A sharp website brief saves budget, cuts rework, and gets you a site that actually performs. Here is what to include, from goals and audiences to tech, competitors, and post-launch support, plus mistakes to avoid and a mini example you can copy.
Chris WMAY 21, 20268 min read
About the author
Chris W
Lead Web Developer
Web developer with over a decade of experience building strategic online solutions for businesses throughout the UK.
Your website is your shop window, salesperson, and marketing engine in one. Like any serious project, it starts with a plan.
That plan is your website brief.
A strong, strategic brief is often the difference between a site that converts and one that burns time and budget without clear results. A weak brief, vague goals, missing stakeholders, or “make it look modern”, invites rework and disappointment.
Below is a practical structure you can follow, with additions that teams often forget until it is too late.
At a glance: what every brief should answer
Before the detail, check you can answer these in plain language:
Why now? What is broken or missing on the current site, or why are you launching fresh?
What does success look like in 6–12 months (numbers or behaviours, not just “more enquiries”)?
Who is the site for, primary and secondary audiences, and what should they do on their first visit?
What must exist on day one (pages, features, integrations) versus what can wait?
Who decides, and who only advises, so approvals do not stall the build?
If you cover those five, you are already ahead of most projects.
What is a website brief, and why does it matter?
A website brief is a document that sets out your business objectives, user needs, and project requirements for a new or redesigned site. It guides your web design or development partner toward a solution that fits your constraints, not their assumptions.
Without it, you risk vague timelines, creeping scope, and results that look fine but do not move the business. With it, you build alignment, clarity, and momentum.
Think of the brief as a blueprint: layout, content, integrations, and measurement should all hang together.
Start with the big picture: who you are and what you do
Open with a short overview of your business. It does not need to be long, but it should explain your context and ambition.
Who are you, what do you sell or deliver, and where do you operate?
Who are your customers or clients?
Why are you investing in a new site now? (Outdated design, poor conversion, rebrand, new service line, etc.)
Maybe your current site no longer reflects your branding. Maybe it does not convert. Be honest and specific, the more context you give, the more tailored the solution.
READY TO SCALE YOUR BRAND?
Book a free strategy session and let's map out exactly what growth looks like for your business.
Avoid vague goals like “we want a better website.” Your brief should state what “better” means in practice.
Strong examples:
Increase qualified quote requests by X% within six months.
Cut mobile bounce rate on key service pages.
Support a new e-commerce line with a clear checkout path and stock sync.
Improve Core Web Vitals or page speed scores on mobile (tie this to SEO and UX if relevant).
If you are unsure, ask: what would make this project an undeniable win? Those answers become acceptance criteria and prioritisation rules when scope gets tight.
Know your audience
Describe who the site is for, what problems they have, and what motivates them.
Are they time-poor, price-sensitive, or comparison-shopping?
Do they arrive on mobile, from ads, or from organic search?
What questions do they need answered before they enquire, book, or buy?
This shapes layout, copy tone, calls to action, and user experience, not just the homepage hero.
Content, pages, and features
List what the site needs to meet your goals and serve your users. Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves so your partner can phase work if budget requires.
Typical building blocks:
Homepage that states who you are, who you help, and the next step.
A page per core service or product cluster.
Case studies, team, FAQs, or resources if they support trust or SEO.
Contact or booking flows, calculators, client portals, or eCommerce as needed.
Note whether you will reuse existing copy, rewrite in-house, or need copywriting support. Design cannot fix unclear or missing messaging, flag content risk early.
If you already have a rough sitemap or wireframe sketch, include it. A bullet list is enough to start.
Design direction: look, feel, and voice
Design is subjective, but your brief can still steer it.
Should the site feel bold, calm, premium, playful, or clinical?
Share two or three sites you like (any sector) and say why, not only competitors.
Share sites you dislike and why, to avoid known turn-offs.
Attach brand guidelines if you have them: logo files, colours, type, and imagery rules. State the tone of voice (professional, conversational, technical) so copy and UI align.
Technical notes and integrations (non-technical welcome)
You do not need to be technical, you need to be specific about dependencies.
Mention tools the site must work with, for example:
CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.)
Email or automation (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, etc.)
Booking, events, or calendars
Payment gateways for online sales
Say whether editors need to update pages themselves, and any preference for a CMS (e.g. WordPress) or shop platform. Your agency can validate options against security, performance, and total cost of ownership.
Stakeholders, approvals, and content owners
Many projects slip because nobody is named as decision-maker or because legal or brand sign-off appears at the end.
In your brief, note:
Who has final say on structure, design, and copy.
Who supplies testimonials, bios, photography, and compliance text (privacy, cookies, terms).
Whether procurement or IT must review hosting or domains.
That single paragraph prevents “we showed the CEO and she wants it blue” after build sign-off.
Learn from competitors
List two or three competitors (or comparators in adjacent markets). For each, note what works and what frustrates you, speed, clarity, trust signals, mobile UX, content depth.
This is not about copying; it is about positioning. If rivals invest heavily in content or SEO, say so, it informs your information architecture and ongoing marketing.
Example framing:
We like Competitor A’s calm layout and navigation, but their messaging feels generic. Competitor B has strong testimonials yet feels cold on mobile. We want approachable, professional, and excellent on phones.
Budget and timeline: be direct
Sharing a budget range helps your partner scope realistically. Whether you are at four figures or five, there is usually a right-fit approach. For ballpark context, see how much a website costs.
For timelines, avoid “ASAP.” Use real dates: “Live by 1 October for our autumn campaign.” Flag immovable dates (events, funding, product launch) and any blackout periods when your team cannot review.
Measurement, analytics, and post-launch
Briefs often stop at launch. Strong ones cover what happens next.
Do you use Google Analytics, Search Console, or a CRM pipeline? Say what you track today and what you want to improve.
Who will monitor forms, broken links, and security updates?
Clarifying this avoids surprises and helps your partner recommend a sustainable setup.
Legal, accessibility, and trust (UK context)
You do not need to be an expert, but flag constraints that affect build:
Industries with regulatory copy (finance, health, legal) or mandatory disclaimers.
Need for cookie consent and privacy pages aligned with your marketing stack.
Accessibility expectations (many public-sector and larger B2B buyers expect WCAG-minded work even if you are not legally bound to the same standard as government sites).
If unsure, say “we need guidance on privacy and accessibility.” That belongs in discovery, not as a last-minute launch blocker.
Common mistakes to avoid
Too vague: “Modern and clean” is not a brief; tie it to audience and goals.
Design without outcomes: pretty is useless if users still cannot book or buy.
Forgetting the user: the site is for customers first; internal org charts are not navigation.
Unrealistic timelines: quality content, integrations, and testing need calendar time.
Content as an afterthought: late copy delays launches more than “one more design tweak.”
Hidden stakeholders: surprise approvers derail sign-off; name them early.
Mini example: brief in practice
Use this as a skeleton; swap in your sector and numbers.
Company: LushLaw, boutique family law, Leeds
Objective: Increase qualified consultation bookings from the website
Audience: Professional women 30–50 seeking clarity during separation
Aim for clarity over length. Many strong briefs run 2–4 pages plus appendices (brand PDFs, sitemap sketches, analytics exports). If you can summarise goals, audience, must-have pages, and constraints on one page, that is still useful, your agency can help you expand the detail in a discovery workshop.
Do I need a brief if I already know what I want it to look like?
Yes. Visual references help, but they are not a substitute for business goals, user needs, content ownership, and technical constraints. Without those, you risk a pretty site that does not move enquiries, sales, or rankings.
What if I do not know the technical stack?
You do not need to choose frameworks. List the systems you already use (CRM, email, booking, payments) and how you want to update content. Your partner can recommend options such as [WordPress](/web-design/wordpress-web-design), Shopify, or a custom build.
Should I share my budget in the brief?
Sharing a range usually helps. It lets your agency propose a realistic scope, features, content support, and timeline, instead of guessing. You can still compare proposals on fit and value.
