A good project starts with good discovery. For us, that means a specific document we have refined over hundreds of projects. It is the first serious step we take with any potential client, and it is the reason we close over 60% of our qualified leads.
This is not a proposal. It is a structured conversation designed to see if we are a good fit for you. We ask direct questions. We listen. We want to understand your business, your customers, and what you really need from a new website. Our discovery document is the tool that makes this happen.
What Is a Discovery Document?
A discovery document is a questionnaire. Ours is about 40 questions long. It covers business goals, target audience, brand identity, technical requirements, and success metrics. We send it to potential clients after our initial 30-minute introductory call.
It forces both sides to think clearly. For you, it clarifies what you hope to achieve. For us, it provides the raw material to build a project plan that actually works. We have seen projects fail because the client did not really know what they wanted. This document prevents that.
Some prospects in Bellevue and Tacoma have told us our discovery questionnaire is more detailed than the final proposals they received from other agencies. We take that as a compliment.
How Does It Qualify Leads?
The document qualifies leads in two ways. First, it asks for a level of detail that requires real thought. A business that is not serious about a new website will not bother to complete it. This saves everyone time.
Second, the answers tell us if we can provide genuine value. If a prospective client’s goals do not align with our expertise in high-performance WordPress and Drupal sites, we will tell them. For example, a startup needing a quick, cheap site for a weekend event in Pioneer Square is not a fit for us. A manufacturing firm in Kent needing to integrate its ERP with a new eCommerce platform is.
The discovery document is the foundation of our client relationships. It builds trust through clarity and demonstrates our commitment to understanding your business before we write a single line of code.
Key Sections of Our Document
Our discovery questionnaire is proprietary, but we can share the main sections. We have found these topics are essential to scoping a successful project in the Puget Sound region.
- Business Objectives: What is the primary business goal of this project? Increase online sales by 30%? Generate 500 qualified leads per month? We need a number.
- Audience Analysis: Who are your primary, secondary, and tertiary customers? We ask for demographics, motivations, and what they need to see to convert. A user in Redmond is different from one in Olympia.
- Brand & Content: We ask for your brand guidelines. We also ask what content you have and what you will need. Content is the hardest part of any web project; we address it on day one.
- Technical Requirements: Do you need to integrate with Salesforce? Is your inventory managed in a separate system? Will the site need to handle multiple languages? These details shape the entire build.
- Competitive Landscape: Which competitors do you admire online? Who is ranking for your target keywords in Seattle or nationally? We analyze what they are doing right and wrong.
- Measuring Success: How will you judge the success of this project a year from now? This is often the most difficult and most important question. The answer becomes our north star.
Why It Leads to Better Websites
A project built on a weak foundation will fail. Our discovery process is about building a strong foundation. When we present a proposal, it is not a guess. It is a detailed plan based on the information you have already given us.
This process front-loads the hard questions. It forces alignment. It reduces the risk of scope creep and misunderstandings. The result is a smoother project and a final product that meets the agreed-upon goals. It is how we deliver sites that perform for clients from Ballard to Bainbridge Island.
If you are ready to answer some serious questions about your business, we are ready to listen. Start the conversation by booking a free website audit report.
Seattle agency · Seattle, WA
A full-service digital agency working in WordPress, Drupal, Shopify, Webflow, React, and React Native. We partner with universities, nonprofits, governments, and growing brands to ship sites that hold up after launch.