Darkbird18 have be building and designing website for many years and had to learn the hard way, self taught and many years of experimentation. But also the Internet make it easy to learn HTML,CSS,DHTML,XHTML and Flash design because of FREE Online tutorials and outstanding PDF's downloads to study offline. Here is a example of a tutorial to help web designer with setting up a company's website by have a "Questionnaires,Project Sheets and Work Sheets", to help them and the webmaster to understand what they want for their website.
It’s nearly impossible to provide an accurate quote to a prospective web design client without first gathering information about what that particular client needs. Some designers do this in either a face-to-face meeting or over the phone, but more often, they have a questionnaire that prospective clients fill out. This is preferable for a couple of reasons, but the most important is probably that this document then becomes an integral part of the design process and is available to refer back to along the way.
So the question is whether you should put that questionnaire up on your website, or only send it to prospective clients once they’ve contacted you. There are a couple of reasons you may want to make it available online, but the obvious one is that clients are often eager to get started with their projects and so by providing the questionnaire online, this eliminates a step in the pre-contract part of the process.
Here, we’ve collected questionnaires and worksheets used by actual web design companies, including some of the leaders in the industry. There are both online and downloadable forms included, as well as the pros and cons for each format.
Downloadable Questionnaires
While online forms are certainly popular, so are downloadable questionnaires. These are generally either PDFs or DOCs, though some firms also include versions in RTF or for Pages. The downloadable questionnaires are sometimes longer than their online counterparts, and are usually the choice for agencies that only take on longer and more complex projects.
We Are Pixel8
We Are Pixel81 has a planner in PDF format that they ask their prospective clients to download and fill out, and then upload to their website along with their contact form. It’s a great way to gather client information without requiring them to just fill out a web form, which presumably lets them take more time with their answers. The instructions on the site are very clear as to how the process works.
Great Example Question: Please provide some information about the look and feel you would like for your website. You may also provide examples.
Happy Cog
Happy Cog2 is another company that offers a downloadable project planner. The planner includes instructions for submission. It’s a good system, especially since Happy Cog projects are generally large projects with a wider scope than what many other design firms handle.
Great Example Question: Are you familiar with the concept of web standards?
Clearleft
Clearleft3 offers a Client Ideas Sheet that prospects can download and fill out in order to get a quote. It’s a simple RTF document, focused entirely on the content. It’s also quite extensive, with a few dozen questions included.
Great Example Question: What is your measure for success, and what are you hoping to achieve?
Lunamedia
Lunamedia4 has a client worksheet that includes sections asking about the company requesting the quote, their customers, competition, their design ideas and requirements as well as the scope and features of the website. The questionnaire can be downloaded from their website and then sent via e-mail when completed.
Great Example Question: Why do you believe site visitors should do business with you rather than with a competitor?
45royale Inc.
45royale5 offers a downloadable project planner that includes questions about the project goals, the look and feel of the site and general information. It also includes a section specifically for website redesigns.
Great Example Question: What action(s) should the user perform when visiting your site (search for information, sign up for an account, purchase a product/service)?
Erskine Design
Erskine Design6 has a detailed project sheet that stretches over 5 A4-pages. The questions cover current site, reasons for redesign, audience, perception, content, technology and marketing. A more convenient (and shorter) web form is available as well.
Great Example Question: How is your company currently perceived offline? Do you want to carry the same kind of message through your website?
DistinctionHQ
DistinctionHQ7 has one of the shorter project briefs; it clearly states that all answers will be treated with completely confidentiality. The sheet also contains e-mail and phone details of the company and its logo — which can turn out to be useful in case the sheet gets lost in a larger organization.
Great Example Question: Are you providing all text/images for this project, or do you require copywriting and photography services?
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