Discovery brief template
A fill-in template to help Chykalophia understand your business, goals, and audience before we start designing or building anything.
Discovery is the phase where we ask a lot of questions. We want to understand your business deeply — not just what you want the site to do, but why, and for whom.
This brief collects the answers to those questions in writing. That way we both have a record, and we start the design and strategy phases already aligned.
Quick summary
Fill in this brief before or during your discovery phase. It captures your goals, audience, competitors, and vision so we can build a strategy grounded in your real business needs. Copy it into a Google Doc and share it with your Chykalophia project lead.
What you'll need
Beginner 30–60 minutesSet aside quiet time for this one. The more thoughtful your answers, the stronger the strategy we can build together.
How to use this template
Copy the template below into a Google Doc, Word document, or ClickUp task comment.
Work through it at your own pace. You can fill it in over a few sessions — you don't need to complete it in one sitting.
Share it with anyone at your company who should have input — a business partner, a marketing lead, a sales manager.
Send it to us before your discovery call so we can review it in advance. Email support@chykalophia.com or add it to your project task.
Template
Copy everything below this line into a new document and fill it in.
Section 1: Your business
Business name: [Your answer here]
In one or two sentences, describe what you do. Use plain language — as if you're explaining it to a friend. [Your answer here]
How long have you been operating? [Your answer here]
What stage is your business at?
- Pre-launch / startup
- Early-stage (under 2 years)
- Established (2–10 years)
- Mature / scaling (10+ years)
What are the two or three most important things your business does for clients? [Your answer here]
What are you most proud of about your business? [Your answer here]
Section 2: Your goals for this project
What is the single most important thing you want this project to achieve? [Your answer here]
List any secondary goals. These matter, but they're not the top priority. [Your answer here]
What problems are you trying to solve? What is frustrating or broken about the current situation? [Your answer here]
What would make this project a complete success, six months after launch? [Your answer here]
Are there any goals this project should NOT try to achieve? (Sometimes it helps to define what's out of scope.) [Your answer here]
Section 3: Your audience
Who is your primary customer? Describe them: age range, job or role, location, income level — whatever is relevant. [Your answer here]
What does your primary customer care most about? What do they want from your business? [Your answer here]
What are their biggest hesitations or objections before buying or reaching out? [Your answer here]
Is there a secondary audience? (A different type of customer, a B2B buyer, a referral partner.) If yes, describe them. [Your answer here]
Where does your audience spend time online? (Search, Instagram, LinkedIn, email newsletters — be as specific as you can.) [Your answer here]
Section 4: Your competitors
Who are your three main competitors? List their names and website URLs. [Your answer here]
What do they do well that you'd like to match or beat? [Your answer here]
What do they do poorly, or what gap do they leave in the market? [Your answer here]
How do customers typically choose between you and a competitor? What factors are they weighing? [Your answer here]
Section 5: Your current situation
What is the biggest weakness in your current website or digital presence? [Your answer here]
What is the biggest strength you want to keep or build on? [Your answer here]
What have you tried before that didn't work? (Marketing campaigns, past redesigns, platforms, etc.) [Your answer here]
Are there any constraints we need to design around? (Existing systems you must keep, compliance requirements, brand rules you cannot change, budget limits.) [Your answer here]
Section 6: Your vision
If you could describe your ideal website or outcome in a few words, what would they be? (Examples: "trustworthy and calm," "bold and exciting," "clear and no-nonsense.") [Your answer here]
Which brands — in any industry — do you admire visually or strategically? Why? [Your answer here]
Is there anything you absolutely do not want in the final result? [Your answer here]
Anything else we should know before we start? [Your answer here]
Why each section matters
Your business
Strategy without business context is guesswork. We need to understand what you do, how long you've been doing it, and what you're most proud of before we can position you well online.
Your goals
Goals guide every decision we make. When two design options are both "good," the one that better serves your stated goal wins. Written goals also protect you — if the project drifts from what you asked for, this section brings it back on track.
Your audience
A website isn't for you — it's for your customers. Understanding who they are and what they care about shapes the words, the structure, and the visuals on every page.
Your competitors
We're not here to copy competitors, but we need to understand the landscape you're competing in. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses helps us position you where it counts.
Your current situation
The most expensive mistakes come from repeating the past. Understanding what has already been tried — and what hasn't worked — stops us from recommending the same thing twice.
Your vision
The feeling of a brand is real and important. Getting your vision in writing early prevents the most frustrating feedback loops: "this doesn't feel right" without a clear reference for what "right" looks like.
Common questions
Related guides
- What happens in discovery & strategy
- Project intake form template
- Brand voice worksheet
- How to give feedback that gets results
- How we work together: our process
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