Web developers: booking discovery calls for website projects

Put a short discovery call on your booking page so prospects can pick a time instead of emailing back and forth. Keep it to twenty or thirty minutes, open a few slots on set days, and ask before the call for the current site, the goal of the project, the deadline and a budget range. You arrive knowing whether the project fits, the prospect arrives with the right information, and calls that won't lead anywhere end quickly and politely.

A discovery call answers three questions: what does the client need, can you deliver it, and is the budget and timing realistic. It isn't a free consultation or a design session. Saying that in the description keeps the call focused and leaves detailed advice for paid work, such as an audit or the project itself.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. The kick-off is for clients who have signed; you book it yourself once the quote is accepted.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email and appears in the prospect's calendar file. Ask in the description for:

Since the note appears in the calendar file, ask prospects not to put passwords or hosting credentials in it.

Discovery calls can fragment your build time. Open a few slots on two or three afternoons, and repeat them weekly on the weekdays you choose until an end date. When a slot is booked, it leaves your page until the next week. If you're fully booked on projects for a month, end the series earlier and say in the description when your next availability starts.

Book doesn't create video links. Put a fixed meeting room link in the description, or send the link by email after the booking. Say which tool you use so the prospect can test it before the call.

Some calls come from agencies looking for a subcontractor, or from existing clients referring a friend. If those calls need a different format, such as a longer technical conversation about a stack or a deadline, create a separate service, for example "Agency partnership call", with its own length and questions. It keeps your client discovery calls short and lets agencies see straight away that you work with them. Ask in that description for the agency's stack, the type of projects and the expected volume.

Read the note and look at the current site before the call. Spend the first minutes on the goal, then the must-have features, then timing and budget. End with a clear next step: a written quote by a given date, a paid audit if the existing site needs one, or a polite no with a recommendation if the project isn't a fit.

If the prospect wants to go ahead, book the next meeting yourself from your calendar, such as the audit or the kick-off. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; enter their email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file. Book doesn't send reminders, so a date in their calendar keeps the project moving.

Prospects can't move or cancel online: they contact you, and you move the call from your bookings list and confirm it yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Rescheduling works across services, so a call that turns into an audit can move to a longer slot. Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.