How do I write a brief for a new website?
A website brief is one page that tells a designer what the site must do. Write down who your customers are, the one or two actions you want them to take, the pages and features you know you need, what must carry over from the old site, your budget range, your deadline, who approves, and how you'll judge success.
The short version
- Keep it to one page. If it needs more, the extra goes in an attachment.
- Lead with the customer and the action you want, not the look.
- List must-haves separately from nice-to-haves.
- Give a budget range and a real deadline, and name one decision-maker.
- Say how you’ll measure success, so the designer can build for it.
Why write a brief at all?
Without one, every company you talk to fills the gaps with its own guesses, and you get quotes that can’t be compared. One quotes five pages, another quotes twenty with a blog and a booking system. A brief puts everyone on the same job. It also forces the decisions that otherwise stall a project halfway through.
A brief is different from the groundwork in how to prepare for a redesign, which is about gathering logins, data and photos. The brief is the short document you hand over.
What goes in it?
Write one or two lines for each heading.
1. The business in two sentences
What you do, where, and for whom. “We install and repair heating and cooling for homes within 40 miles of town.”
2. Who the site is for
Your two or three main types of customer, and what each one needs to know before they call. Google’s guidance on helpful, people-first content asks whether a visitor would leave having learned enough to reach their goal. Start the brief from the same place.
3. The actions that matter
Name the one or two things a visitor should do: call, request a quote, book, buy, sign up. Every page will be judged by whether it leads there.
4. Pages you know you need
A rough list is enough. The designer will turn it into a sitemap and page plan.
5. Features
Must-haves first: quote form, online booking, payments, a members’ area, an events calendar. Then nice-to-haves. Features drive cost and time more than page count does.
6. What must carry over
Pages that bring traffic or leads today, old addresses printed on vans and brochures, reviews, and the domain itself. If you have an existing site, our article on redesigning without losing what works explains how to find those pages.
7. Look and feel
Two or three sites you like, and one sentence on why for each. Add any brand rules: logo, colors, fonts. If you don’t have a logo, say so early.
8. Budget range and deadline
A range lets the designer suggest what fits. A deadline should be tied to something real, like a season or a trade show, not “as soon as possible.”
9. Who decides
One person who gives final approval, plus anyone who must be consulted. When approval is spread across several people who disagree, every round of changes takes longer.
10. How you’ll judge success
Pick things you can count: calls, quote requests, bookings or sales. If you use Google Analytics, these become key events, which Google defines as actions “particularly important to the success of your business.” Our guide on setting up key events shows how.
Is there a template I can copy?
Business: what we do, where, for whom. Customers: type 1, type 2, and what each needs to know. Main actions: e.g. call, request a quote. Pages we know we need: … Must-have features: … Nice-to-have features: … Must carry over: domain, top pages, printed addresses, reviews. Sites we like, and why: … Brand rules: logo, colors, fonts (or “need help”). Budget range: … Deadline and why: … Decision-maker: name. Also consulted: names. Success measures: e.g. quote requests per month.
What are the common mistakes?
- Describing the look, not the job. “Modern and clean” tells a designer nothing about what the site must achieve.
- A wish list with no priorities. Mark what you can launch without.
- No budget at all. Designers then guess, and the quotes swing wildly.
- Several decision-makers. Name one.
- Leaving out the boring parts. Who will update the site, who owns the domain, and who hosts it all affect the quote. Our guide to questions to ask a web company covers those.
What if we can’t answer everything?
That’s normal. Write “not sure” and say so. A good designer will ask follow-up questions on a short call. The gaps you can’t fill tell you where you need advice, which is useful in itself.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take?
Writing a brief is free and takes an hour or two. A second person reading it for gaps is worth the extra half hour. For what drives the cost of the site itself, see how much a small business website costs.
How does E-3 handle this?
“Can you redesign my website?” comes up more than 100 times in our records, and every project starts with a short call and a free check of your current site, then a plan you approve before design begins. We’ll quote after that call. See our redesigns service.
Related questions
Next step
- Next: What content do I need before website design starts?The next guide in Planning a new website.
- Website launch checklistA free printable checklist (PDF).
Still stuck? Ask E-3 for an answer from our help guides.
Rather we handled planning a new website for you?
It’s part of what we do every week for small businesses, as part of websites and redesigns. Start with a free check of your site and profile, or call and ask.