I don't do any consulting, but that doesn't stop people from asking me questions. The most common question people ask me when they want a new website is, "If you were in charge of this, who are the 2 or 3 people you’d want to be sure to talk to – to help think through the issues, help us figure out who should do the work, etc.?"

The second most common question people ask me,  "In addition to Apple’s site, are there 2 or 3 that you think are really appealing and work well for their business?"

I think these are perhaps the tenth and eleventh questions you should ask, not the first two. Here's my list of difficult and important questions you have to answer before you spend a nickel:

• What is the goal of the site?


• In other words, when it's working great, what specific outcomes will occur?


• Who are we trying to please? If it's the boss, what does she want? Is impressing a certain kind of person important? Which kind?


• How many people on your team have to be involved? At what level?


• Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Our customers? A certain kind of prospect?


• What ar