How to write an effective website brief: a step-by-step guide

Surprisingly, all website design agencies are familiar with the ‘we just need a new website’ brief – it’s often the same story, ‘we already have a site, but we just want a more up-to-date design.’ The fundamental problem with this approach is a website isn’t just a nice to have, it is a critical business tool that can significantly impact your company’s success.

1. Company information and project outline

This is the ‘who you are’ and ‘what are you looking for’ overview. It helps us to find out some background about your business, your current website, and why you are scoping a new website. Include in this short section a little bit of detail about what your new website objectives are and how they tie in with your marketing/business goals.

2. Target audience

User experience is central to our design process and always front of mind for our team. It helps us to know from the outset who your audience is, what users you are trying to attract, and if you have specific demographic data from your current website, even better. This will help us to build a picture of how your site is performing and we can use this insight to shape your project.

3. Scope of work

This is where you flesh out your project outline into the deliverables, including content and technical requirements. By supplying details about sections/pages, we can provide an accurate quote based on the scale of your project. It also enables our team to recommend a site structure that would work effectively.

4. Design and branding

If we haven’t worked on your branding, then we will require brand guidelines to work to, including logos, colour schemes and typography. You can also include any examples of websites you like and why, preferred styles, and specific visual elements.

5. Functional requirements

Are there any core features or user experience considerations that we need to know about? For example, e-commerce, search functionality (advanced filtering), blog/news section, customisable contact forms, live chat, booking systems and user logins?

6. Budget and timeline

It’s always helpful to indicate a budget for the project so we can see if your requirements are feasible with the budget available and potentially provide solutions if not. Timescales are important. Include key milestones you must work to and an overall project timeline.

7. Contact details

Who is the primary contact for the project, include their role and contact details, and are there any other key contacts that need to be involved (and at which stages)? We can then ensure that we keep everyone in the loop and know who to involve/get buy-in from at key milestones.

8. Additional Information

Are there any industry standards that must be adhered to or any legal requirements we need to know? Does the company have any future expansions/plans in the pipeline that we need to be mindful of for this project?