What are the important questions to ask your prospective clients?
This is a big question. I would go after this a different way. First, what is your clients goal? Second, think of all the things you need to know to make it happen. Third, after a full evaluation, how much do you need in return plus a reasonable profit? Recommend your solution by explaining what you can do for them, NOT how you are going to do it. Then explain the price of the investment to achieve their desired results.
And then there is this…
Thank you for that. Wow 205 Questions, that should cover everything. 
“Which way does your toilet paper hang on the wall”
I will never be able to build a website without an answer to this question. 
Out, folded corners
Only one direction is acceptable. Facing out!
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Here in the UK many years ago a university spent millions of pounds working out which is the best way! Facing in or Facing out ! - they researched in hotels, countries, asking questions in supermarkets etc…it was crazy ! the money was government money and they spent it on that.
The conclusion was:
A hotel chain did a review from a maintenance guy, and he said on larger rolls the friction would over time cause the paint over years to slightly scuff when its facing in…but less so when its facing out.
So after around 3 million was spent!!..Facing out was the answer - the government got slated for spending this kind of money on this ! and made front page of the papers on the scandal !
Just thought I would let you all know…lol
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Money well spent. It would save a lot of marriages 
Now when will they spend some money on toilet seat positions
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There are some wise and experienced heads here if they know about the toilet paper question. I can only suggest the basic stuff.
Obviously there are questions you should ask, but on a broader point, listen to your gut instinct over whether the potential client is somebody you actually want to deal with. In a nutshell, do they seem reasonable and reliable?
There are some that come with a lot of attitude acting the big man, however that is generally a mask for future intentions to act in bad faith and goes back to the point above.
Another scenario is when they want you to answer a thousand questions “before they decide” and these sometimes require time consuming research, which is a red flag. They are really just looking for free advice before they disappear and try doing it themselves. At best they will hire somebody else and make use of your free advice.
Over time you will develop a better sense of whether clients are worth taking on and if you become confident in your ability to find more clients, you will experience less stress over refusing work. You don’t have to make it personal. Just tell them a big job has come in and you are too busy, especially if you are pretty sure they have no budget.
During the early stages in your business you may take on a few jobs knowing they are likely to be a pain, yet take the longterm view that it’s a learning experience or perhaps useful for your portfolio. Make sure you have a longterm plan though and not just suffering for the sake of it.
One of the most important things you can do is build a website to attract the kind of clients you want, while filtering out the ones that are likely to be a pain. Think about the styling, choice of words and overall impression. This is something you will have to work at over time, rather like that toilet paper study.
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Toilet Paper…you guys kill me. 
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Now there’s some good advice to put on paper.
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Oh boy!!! Very good response!.. 
I think the formula looks like…
Client Expectation / Budget * Skillset = Outcome
You need to assess the clients expectations but also the client. As Flashman mentioned. Some clients can chew through your allocated build time by constantly changing the goal post or because they are just straight difficult. Make sure you document the scope of the work to take place for the budget you propose. And ensure they understand they will have to pay extra for additional features / significant changes. Or you will find yourself working for minimum wage or even less per hour.
Make sure you can do the job. Or that you are pricing in any outsourcing you need to do. I have been offered freelance jobs so many times by web designers who need some coded solution but don’t know how to do it, which is fine, we all need help at times. But they haven’t allowed any budget for it and want it pretty much done for nothing.
Budget in time for admin, research and follow up support, and also transaction fees. Know what all your costs are, not just labour.
Have a video call with the client. You can learn a lot in 40min face to face. I don’t usually bill this because that 40mins can save a lot of time with the project. And you build trust. I’ve found these clients will come back. Business is people.
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Very good suggestions, thank you Pete 
I would add. Don’t be afraid to walk away. Or take it personally when someone rejects your proposal.
It’s just business.
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I have a list of questions on the website for interested clients.
Run through the translator:
The following questions will help you and us to prepare for your webdesign project. These considerations take time, but create more clarity.
If you wish, we will be happy to support you in working out the answers.
- Who is the contact person during the project?
- Is there already an existing website that you would like to have changed, renewed or completely redesigned or is this a new website?
- Have you already reserved domains or webspace? If so, with which provider? (Please take access data with you) If not: what should the domain be? Your-Name.at, Your-Company.com …
- What services or products do you offer?
- Which important competitors are there (regionally) in your business area?
- What are your objectives and expectations for your new website?
- What are the three most important search terms under which you want to be found on Google?
- How do you define your target group in terms of age, gender, education, interests, regional/national?
- What should the headline of your website be? And what is the slogan? (short and snappy)
- Do you already have a logo? Do you need one?
- Do you prefer a small, fine site or should it be something bigger?
- What style should the design have? Classic, modern, colourful, serious, warm, clear …
- Which colours should be present? Which colours are undesirable?
- Which pages on the net do you like particularly well or not at all?
- Which menu items do you want to use?
- What content should appear under the respective menu items?
- Do you already have good photos and are the corresponding rights of use available?
- Do you want to include audio or videos? Do you have a YouTube channel?
- Do you need a news system / blog?
- Do you need other additional options, such as an online shop, download area, forum, guestbook …?
- Are different user areas planned (protected area, intranet)?
- Should the website be multilingual?
- Do you want a CMS (Joomla) or rather a static website?
- Do you want to take over the maintenance of the website yourself or would you prefer to hand this over?
- What should your e-mail address be?
- When should the project be completed at the latest?
- What budget have you planned for the project?
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Thanks for posting @wolfganghofer - very informative.
I am looking at doing something which is like an online questionnaire for clients - or maybe a page on my website which is password protected and I can give the clients to fill out online.
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Excellent, thank you for taking the time to share this information.
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Hi Adrian! Why password-protected? In my experience, the people who are interested and then really become customers read these questions before contacting you.
But you could make a form with similar questions, which would then be sent to you immediately as an enquiry.
If you work with fixed prices or packages, this could also be a cost calculator. But I see this as a bit difficult, because a final price is easier to sell if you can convey and explain the sum in a personal conversation.
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