Website Client Onboarding Form Template

The contract is signed and the build cannot start until someone tells you where the domain is registered, who can change DNS, what the site actually runs on and who is allowed to say yes. This form asks all of it in one pass — and asks for access by invitation, never by password, so the handover leaves an audit trail instead of a shared login.

Use this template

Last updated 21 August 2026

Fields in this template

Primary Contact Namerequired
Primary Contact Emailrequired
Company or Organizationrequired
Current Website Address
Domains in Scoperequired
Domain Registrarrequired
Who Controls the Registrar Account?required
Where Does DNS Point Today?required
The registrar's own DNS · Cloudflare · The hosting provider's DNS · A separate managed DNS provider · Not sure
How Will DNS Changes Be Made During the Project?required
Add our named email as a delegated user on the DNS account · You keep control — we send change requests to your team · Control of the domain is transferred to us for the project · Not decided yet
Does Email Run on This Domain?required
Yes — Google Workspace · Yes — Microsoft 365 · Yes — another provider · No · Not sure
Current Hosting Provider
Current CMS or Platformrequired
WordPress · Shopify · Webflow · Squarespace · Wix · Drupal · HubSpot CMS · Another CMS · Custom-built (Laravel, Rails, Next.js…) · Static site, no CMS · No website yet · Not sure
CMS Admin URL
How Will We Be Given CMS and Hosting Access?required
Email Address to Invite for Accessrequired
Analytics and Search Tools Already in Place
Google Analytics 4 · Google Search Console · Google Tag Manager · Bing Webmaster Tools · Matomo · Plausible, Fathom or similar · Hotjar, Clarity or similar · Advertising pixels (Meta, LinkedIn, Google Ads) · None yet · Not sure
Analytics Property or Account Name
How Will Analytics and Search Console Access Be Granted?required
Invite our named email as a user on the existing properties · Grant our named email admin so we can create the properties · You will run the reports and share them with us · Not decided yet
Brand Assets Folder Link
Is There a Written Brand or Style Guide?required
Yes — the link above includes it · It exists but is not written down · No
Who Owns Website Content?required
Where Will the Copy Come From?required
You supply all copy · We write it from material you provide · Mixed — you draft, we edit · Existing copy is migrated as-is · Not decided yet
Where Will Imagery Come From?required
You supply photography · We source stock imagery · New photography is being commissioned · A mix of the above · Not decided yet
Final Decision-Makerrequired
Who Else Must Approve, and for What?
Approval Turnaround You Can Commit Torequired
Same business day · 1–2 business days · 3–5 business days · More than a week · Depends on which approver
Target Launch Daterequired
Fixed Dates or Blackout Periods
Known Constraints or Risks
Accessibility Requirements
WCAG 2.2 Level AA is a contractual requirement · WCAG 2.2 Level AA is a goal, not contractual · Public-sector rules apply (EN 301 549, Section 508 or equivalent) · An accessibility statement must be published · Screen-reader testing expected before launch · Captions or transcripts needed for video · No requirement stated yet
Anything Else We Should Know?

Who uses this template

Web design and development studiosFreelance web developersFull-service digital agenciesWordPress, Shopify and Webflow specialistsSite migration and replatforming consultantsIn-house teams onboarding an external build partnerProject managers running website deliveryAccessibility and front-end consultancies

About this template

A website client onboarding form is the handover document, not the sales document. By the time you send it the project is won, the scope is agreed and the price is settled — what is missing is everything operational: where the domain is registered, who at the client can change a DNS record, whether the current site runs on a CMS anyone still has access to, and which of the four people on the kickoff call is actually allowed to approve a homepage.

Most of the delay in a web build is not design or code. It is waiting: for a registrar login nobody can find, for an analytics invitation that went to a departed employee, for a legal reviewer nobody mentioned. Asking these questions in writing at the start converts them from launch-week emergencies into a checklist with names against it. The email-on-the-domain question alone earns its place — a DNS cutover that forgets the MX records takes the client's email down on go-live day.

The access questions are deliberately shaped to ask for an invitation rather than a credential. You want to be added as a named user on the client's registrar, host, CMS and analytics account, because a named user can be removed cleanly at the end of the engagement without anyone rotating a password that six people share. A form is the wrong place for a password, an API key or a recovery code — the field descriptions in this template say so, so a client filling it in at speed does not helpfully paste one in.

15 form ideas you can build with this template

WordPress Site Build Onboarding

Captures the host, the wp-admin URL, plugin licence ownership and who can install code, before the first theme commit.

Shopify Store Onboarding

Records the myshopify domain, the custom domain and registrar, app ownership and who holds store-owner permissions.

Webflow Project Onboarding

Collects the workspace to be invited to, the hosting plan owner and where the custom domain is registered.

Site Migration Onboarding

Focuses on the outgoing host, the current DNS provider, email on the domain and who can serve notice on the old contract.

Replatforming Onboarding

Records the legacy CMS, who still has access to it, and the content owner responsible for what carries across.

Ecommerce Redesign Onboarding

Adds payment-provider and shipping-app ownership to the standard access questions so nothing goes dark at cutover.

Public Sector Website Onboarding

Leans on the accessibility checklist and the multi-approver question, where the standard is contractual rather than aspirational.

Nonprofit Website Onboarding

Handles the common case of a domain registered years ago by a volunteer who has since left the organisation.

SaaS Marketing Site Onboarding

Separates the marketing site from the product subdomain, and records who deploys to each.

Multi-Location Business Onboarding

Captures the per-location content owners and the head-office approver who overrides them.

Landing Page Programme Onboarding

Records analytics and tag-manager access plus the approval turnaround, because the cadence matters more than the launch date.

Accessibility Remediation Onboarding

Starts from the accessibility requirement and works backwards to who can deploy the template changes it needs.

Website Care Plan Onboarding

Used at the start of a retainer rather than a build, to record every account the maintenance team will need standing access to.

Intranet or Portal Onboarding

Adds the internal IT approver and the change-freeze calendar that governs when anything can ship.

Rebrand Rollout Onboarding

Ties the asset folder, the brand approver and the launch blackout dates together for a coordinated switch-over.

What's included

Separate domain, DNS and registrar questions, so a launch-day cutover does not stall on "who owns the domain"

An email-on-the-domain question that catches the MX records a naive DNS switch would break

Access questions that ask which named account to invite and who approves it — never a password, key or recovery code

A CMS and hosting section that records where the site lives today, not just what the client wants built

Analytics and Search Console access handled as a grant process rather than a URL

Content and imagery ownership split out, so it is clear on day one what the client still owes you

A named final decision-maker plus a committed approval turnaround

An accessibility requirements checklist that records the standard the client is held to, before design starts

How to create a website client onboarding form

1
Click 'Use this template' to open the form pre-built in formformform.
2
Replace the placeholder access email with the address your team actually wants invited — a shared team address usually outlives an individual one.
3
Trim the CMS dropdown to the platforms you genuinely work on, so a client cannot select something you would have to subcontract.
4
Edit the accessibility checklist to match the standards you contract against; delete the options you never take on.
5
Add conditional logic in the editor if you want the hosting and DNS questions to appear only for redesigns and migrations — templates ship with a flat question order, and branching is something you add after cloning.
6
Set the notification email to your delivery lead rather than your sales inbox — this form arrives after the sale, and the people who need it are the ones building.
7
Send the link with the countersigned contract, not a week later; the client is never more responsive than in the days just after signing.

Best practices for your website client onboarding form

Send it the same day the contract is countersigned. The registrar login is easiest to find while the client is still in project mode.

Never add a password, API key or recovery-code field to this form, however much a client offers. Ask to be invited as a named user instead, and move anything that genuinely cannot be invited through a password-manager share or a one-time secret link.

Treat "Not sure" on the DNS and registrar questions as a task, not an answer

it is the single most common cause of a missed launch date, and it takes weeks to unpick when the account belongs to an agency that was fired two years ago.

Ask about email on the domain even for a pure redesign. Sites get moved; mail records get forgotten; the client remembers the outage far longer than the redesign.

Make the brand assets link optional. Plenty of clients have no shared folder on day one, and a required link stalls an otherwise complete submission. If you want the files themselves rather than a link, add an Upload field in the editor after cloning.

Insist on one named final decision-maker. "The leadership team" is not a decision-maker, and a form that accepts it will produce a fourth revision round in week six.

Record the accessibility requirement in writing before design starts. Retrofitting AA conformance onto a finished visual design is a rebuild, and this template exists to make that conversation happen in week one.

Export the submission into your project tool via a webhook, so the DNS and access answers sit next to the tickets rather than in an inbox somebody has to search.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from a web design project inquiry form?

The inquiry form runs before the sale and exists to price the work — page counts, features, budget range, whether copywriting is included. This one runs after the contract and exists to start the work: registrar, DNS, hosting, CMS, analytics access, approvers and launch constraints. Almost none of the fields overlap, because they answer different questions for different people at different moments.

Why does the form never ask for a password or a login?

Because a form is the wrong container for a credential. Every access question here asks which named account should be invited and who can approve that invitation, so access can be granted and later revoked without anyone sharing or rotating a password. Anything that genuinely cannot be granted by invitation should travel through a password-manager share or a one-time secret link agreed separately.

Can the client attach their logo files and style guide directly?

Yes — add an Upload field to the form in the editor after cloning, and clients can attach files up to 2 MB each. For a full brand pack a shared-folder link is usually more practical, which is why the template ships with a link field; add the Upload field alongside it if you want both.

Should the accessibility question be required?

It ships optional because many clients genuinely do not know yet, and forcing a guess produces a worse answer than a blank. If you sell into the public sector or work under accessibility clauses, make it required in the editor — surfacing the obligation before design starts is the whole point of asking.

Can I use one onboarding form for websites, branding and marketing work?

You can, but the questions stop being useful. A generic kickoff form is the right tool for a mixed engagement; this one goes deep on the plumbing a website build actually blocks on. If you run all three disciplines, send the generic kickoff form for scope and approvals, then this one for the technical handover.

Is the information submitted through this form kept private?

Responses travel over HTTPS and land in your formformform account rather than a shared inbox, end-to-end encryption can be switched on per form so only you can read submissions, EU hosting is available, and formformform is GDPR compliant. SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are the hosting provider's certifications rather than formformform's. Even so, the safest handling of credentials is not to collect them here at all.