Contemplating having a website created can be time consuming at best and completely overwhelming otherwise! Many of my clients know that they need/want a website but may not even be clear on what exactly the site will do for their business. To this end, I have developed a set of worksheets that I call "Discovery Worksheets". The Architectural Discovery Worksheet, deals with the "structural" aspects of the website project such as what type of functionality (if any) will you need, the main topics that might be covered on the site (which would then be turned into individual pages), potential areas that require password protection, etc.
This worksheet helps the client to develop an overall picture of the internal structure of the website and facilitates the exposure of the client to aspects of website creation that he or she may not have been aware of.
The second worksheet, the Creative Discovery Worksheet, tends to be easier for clients to fill out initially as it covers areas of their business that most have already considered such as target demographics, company tag lines & catch phrases, color schemes and design themes etc. However this worksheet also brings this information back into the realm of web design by asking such questions as "What process will be used to integrate the website into the business on a daily, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis?"
There are occasions when, if the scope of work is the redesign of an existing site, the site architecture is largely known. However, these two worksheets are both vitally important not only to the designer but to the client as well in that they serve to help the client understand the possibilities a professionally produced website can offer them.
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