A website brief is a short document that tells a web designer what you need, for whom, by when and within which budget. One or two pages are enough. This guide explains the eight parts of a good brief and gives you a template you can copy and fill in.
Why a written brief saves money
Without a brief, every provider guesses what you want. One guesses a five-page site on a template, another guesses a custom design with a booking system. The quotes then differ wildly, and you cannot tell which one is good value.
A brief fixes this in three ways:
- Quotes become comparable. Everyone prices the same thing.
- You notice gaps early. Writing forces you to decide who supplies text and photos before the project starts, not in week three.
- There is less argument later. When the scope is on paper, both sides know what was agreed and what counts as extra.
You do not need technical words. A provider needs to know your goal, not which software to use. Describe the problem and let them propose the solution.
The eight parts of a good brief
- Your business. What you do, where, for whom, in three sentences.
- The goal. What should the website achieve? Choose one main goal, such as more quote requests, online bookings or fewer phone questions.
- Your customers. Who visits the site and what do they want to know first?
- Pages and features. A list of pages, and a list of functions such as a contact form, booking or a second language.
- Content. Which texts, photos and logos exist, and who supplies what is missing?
- Look and examples. Two or three websites you like and what exactly you like about them. Also one you do not like.
- Budget and timing. A range and a desired launch date, with the reason if there is a fixed deadline.
- After launch. Who updates the site, and who looks after hosting and maintenance?
If you are not sure about pages, the guide on what every small business website needs has a basic list.
The template to copy
Copy this into a document and replace the parts in square brackets. Short answers are fine.
Website brief for [business name]
Date: [date]. Contact: [name, phone, email].
1. About us. We are [type of business] in [place]. We offer [main services] for [type of customer]. Current website: [address or none].
2. Goal. The main goal of the new website is [for example, more quote requests]. We will see it works when [for example, we get enquiries through the form every week].
3. Customers. Our typical customers are [description]. Before they contact us they want to know [prices, area, availability].
4. Pages. [Home, services, about, contact, legal pages, others].
Features. [Contact form, online booking, map, languages, others].
5. Content. We have [logo, photos, texts]. We need help with [texts, photos, translation].
6. Look. We like [website 1] because [reason] and [website 2] because [reason]. We do not like [website 3] because [reason]. Our colours and fonts: [details or open].
7. Budget and timing. Our budget is between [amount] and [amount]. We would like to launch by [date] because [reason].
8. After launch. We want to change [texts, photos, prices] ourselves. For hosting and maintenance we [have a provider or need an offer].
Please include in your quote: a list of what is included, the number of revision rounds, the timeline, all running costs and who owns the domain and content.
How to describe goals and features well
The most useful briefs are concrete. Compare:
| Vague | Useful |
|---|---|
| We want a modern website. | The site should look calm and clear, like [example], and work well on phones. |
| We need more customers. | We want more quote requests for bathroom renovations in [area]. |
| It should have a booking function. | Customers should choose a service and a free slot. We use [calendar] today. |
| It should be easy to maintain. | Our office staff should change prices and opening hours without help. |
Sort your features into two groups:
- Must have: without this, the site does not do its job.
- Nice to have: good, but can come later.
This gives the provider room to offer a smaller first version if your budget is tight. If your list contains logins or customer accounts, read website or web app first, because that changes the size of the project.
Mistakes that make a brief useless
- No budget. Many owners hide the budget and hope for a low price. The result is quotes that do not fit. A range helps the provider propose what is possible within it.
- A list of solutions instead of problems. "We need a slider and a chatbot" says less than "visitors should see our three main services at once and get an answer outside opening hours".
- Too many goals. A site that should sell, recruit, inform and impress at the same time does none of it well. Pick one main goal.
- Nobody decides. Name one person who gives feedback and approves. Decisions by committee slow down every project.
- Content is forgotten. Missing text and photos are a common reason for late launches. Say honestly what you have.
- Twenty pages of detail. A long brief is not read carefully. Keep it to one or two pages and offer a call for questions.
What to do with the finished brief
- Send the same brief to two or three providers.
- Offer a short call. Good providers ask questions, and their questions tell you a lot about how they work.
- Ask for a written quote with a list of what is included.
- Compare scope, running costs and timeline, not only the price.
- Attach the brief to the contract or order, so that it becomes the agreed scope.
If you want to try your brief, Astranode builds websites and web apps and answers every brief with a fixed quote in writing before any work starts.
A good website brief fits on one or two pages and states the goal, the pages, the content, the budget and the deadline. Send the same brief to every provider so the quotes can be compared.