The most expensive brief an agency can receive is also the shortest: “We need a new website.” Everything after those five words is guesswork, and guesswork gets priced as risk. Quotes come back wide apart, the project drifts, and somebody is unhappy by week six.
A good website design brief fixes most of that before a line of code exists. It does not need to be long. A couple of pages written with care will do more for your project than any amount of back-and-forth by email.
What is a website design brief, and why does it matter?
A website design brief is a short document that tells a designer what the site is for, who it is for and what it must do. Agencies use it to price the work, plan the build and decide what to ask you next.
Without one, two agencies will quote for two different websites and you will compare the wrong things. With one, you get quotes that line up. It also gives you something to measure the finished site against, which settles most disagreements about “that is not what I wanted” before they begin.
Start with the goal, not the pages
Before you list a single page, write down what the website must achieve for the business. Be plain about it. More phone calls from homeowners in Roundhay. Fewer time-wasting enquiries. Bookings online instead of by text at 10pm.
Pick one main action you want visitors to take, such as calling, filling in a form or buying. Then say how you will know it worked: calls per month, form submissions, sales. A website without a stated goal tends to become a brochure that nobody asked for.
If the current site exists, add what is wrong with it in specific terms. “It looks dated” gives a designer little to work with. “Visitors reach the contact page and leave” gives them a place to start, and our website redesign checklist walks through that kind of audit.
Describe who the site is for
Write two or three sentences about your ideal customer. Who are they, what are they searching for, and what worries them before they get in touch? A landlord comparing letting agents has different questions from a parent looking for a tutor.
Add where they are. If you serve Leeds and the surrounding towns, say so. If you sell nationally, say that. It changes the copy, the structure and the search work that sits behind the site.
Keep this honest. Describing your audience as “everyone” is a sign the thinking has not been done yet.
List the pages, features and content you expect
Now get practical. Sketch the pages you think you need: home, services, about, contact, and any that are specific to you. Do not agonise, because a good agency will challenge the list. Having one means the conversation starts from something.
Then list the features. Contact form, online booking, a shop, a blog, a members area, a quote calculator, integration with systems you already use. Each one changes the price and the timeline, so name them early rather than discovering them after the quote is signed.
Say who will write the text and supply the photos. This is the single biggest cause of late projects. If you will write it, agree dates. If you want help, say so, because it affects the cost.
Finally, mention the technical details you already know: your domain name, where it is registered, who hosts the current site and whether you have the logins. Our post on who owns your domain and website explains why that matters.
Show what you like and what you do not
Collect three or four websites you admire, and say why. “The pages load fast and the phone number is always visible” is useful. “I like the blue” is less so. Add one or two you dislike, with reasons.
Include competitors too. An agency can see what the market looks like and where you can stand apart. If you have a logo, brand colours or fonts, send them with the brief.
Do not specify the design in detail. You are hiring someone for their judgement, and a brief that dictates every pixel removes the reason for hiring them. Describe the outcome and the constraints, then let them propose how to get there.
Set a budget and timeline, then send the brief
Many people leave the budget out for fear of being overcharged. In practice a stated range leads to better advice, since the agency can tell you what fits and what does not. If you are unsure of a sensible figure, our guide to how much a website costs in the UK gives typical ranges.
Say when you would like the site live and why. A launch tied to a trade show or a new season is a real deadline, and an agency can plan around it. For realistic expectations, read how long it takes to build a website.
Name who approves the work. Projects slow down when three people each hold a veto and nobody holds the final say. Decide who signs off before the project starts.
Read the brief back once and check it answers four questions: what is the site for, who is it for, what must it include and what can you spend. Then send it to two or three agencies and compare their replies. The ones that ask good questions back are worth more than the cheapest quote.
Have a draft already? Send it to us through the contact page and you will hear back within one working day with questions and a view on what to build first. You can see how we run a project on our web design page.
