You’re excited and have a clear vision for what your new website could look like and achieve. However, you’re unsure about the next steps. You know you need to appoint an agency, but you want to ensure you make the right choice.
We understand – it’s a significant step. That’s why we’re here to guide you through the essential elements of a website brief, ensuring your project is set up for success.
What are the key elements of a website brief?
A well-structured website brief ensures that every department involved in your project has the necessary information to plan and execute a successful website. Let’s explore the key areas to include:
Project Goals
What does the website need to achieve for the project to be deemed a success? The more specific you can be, the better. This allows prospective digital agencies to think creatively and potentially propose innovative solutions you may not have considered.
Current Status and Context
Providing insight into your current position is invaluable. Whether you’ve conducted your own SEO audit, content review, or technical stack assessment, sharing this information helps build a comprehensive picture of your needs.
Budget
Transparency is key. Digital agencies are focused on delivering value for money while balancing your requirements and budget. If your budget is tight, be upfront about it – this allows agencies to prioritise features effectively and create a strong foundation for future growth.
User/Audience
Detail your current audience, as well as your ideal audience if they differ. A website’s success depends on meeting user needs, so this information is critical.
Design Inspiration
Providing design preferences helps agencies understand your aesthetic expectations. Sharing what you like and dislike can influence the design direction and refine the agency’s approach.
Competitor Information
You know your industry best, so sharing insights on competitors—including your ‘aspirational competitors’—helps agencies understand your goals and market positioning.
Functional Requirements
Consider what your website needs to do rather than how it will be built. You don’t need to have technical knowledge; simply outline key functionalities, and your agency will determine the best way to implement them.
Content
Think about content early in the process. Will you be rewriting or auditing it? If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to ask. A visually stunning website is ineffective if the content does not accurately reflect your brand and engage your audience.
Timeline
Much like budgeting, setting realistic expectations is important. Agencies work collaboratively with clients to deliver projects on time, but internal factors on your side – such as content approval processes – can impact timelines.
What technical information should be included in a website brief?
When we hosted our webinar in January, we asked attendees which part of the briefing process they found most daunting. The overwhelming answer was the technical section.
Don’t worry – agencies understand that those writing briefs are not usually developers. You don’t need to provide every technical detail upfront; agencies will ask for clarification where needed.
To help you get started, we consulted our Lead Developer, Jannick, to outline key technical considerations:
The Current Landscape
Include details of the systems currently in use, especially those delivering core functionality. These might include:
- Your CMS (Content Management System)
- Any CRM integration
- Ticketing systems
- E-commerce functionality
- User account management
Problems and Ideal Solutions
If certain aspects of your current setup work well, highlight them. Likewise, identify pain points. For example, you may love your CMS but find product uploads cumbersome.
Objectives and Expectations
Clarify what your website needs to do and how you expect key functionalities to operate. For example:
- Basic: Blog approval process.
- Better: Blog approval process where guest users can upload content, which is then approved by a site admin before publication.
- Best: Blog approval process where guest users can upload content, which is then approved by a site admin before publication. Additionally, once posts are two years old, the site admin receives a notification to review their accuracy.
You may not have mapped out every function in detail, and that’s fine – your chosen agency will guide you. However, be aware that increasing complexity can affect costs.
System Choices
Within your current setup, are there any non-negotiable elements? For instance, you may be locked into specific technologies due to organisational constraints. Identifying these early on helps agencies align their recommendations with your operational requirements.
Your website brief is the foundation of a successful project. While it’s up to you to outline your needs, it’s up to your agency to find the best way to bring your vision to life.
If there are three key takeaways from this guide, they are:
- You don’t need to be an expert – your agency will guide you.
- Be open and honest about your timeline and budget – this ensures realistic planning.
- Expect follow-up questions – no matter how thorough your brief, further discussions will help refine the project scope.
If you’re struggling to put your brief together, consider:
- Watching our webinar on this topic.
- Getting in touch to see how we can assist with your briefing process.
- Exploring our case studies for inspiration – here’s a great one to get you started!
- Downloading our briefing template and brief checklist below 👇
By providing a clear and structured brief, you set the stage for a website that meets your needs, budget, and long-term goals.
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Every successful web design project starts with a well-written brief.
We know that you’re busy, so to help you get started we’re happy to share our briefing template and a checklist to make sure you’ve got everything you need to kick off the process.
Complete the form below and you’ll be directed to those PDF downloads directly.