What questions should you ask a client when your designing their website

Who are their normal clients? (is the website supposed to appeal to them) Who do they want to be their clients? (is the website supposed to attract them) What problem are they trying to solve with that website? (why do they want the website in the first place and where will the traffic come from) Do they have a goal for the website? (is it to build identity, new clientele, attraction, inform people, increase customer base, advertising tool... ) Do they have any concepts in mind? (you can design the best website, if it doesn't look like the one your client (secretly) has in mind, you will get nowhere and end up with an unhappy client) Did they see a website that they really liked and thought: "I wish that were mine." (see above) Do they use a color scheme for the store or the logo? (is there any brand styling already that you can use for the website)

Honestly, the list of questions is endless. I find having an open and curious conversation over a coffee and usually for half an hour a) puts the client at ease and b) gives me the most information. I mix that in with being curious about them and some candid talk (Yes, if you want to attract more women between 18 and 25 your main color can't be cat-vomit brown smile) and in the end I have enough info for a mock-up.

Some potential questions:

1. What is the goal of the site? (get people in the door, get people to call me, gain awareness, show off work, etc.)
2. Do you have any existing content? (high-quality photos, menus/pricing in digital form, staff bios, etc.)
3. Are you willing to invest in SEO? (when you build the site I'd imagine you'll use SEO best practices, but SEO takes time and maintenance after launching)
4. Can you provide examples of sites you like? (could be competitors or completely unrelated industries)

Other notes:

• Don't ask him if he wants the site to work on mobile. He needs it to work on mobile in today's world.
• It's good to get a general idea of what the client likes, but having them pick a color scheme can become quite the headache because you're giving them "too much" control over the design. You should be in control of the design.

Thankyou for taking the time to write your answers this really helped me :)!

Yeah I agree with some of the points Jeff made in particular. As far as mobile goes, it just needs to work on mobile, I agree this isn't an option. I bet most of his web traffic will come from mobile, people searching for "hair cuts" or "barber" from their phones.

If the guy is open, he must certainly have some sort of "style", and the website should be a reflection of that. You as the designer should be able to draw inspiration from what he has already, such as business cards, flyers, signs, and his actual store. The previous work doesn't have to be good to get style. Is the barber shop 90's rock grunge, is it traditional, is it 50's era old school theme....you get the point.

Initially I think you just need to sit down with him and set the scope. Does he want to allow people to schedule appointments from the website, or just simply see his location and hours? Two very big different scopes. SEO is going to be important for a shop like his.

It's a bit vauge, but if you just communicate clearly with each other, and often, things should go smoothly. Just set expectations early and often.

Also show them a few websites, get the mind working if they like one ask why and make it better on your website

To be honest, I think a website for a barber is more a gimmick and an "I am on the web"-feel-good thing UNLESS the website has blog and shop integration or addresses some client needs that otherwise are left unfilled.

I am looking at it from the cost-benefit or the "what does the client want to accomplish" vs. "why would someone ever go on the site" perspective. For the search "oh shit I need a haircut" kind of search, Yelp, Google Places and Google maps are more used and have higher google ranking anyway. That means it is much more important to be up on there with great reviews than to have a website.

Now a website makes sense when it helps to build authority and expertise. That you can do through blog, Youtube, Facebook integration, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media integration. In your case I am thinking about how your client could explain how to style certain hairstyles, how to use certain products, how to style and maintain facial hair, etc. And of course, they could sell their products on that website.

And that is the whole question about what kind of problem they want to solve through the website. "I want more walk-in clients" is probably easier accomplished through other means than a website. On the other hand "I want to get my message out there that e.g.: Kids don't have to cry when they get a haircut" and the business is built around this message, then a website is definitely a good choice.

You might want to check out this course (https://teamtreehouse.com/library/design-foundations) if you haven't taken it. It talks about the designer being a problem solver and I believe that is what your friend needs. :)

Booking system... I think you need to learn most front-end and at least one back-end language. That is if you want to write it all yourself.

Otherwise you go with Wordpress (maybe take that course) and find the necessary plugins. Not sure about a WP booking systen but I know there are google calendar integrations out there that you address via input form.