
