How to prepare for a professional website consultation

Most professional website service providers offer a free 15-minute consultation to potential clients as a means to get a sense if they’re a good fit to work together, and to alleviate any confusion on project deliverables or scope of work before preparing a quote.

Before providing a custom proposal I’m typically looking for enough information and clarity about your website project to be able to provide you with what you need: the website’s Scope, Timeline, and Budget.

But some business owners don’t request a free consultation because they feel like they’re lacking the information they’re expected to provide to web designers and developers during these quick calls.

With over 16 years of experience freelancing as a professional web designer, developer, and website manager, I’ve put together frequently asked questions about how to prepare for a website consultation so you can feel self-assured in your upcoming meeting!

What information should I gather before a web design meeting?

Regardless of creating a new website vs rebuilding an existing one, the first two things you’ll want to do if you haven’t already are what I refer to as: Choosing your player type, and Selecting your story.

When you are “choosing your player type” you are setting both your interest and participation levels which can help determine which party is in charge of select deliverables: you or your web designer.

By “selecting your story” you are declaring the goal of your consultation, similar to a meeting agenda or order of business. 

Providing both of these pieces of information ahead of time helps both you and your web designer manage meeting expectations.

Here are three (made-up) business owners who are preparing for their first website consultation, using BE3Designs’ Choose Your Player/Select Your Story method:

	Example: DWY	Example: DIY	Example: DFY
Choose Your Player	Done-with-you, Co-op	Do-it-yourself, Solo Player	Done-for-you, Non-player
How player type was selected:	Budget constraints, needs 1:1 guidance, beginner-friendly	Built existing website, knows it needs improvements	Time constraints, knows limits of own expertise
Select Your Story	“I’m not sure what I need but I want to learn what options there are for all-in-one website packages that fit my budget.”	“My existing website isn’t performing well, I want to determine if it can be salvaged or if it should be rebuilt.”	“I am launching a new website. I can provide a link to my brand assets and some websites I like. I want a quote for a similar one.”

By breaking down where you’re coming from and what your goal is, you start to gain a sense of what you can prepare yourself versus what you need support with.

Done-with-you website services

In the example above, the business owner is considered “DWY” because they’re launching a new business (website) and don’t sound confident that they have or know everything they need to before starting a website project. 

Because of this, I would have different questions in an initial website consultation than I would for the DIY and DFY business owners. Knowing this information about my client in advance helps me prepare targeted questions to ask, and provide more applicable resources during our time together.

The reality though is that most professional web designers have an existing “discovery” questionnaire to start from, which usually supports enough of an overall idea to supply a ballpark estimate.

Some website service providers will run through discovery questions in real-time on the call, while others might supply you with a link for you to fill in information at your own convenience.

💡 Tip: You may want to work in tandem with a professional web designer, developer, or consultant if you have: little to no experience building a website, a smaller budget, or some experience and interest in doing one or more phases of the website project yourself. 

Do-it-yourself website services

In the example above, the business owner is considered “DIY” because they’ve expressed that they had a hand in building their current site and interest in continuing to do so. While they already know enough to build a website, they likely need more training, or guidance. So I might refer to a consultation service instead of quoting for a project-based service.

💡 Tip: If you want to build your website yourself you’re looking for support with “DIY” website services. Reach out to your selected web designer, developer, or consultant with a request of 1:1 training or consulting for their time and expertise. Having an existing list of the priorities you want to cover will help them estimate the time needed, and enables you to approach tasks in phases as your budget or timeline allows.

Done-for-you website services

Lastly, the business owner is considered “DFY” because they aren’t interested in doing any of the work themselves; They want to hire a professional who will manage and execute the project fully. 

As you might suspect I would have more detail-oriented questions for the business owner who is looking to have me design and develop a custom website vs one who is managing it themselves.

💡 Tip: When you’re looking for a professional web designer and developer to complete a full scope website project for you, you should be able to depend on them to lead and carry from the start of the project (Discovery) to the very end (Post-Launch). This is the way for those who don’t have time, energy, or interest in completing the work themselves, or have learned that it’s best to have an expert handle the technical and strategic side of the wonderful world of websites.

What tools can I use to create a website brief before consulting a web design agency?

Your web consultant should have an existing form or similar questionnaire that they’ll have you fill out, leaving you only needing to make notes for yourself to relay back to them. Or, they’ll ask you to answer these questions directly during your phone or virtual call, through conversation.

When reaching out to request your consultation you can be proactive by supplying your player/story types to help direct the initial call and make the most of your time.

How to prepare for a consultation on a new website?

When you’re ready to build a new website there are a lot of factors to consider. Your current experience and knowledge level will play a role in how much preparation you may have already made, or are preparing to make before your consultation.

For example you may have already done a branding process with a graphic designer and have your logo, fonts, and colours selected. Or, you may be wondering what a branding package is…

My first piece of advice is to review what to have in place before starting a website. In fact, here are my top 5 articles worth reading if you are planning your first website, or a new rebuild:

1. What you should know before starting your website,
2. 5 roles that go into creating a successful website,
3. How to create a sitemap for your website,
4. When it’s time to upgrade your website, and
5. What a branding strategy is and why it’s important for your website.

How to prepare for a consultation on an existing website?

If you are looking for support on an existing website you should already have at least one known priority, if not more. Reflect back on any general questions you’ve accumulated while working on or updating your website. Some common examples are:

• Back-end, technical processes like working with your theme or plugins,
• Custom CSS styling,
• Search engine optimization steps when blogging, or
• Accessibility best practices.

By giving your web developer an example of the tasks that you want to review they can determine how much time is needed to quote and set aside for your training consultation.

Making a priority list also allows you to focus, should timelines or budget cause you to plan out short to long-term steps.

💡 Tip: If you’re requesting help with an existing website it’s best to open your admin/login to your website in a new tab before your meeting starts so that your screen is ready to be shared.

Website Audit Reports

Now, if your finished website is online and you’re just not sure if it’s optimized for search engines, accessible to users, or could be improved, you’re better off requesting a Website Audit before a consultation.

A website audit will include a full review of your website including:

• SEO,
• Accessibility,
• User Experience,
• Design inconsistencies,
• Responsive issues, and
• Best practices and other recommendations.

You’ll get a PDF document that breaks down each page of your website, along with a general summary about the site in full, and list of priority recommendations. From there, you can review to determine what tasks you’re comfortable taking care of yourself, and what you need assistance with.

This information is then exactly what you’d give during your consultation to let your web consultant know what services you’re looking to outsource. Helpful, huh?!

How to choose the right website consultation service in Canada?

Before choosing a website consultation service you’ll want to consider how important it is that your service provider is located near you. Whether it factors into trust, or you want to support local business, you can start your search with location keywords.

You may not want to lock yourself into local options depending on where you live or what your choices are. All phases of a website project can be done virtually, and successfully, which means you can select any agency or freelancer who works remotely.

Do I choose a consultancy agency or freelancer?

Generally, agencies will run a more expensive budget than a freelancer, but with that added cost you likely have more than one individual working on your project. This can occasionally mean a faster turnaround, but this isn’t always the case as agencies typically have a higher number of clients too.

Freelancers shouldn’t be discounted just because they’re sole-proprietors. They have experience running a business of their own, working with a variety of clients, and often sub-contracting to those agencies on extra projects earning themselves similar experience in various industries and markets.

There are pros and cons to both but at the same time it really comes down to 2 things: who you work best with, and who is best suited to your goals + constraints. 

In reality an agency or a freelancer can achieve what you need, it’s a matter of finding the right fit for you and your website.

How do I evaluate portfolio examples from website design companies before my consultation?

Earlier I discussed choosing your player and selecting your story before booking a consultation; The details you gain from this exercise will help you make considerations when viewing website portfolios.

If you intend on using a template or building your website yourself you likely don’t need to consider the web design portfolio of the consultant you’re reaching out to. Instead you’ll want to focus on:

• their ability to coach or train (educate), 
• how they share or deliver information, 
• the extent of their experience, and 
• if they already have similar services in place to what you’re looking for.

If you want to work with a professional website service provider you’ll need to pay particular attention to the phases of the website project that you want them to manage vs what you plan to manage yourself.

If you are working with a web designer, you’ll review their design portfolio:

• Do they have industry-related examples already?,
• Do they work with similar layouts that you like?,
• Do these designs consider user-experience and accessibility? (Examples of common mistakes),
• Are mobile and desktop layouts considered?

If you are working with a web developer, you’ll review their website portfolio:

• Compare similar sites to what you’re looking for,
• Do these sites have functionality that you’ll similarly use?,
• Are the live sites responsive on mobile?,
• How well do the live sites load and perform?,
• Is text easy to read on all devices?,
• What is user-experience and accessibility like?,
• Have they continued managing the site or has someone else taken over?

If you are choosing a web designer and developer to design and develop a custom or full scope website project, essentially employing them to take care of every step along the way, you’ll want to evaluate all facets of their portfolio paying attention to other client reviews and testimonials in what to expect working with this individual or agency.

Which questions should I ask during a website consultation to get the best results?

Other considerations you may want to make outside of evaluating web design portfolios are:

1. What communication and availability does your web consultant have and does this work for your schedule?
2. Will they supply you with an estimated timeline and routine check-ins to keep you apprised along the way?
3. Do they use AI in their processes or finished products and does this answer have an effect on your willingness to work with them?
4. Outside of design and development do they offer solutions to any other website services you require?
5. Is web accessibility and WCAG guidelines part of their design and development standards and does this matter to you?
6. Do they engage with clients after websites are launched or only provide one-and-done products?
7. Do they use open-source or proprietary and developer-licensed software, plugins, and assets?, and
8. What can I provide that would help make this website successful?

What are common pricing models for website consultations offered by digital agencies?

Some digital agencies will provide consulting packages with varied services included at different price points. These are great opportunities for larger organizations that need to cover a wider scope, often selective of consultancies who focus their expertise on common industries. 

Individuals who want a full, high-level overview or pre-formulated process that walks them through all considerations available to them, or pinpoints a recommended solution, would also find a solution in a website consulting package that fits their budget.

But most website consultations are provided at an hourly rate due to the nature of the service: an authentic conversation to discover and prioritize personal focuses or pain points, and evolve with the changing needs of your project and preferences.

That’s the catch of the free 15-minute consultation. You’ll need to have answers of your own if you’re expecting results or next steps from that initial call. Consider requesting more time to talk if you want to learn what you don’t know yet, where to go next, and how to get there.