Website brief: the 10-point template

A website brief does not need to run to thirty pages: it has to let a provider understand what you need and price it without guessing. Here are the 10 sections to fill in, in order, to receive comparable quotes and start your project on solid ground.

What is a website brief for?

Without a starting document, each provider interprets your request in their own way. You then receive quotes that do not cover the same scope, and so cannot be compared.

A brief, even a short one, does three things:

• gets you comparable quotes, because everyone prices the same thing;
• avoids extras during the project, because the scope is written down;
• saves time, because the basic questions already have an answer.

Two to four pages are enough for a brochure website. What matters is being precise about your goals, not about the technology.

The 10 sections to fill in

1. Your company

Activity, size, geographic area, typical customers. A few lines: the provider needs to understand who you sell to.

2. The goal of the site

This is the most important section. A site that has to generate quote requests is not designed like one that has to recruit or sell online. Write one main goal, and only one.

3. Your visitors

Who comes to the site, and to do what? A consumer in a hurry on a phone and a professional buyer on a desktop do not expect the same pages.

4. What already exists

Do you already have a website, a domain name, a logo, brand guidelines, photos? If a site exists, say what works and what bothers you.

5. The site structure

The list of planned pages: home, services, work, about, contact, blog. An approximate list is enough; the provider will help you adjust it.

6. Features

Contact form, appointment booking, client area, online payment, several languages. Separate what is essential from what would be nice to have: that is what allows the quote to be fitted to your budget.

7. Content

Who writes the text? Who supplies the photos? It is the item most often forgotten, and the first cause of delay in a web project.

8. SEO

Which searches do you want to appear for in Google, and in which towns? If a site already exists, ask for a redirect plan to keep your rankings.

9. After launch

Who updates the site? Who looks after hosting, backups and security? Ask for maintenance to be priced separately.

10. Budget and timeline

Giving a budget range, even a broad one, does not push the provider to spend all of it: it lets them propose a realistic solution rather than a project out of reach. Also state the launch date you want, and the reason if there is one (trade show, launch, season).

Common mistakes

• Describing the solution rather than the need: "a site built with this tool" instead of "a site we can update ourselves".
• Making everything a priority: without ranking, the quote climbs.
• Forgetting content: a site delivered empty is no use.
• Not naming a decision-maker: approvals by committee stretch deadlines.

What if you do not have time to write it?

That is the case for most small-business owners, and it is not an obstacle. A good provider can build the brief with you from a half-hour conversation: you answer the questions, they put it into shape.

In practice

Go back through the 10 sections and answer each in a few lines, without trying to be exhaustive. You will have a document good enough to approach two or three providers.

At KPS Agency, we can also write it with you: book a call, we scope your need together, then you receive a free quote within 48 hours. To prepare your budget, read our guide to the cost of a business website, and discover our website design service.