What Is a Website Design Questionnaire?
A website design questionnaire is a set of questions you ask a client or stakeholder before starting a web design project. Its purpose is to gather the information you need to create a website that meets the client's goals, reflects their brand, and serves their target audience.
Without a questionnaire, you're designing in the dark. You might pick the wrong layout, use the wrong tone, or miss critical functionality. A good website design questionnaire template prevents these problems by getting all the requirements on the table before you write a single line of code.
This article provides a free, comprehensive website design questionnaire template you can copy and use for your next project. Whether you're a freelancer, an agency, or an internal team, this template covers everything you need.
Website Design Questionnaire (Free Template)
Below is a complete website design questionnaire organized by category. Copy the questions that apply to your project and customize them.
1. Project Overview
2. Target Audience
3. Brand & Design
4. Content
5. Functionality & Features
- Contact form
- E-commerce / shopping cart
- User registration / login
- Search functionality
- Payment gateway integration
- Booking / appointment system
- Member-only content area
- Newsletter signup
- Social media integration
- Live chat / chatbot
- File downloads
- Video / audio hosting
- Interactive maps
- API integrations (list: ________)
6. SEO & Analytics
7. Technical Requirements
8. Project Management & Communication
Client Questionnaire: How to Use It Effectively
Send it early
Send the questionnaire as soon as the project is scoped. Don't wait until the kickoff meeting. Giving clients time to think leads to better answers.Ask for examples
"When someone says 'modern', they might mean anything from a minimalist Swiss design to a bold, colorful SaaS site. Asking for website examples eliminates ambiguity.Follow up verbally
A written questionnaire is a starting point. Schedule a 30-minute call to go through the answers and ask follow-up questions. The best insights come from conversation.Share the answers with the team
Once you collect the answers, share them with the entire project team β designers, developers, copywriters. Everyone should understand the client's goals and preferences.Keep it as a reference
Refer back to the questionnaire throughout the project. When a design decision is unclear, the answers should guide you. It's your project's north star.Website Design Questionnaire: Common Mistakes
- Too many questions β keep it to 25-40 questions. Any more, and clients will rush through or ignore it.
- Vague questions β "What do you want?" is not helpful. Be specific: "What action do you want visitors to take on your homepage?"
- No visual examples β asking for website examples (both liked and disliked) is more useful than asking for abstract descriptions of style.
- Skipping the technical section β non-technical clients may not know about hosting, SSL, or browsers. Still ask. It reveals their level of technical sophistication.
- Not asking about budget β uncomfortable but essential. Without a budget range, you can't propose the right solution.
How BugCapturer Helps During the Design Review Process
Once the design is ready, the review process begins β and this is where feedback often gets messy. Stakeholders say things like "the button should pop more" or "this feels off," and designers have to guess what they mean.
BugCapturer, a free Chrome extension for visual feedback, makes design reviews clear and precise:
- Annotate directly on the design β stakeholders can add arrows, rectangles, and text on the page to show exactly what they want changed
- Auto-capture context β URL, browser, screen resolution, and viewport are captured automatically, so designers know exactly which environment the feedback is from
- Screen recording β stakeholders can record a short video showing the interaction they're referring to, rather than trying to describe it in words
- One-click export β feedback is organized into structured reports that can be shared with the design team
Instead of "the button feels off," you get "the CTA button should be #FF6B35 instead of current blue, and increase padding from 8px to 12px" β with an annotated screenshot showing the exact location.
Download: Website Design Questionnaire
Copy the template above into your preferred format:
- Google Docs / Word β use as a formal document to send to clients
- Google Forms / Typeform β turn into an online form for easy submission
- Notion / Coda β create a database with one entry per project
- Markdown β keep in your project repo for internal use
The best format is the one your clients will actually fill out. If they prefer email, embed the questions in an email. If they prefer forms, use a form tool. The goal is to get the answers, not to enforce a format.