The discovery questions that actually matter

The discovery phase used to be 30 questions. Most of them produced answers we never referred back to. Five questions stuck.

1. What does success look like in six months?

Not "what features." A concrete outcome. "Booking calls increased 50%." "Hired our first salesperson because the website created enough qualified leads." Pin the outcome before the project starts and decisions later are easier.

2. Who's the most skeptical person on your team?

Every project has one. They block sign-off if their concerns aren't named early. We want to know who they are in week one.

3. What did your last website do well that we shouldn't lose?

Almost no client asks themselves this. Old sites have wins. Migrating without auditing them throws away assets the client took years to earn - keyword rankings, conversion-tested copy, redirect chains.

4. What's a website you wish yours felt like?

Not "looked like." Felt like. The vibe brief is more useful than the visual brief.

5. What would make this project a disaster?

Hands-down the most useful question. Disaster scenarios surface fears. Fears drive scope creep. Knowing them up front saves a fight at month two.

The other 25 questions get answered as they come up. Most never come up.