What a brief is for
A brief does three jobs. It makes your own team agree on what the project is before anyone outside is involved. It lets several companies respond to the same request, so their proposals can be compared. And it becomes the reference everyone returns to when a question of scope comes up later.
It is not a specification. You are describing the problem and the conditions, and leaving room for the company to propose how to solve it. If you dictate the solution, you pay for a team of experts and use them as typists.
The ten sections of a useful brief
| Section | What to write | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Background | What your organization does, who it serves and why the project is happening now | A company history nobody needs in order to quote |
| Goals and measures | The outcomes the site must produce and how each will be measured | Goals such as modern or fresh, which cannot be tested |
| Audience | The main groups of visitors and what each needs to do or find | Describing everyone, which helps design for no one |
| Content and pages | The page types you expect, what exists today and who will write what is missing | Assuming the content will appear by itself |
| Functions and integrations | Forms, search, booking, payments, accounts, languages and the systems to connect | Naming a tool without saying what it must do |
| Design direction | Brand assets, sites you admire and why, and anything to avoid | A list of links with no explanation of what you like in them |
| Technical constraints | Current platform, hosting, domains, security or accessibility requirements | Mandating a technology without giving the reason |
| Budget and timing | A budget range, fixed dates such as an event or a campaign, and how flexible each is | Hiding the budget and receiving proposals you cannot compare |
| Selection process | How many companies are invited, what you want back, the criteria and the dates | No criteria, so the lowest price wins by default |
| Contacts | Who answers questions, who decides and who signs | A committee with no single point of contact |
Write goals a company can design for
The goals section decides the quality of every proposal you receive. A usable goal names a change you want to see and a way to observe it. Compare the two columns below.
| Vague goal | Usable goal | How you would check it |
|---|---|---|
| A modern website | A first-time visitor understands what we sell and to whom from the first screen | Short tests with people who do not know the company |
| More leads | A larger share of visitors to service pages request a quote | Form submissions divided by visits, in analytics |
| Better SEO | Existing search traffic is kept through the move, and each service has its own page | Search Console before and after launch |
| Easy to update | Our marketing coordinator can publish a case study without a developer | They do it in training, unaided |
| Works on mobile | Every task a visitor can do on a laptop can be done on a phone with one hand | Testing on real phones before launch |
Three to five goals are enough. Put them in order. When two goals conflict during the project, the order tells the team which one wins.
A website brief template you can copy
Copy the outline, answer each prompt in a sentence or two, and delete what does not apply. Most finished briefs fit on two or three pages.
Website project brief
Template1. Background
What we do and who our customers are
Why we are doing this project now
2. Goals and measures
Goal 1, and how we will measure it
Goal 2, and how we will measure it
Goal 3, and how we will measure it
3. Audience
Main visitor groups, and what each needs to do on the site
4. Content and pages
Page types we expect, such as home, services, case studies, articles and contact
Content that exists, content that is missing, and who will write it
5. Functions and integrations
What visitors must be able to do, such as enquire, book, buy or sign in
Systems to connect, such as CRM, email, payments, booking or stock
Languages and regions
6. Design direction
Brand guidelines and assets available
Sites we admire, and what we like about each
Anything to avoid
7. Technical constraints
Current platform and hosting, and whether they can change
Security, privacy and accessibility requirements we must meet
8. Budget and timing
Budget range
Dates that cannot move, and why
9. Selection process
What we want in a proposal, the criteria we will use and the decision date
10. Contacts
Who answers questions, who decides and who signs
A worked example
Here is how the key parts of the template might read for a dental group with three clinics. Notice that each answer is short and none of them describes a layout.
Brief for a three-clinic dental group
The organization and its details are invented to show the level of detail that works.
- BackgroundWe run three clinics in one city. Our site was built for one clinic and patients now call the wrong location. We are opening a fourth clinic next year.
- Goal 1A patient can find the nearest clinic and book an appointment without phoning. Measured by online bookings as a share of all bookings.
- Goal 2Each treatment has a page that answers the questions our reception team hears most. Measured by search visits to treatment pages.
- AudienceNew patients comparing clinics, existing patients booking or changing a visit, and dentists considering a job with us.
- FunctionsBooking connected to our practice system, a clinic finder, forms for new patients, English and Arabic.
- ConstraintsPatient data must stay in the practice system. Reception staff will update opening hours and team pages themselves.
- Budget and timingA range is stated in the full brief. The site must be live before the fourth clinic opens.
- SelectionThree companies invited. We will score relevant work, approach to booking, content plan, ownership and cost, in that order.
With a page like this, every company quotes for the same project, and the differences between proposals are differences of approach rather than guesses about scope.
What to include and what to leave out
Include
- The problem in your own words, with real examples
- A budget range, even a wide one
- Constraints you cannot change, and the reason for each
- The people who will maintain the site and their skills
- Open questions you would like the company to answer
Leave out
- Page layouts and wireframes drawn before any research
- Every feature anyone has ever wished for, with no priority
- Technology choices made because a competitor uses them
- Deadlines with no reason behind them
- Internal disagreements left for the company to resolve
The budget question worries many buyers. Stating a range does not mean every proposal lands at the top of it. It lets each company size its answer to what you can spend, and tell you honestly when the goals and the budget do not match.
Check the brief before you send it
Brief review checklist
0 of 8 checkedWhat to do next
Send the same brief to each company on your shortlist, and use the same questions with each. Our guide on how to choose a website development company covers the questions and a scorecard for the proposals that come back.
If you would like a second pair of eyes first, send us your brief. We will tell you what we would ask, change or cut, and how our website design service would approach it. When the project is still too open to brief, a product discovery workshop is the usual way to get there.
Common questions
How long should a website project brief be?
Two or three pages cover most projects. Longer briefs tend to bury the goals under detail, and companies skim them. If you have supporting material, such as analytics exports, brand guidelines or a content inventory, attach it instead of pasting it in.
Should I include my budget in the brief?
Yes, as a range. Without one, companies guess, and you receive proposals for different projects at different sizes. A range lets them design the best answer for what you can spend. It also brings out early whether your goals and your budget fit together.
What is the difference between a brief and a request for proposal?
A brief describes the project. A request for proposal adds the formal process around it, such as submission format, deadlines, legal terms and scoring rules. Small and mid-sized projects usually need only a brief and a short covering email. Public bodies and large organizations often require the formal version.
Who should write the brief?
The person who will own the website after launch, with input from sales, support and whoever manages the systems it connects to. One author keeps the voice and the priorities consistent. A decision maker should read and approve it before it is sent.
Can a development company write the brief for me?
A company can help you shape it, and many will. The risk is a brief written around what that company prefers to build. If you need help defining the project, pay for a discovery phase that ends with a document you can take to any company.
