A strong brief helps a web designer understand the project and provide an accurate proposal. It also gives your own team a chance to agree why the work is happening before discussions move into layouts and features.
Begin with the business
Describe what the organisation does, how it makes money or delivers value, and what has changed. If this is a redesign, explain why the current website is no longer suitable.
Useful context might include a shift in services, a new audience, poor-quality enquiries, difficult content management or a brand that has outgrown the existing site.
Define the website goals
List the most important outcomes in priority order. These may include generating qualified enquiries, supporting sales conversations, increasing bookings, selling products, recruiting staff or reducing repetitive support questions.
Avoid relying on “modern” or “professional” as the main goal. Those qualities matter, but they do not explain what should improve for the business or its users.
Identify the audiences
Explain who visits the website, what they already know and what they need to decide. If several audiences exist, clarify which are most important. This shapes the content hierarchy and navigation.
Outline the content
You do not need finished copy before requesting a proposal, but you should identify the likely services, products and content types. Mention whether existing copy and imagery will be retained, rewritten or created from scratch.
Include practical items such as case studies, team profiles, downloadable documents, vacancies, locations, FAQs and legal pages.
Describe required functionality
Explain the outcome rather than prescribing a plugin. For example: customers need to book and pay for an appointment, members need access to protected video, or enquiries need to enter a CRM.
List existing systems, accounts and providers where known. Integrations often affect scope more than the visible page count.
Set responsibilities
State who will supply copy, photography, brand assets and approvals. Identify the final decision-maker and any other stakeholders who need to review the work.
Include budget and timing
A budget range helps a supplier recommend an appropriate approach. Without it, time may be spent preparing a proposal that is either too limited or unrealistic for the organisation.
If there is a genuine launch date, explain why it matters. Also note internal events, holidays or approval processes that could affect the schedule.
Share references carefully
Examples of websites you like can be helpful when you explain why. Focus on qualities such as hierarchy, confidence, motion, imagery or ease of use rather than asking for a copy of another company’s design.
A concise brief is enough to begin
The brief should create a productive first conversation, not answer every design and technical question. A good discovery process will test assumptions, identify missing information and turn the initial brief into a practical project scope.