Many companies come to a web designer saying, “We want a modern website.” Without deeper preparation, though, they risk paying for a site that looks good but doesn’t sell, doesn’t collect inquiries and doesn’t grab anyone’s attention. This article isn’t about design. It’s about five fundamentals you should clarify before the first meeting — and they’ll save you money, time and nerves.
Why start with questions, not design
Design is the last thing that should happen on a website. First you need to know what the website should achieve, who it’s for and what will be on it. Only then can you plan a structure and look that serve those goals.
When you settle these questions up front, you’ll get a more accurate quote, the project won’t stall over missing materials and the finished website will do what you expect it to.
1. What is your website’s goal?
Not every website has the same purpose. Before anyone starts sketching, answer these questions:
- Should the website sell directly, like an online store?
- Should it bring in inquiries — phone calls, emails, filled-out forms?
- Should it build trust and your brand, for example for higher-priced services?
- Or should it just be an online business card with contact details and opening hours?
Choose one main goal and at most one secondary goal. A carpentry shop mainly wants inquiries for custom kitchens, a restaurant wants reservations and an online store wants orders. The goal shapes the website’s structure, copy and calls to action (CTAs) — the buttons that tell visitors what to do next.
Sometimes you’ll find you don’t even need a full website. We cover when a single page is enough in the article landing page vs. website.
2. Who do you want to reach?
Your target audience isn’t “everyone.” A website that tries to talk to everybody reaches nobody. You need to know specific people:
- Who are your ideal customers — age, situation, company, region?
- What problem are they solving when they look for you, and what worries them when they decide?
- How do they talk? What style of communication do they expect — expert, friendly, brief?
- What do they need to see to believe you — prices, references, certifications, photos?
Your content and design have to speak your customer’s language, not yours. A business owner talks about “comprehensive solutions”; a customer searches for “bathroom remodeling in Bardejov.”
3. What content will you have, and who will provide it?
Design without content is a frame without a picture. Projects most often stall precisely because materials are missing:
- copy about your services and products,
- photos, logo and visual assets,
- references, reviews and work samples,
- a price list or at least ballpark prices,
- answers to customers’ frequently asked questions.
Think through everything that should be on the website and who will prepare it — you or the agency. If you don’t have quality photos, it’s worth investing in product photography, because your own shots feel more trustworthy than stock images. Ideally, have your content at least roughly ready before design starts, so the design adapts to the content and not the other way around.
4. How will you measure and improve your website?
Just “having” a website isn’t enough. You need to know whether it’s meeting its goal:
- whether people are coming and from where,
- what they do on the site,
- why they don’t click on the calls to action,
- where they leave.
Plan your tracking while the website is being built. That includes Google Analytics 4 with conversions set up (the actions you care about, such as a submitted form), and possibly a click-map tool like Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar. Don’t forget a cookie banner that collects visitor consent — without it, your tracking won’t comply with the rules.
5. How does the website fit into your overall strategy?
A website shouldn’t work in isolation. It’s part of your entire marketing:
- Will it be connected to social media?
- Will ads point to it — and do you need separate landing pages for them?
- Should it collect contacts for email marketing?
- Does it fit your brand visually and in content?
- Who will update the website after launch, and how easy will it be?
The answers also determine how the website gets built. We describe how to design a logical page structure in the article on website structure for SEO and UX. A website isn’t the finish line — it’s the starting line.
The most common mistakes when commissioning a website
- Choosing a provider based on price alone, without comparing what’s actually included.
- Copying a competitor’s website without knowing whether it even brings them customers.
- No plan for who will manage and update the website after launch.
- Launching without tracking — six months later, you don’t know whether the investment paid off.
- Leaving the copy until the last minute, when the design is already finished and the content has to be squeezed into it.
Checklist before your first meeting with a web designer
- Your website’s main goal in one sentence.
- A description of your ideal customer and their most common questions.
- A list of the pages you want on the website.
- The materials you already have (logo, copy, photos) and what still needs to be prepared.
- Two or three websites you like, with a note on why.
- How you’ll measure success and where visitors will come from.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to have the copy ready before the website is built?
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you should know what will be on the website and what each page will be about. A copywriter can finish the copy, but they’ll need information from you about your services and customers.
Why isn’t it enough to say I want a modern website?
Because “modern” says nothing about what the website should achieve. Without a goal and a target audience, you can’t plan the structure or the calls to action, and the result tends to be pretty but ineffective.
How long does it take to build a website?
It depends on the scope and how ready your materials are. The most time is often lost waiting for copy and photos, so preparing along the lines of this article also pays off in a faster launch.
What if I don’t know my website’s goal exactly yet?
Start with what the website should bring your company a year from now — more inquiries, more orders, fewer phone calls with the same questions? A short consultation with someone who builds websites can also help you put the goal into words.
Let’s do it together
If you’ve thought these topics through, you’re one step closer to a website that works for you. And if you’d like to go through them with someone who does this every day, check out our web design services — we’ll start with questions, not colors.
