For many business owners, commissioning a new website is both exciting and slightly stressful. You know you need a site that looks professional, reflects your Branding and actually wins you work – but turning all of that into a clear Website Design brief can feel daunting.
A good brief is not a rigid rulebook. It’s a shared roadmap that helps you and your designer understand what you’re trying to achieve, how success will be measured and what needs to be delivered. Done well, it keeps the project on track, reduces misunderstandings and helps you stay on budget.
Here’s a practical guide to writing a website brief that actually gets you the site you want.
Start with the goals, not the pages
Before you talk about colours, fonts or layouts, be clear about why you want a new website in the first place.
Ask yourself:
- What should this website do for the business?
- What would success look like 6–12 months after launch?
- What isn’t working with your current site, if you have one?
Common goals might include:
- Generating more enquiries or bookings.
- Showcasing a portfolio so you can be shortlisted more often.
- Selling products online more smoothly.
- Positioning your business more clearly in a crowded market.
Write these down in your brief in plain language. This will guide your designer’s decisions on structure, layout and functionality far more than a list of “we want five pages and a contact form”.
Define your audience properly
Website Design is not really about what you like – it’s about what will work for your customers. The more your designer understands your audience, the better they can design for them.
In your brief, describe:
- Who your main customer groups are (for example, busy parents, facilities managers, owner-managed businesses).
- What problems they’re trying to solve when they come to your site.
- What questions they typically ask before they buy.
- Any specific accessibility needs to consider.
If you serve more than one type of audience, list them in order of priority and explain how they differ. This helps your designer plan user journeys that make sense for each group.
Clarify your offer and positioning
Your website has to explain, quickly and clearly, what you do and why someone should choose you over a competitor. That’s as much about Branding as it is about content.
Include in your brief:
- A simple description of what you sell or provide.
- Your service areas or locations, if you’re local or regional.
- Your main points of difference (speed, expertise, approach, niche sector knowledge, price, values).
- Any straplines, messages or promises you already use.
If you’re fuzzy on these points, say so. A good agency can help refine your positioning as part of the project, but they need to know that’s part of the job.
Visual preferences and Branding
This is where many clients jump in first, but it’s most useful once the goals and audience are clear. Your designer needs to know the boundaries they’re working within.
In your brief, include:
- Your logo in the best quality you have.
- Brand guidelines if you have them (colours, fonts, imagery style).
- Examples of websites you like – and, importantly, what you like about them (clean layout, strong photography, playful tone, etc.).
- Any strong dislikes (for example, “no stock-style corporate photography”, “no sliders”, “avoid very small text”).
Try to focus on how you want the site to feel rather than only how it should look. Words like “calm”, “premium”, “friendly”, “playful”, “clinical”, “creative” are useful signals that help align Website Design and Branding.
Content: what you have and what you need
Content is often where projects slip. Your designer will need a realistic picture of what content exists, what needs to be created and who is responsible.
In the brief, outline:
- Which pages you definitely need (for example, Home, Services, About, Case Studies, Blog, Contact).
- Any specialist pages (FAQs, Resources, Pricing, Team, Sectors).
- Whether you will provide the copy, or you need help with copywriting.
- Whether you have suitable photography and video, or need new visuals.
Be honest about your capacity. If you are busy running the business, creating all the content yourself may not be realistic. It’s better to build copywriting or image sourcing into the project at the start than to delay launch later.
Functionality and integrations
Beyond basic pages, your designer needs to know what the site has to do technically. List any required features clearly, even if they seem obvious to you.
For example:
- Contact forms, quote forms or booking forms (and where they should send data).
- Online payments or deposits.
- Appointment booking systems.
- Membership or log-in areas.
- Email newsletter sign-up.
- Integration with CRM systems, booking platforms or other software you already use.
- Multi-language support.
If you’re not sure what’s possible, describe the outcome instead: “We’d like new enquiries to go into our CRM and send an automated confirmation email.” Your agency can then recommend the best technical approach.
Budget and timescales
Many clients feel awkward about talking money in a brief, but it’s better to be open. A clear budget range helps your designer propose the right solution rather than guessing.
Include:
- Your budget range for the project (even if it’s a band, such as £3–5k, £5–10k, etc.).
- Any hard deadlines (product launch, event, new location opening, rebrand date).
- Your expectations around ongoing costs – hosting, maintenance, support.
If your budget and wish list don’t match, a good agency can help prioritise. They might suggest a phased approach, starting with a strong core and adding nice-to-have elements later.
Practical details and success measures
Rounding out your brief with some practical details will make it easier for your designer to plan the project.
Useful things to include:
- Who will be the main point of contact on your side.
- Who will sign off designs and content (and how many people need to approve).
- Any legal or compliance requirements (cookies, privacy, industry regulations).
- How you’ll measure success (more enquiries, higher-quality leads, online sales, newsletter sign-ups, time on site, etc.).
Clear decision-making and agreed success metrics at the start help prevent “design by committee” and endless revisions later.
Common mistakes to avoid in a website brief
A good brief doesn’t need to be a huge document; it just needs to be clear. Try to avoid:
- Only listing pages without explaining goals or audience.
- Saying “we want it to look modern” without explaining what that means.
- Copying another site too closely instead of focusing on your own Branding.
- Underestimating the time and effort needed for content.
- Leaving integrations and technical needs as an afterthought.
Remember: a brief is not a test. It’s a starting point for a conversation. Your designer will ask questions, challenge assumptions and suggest ideas you may not have considered – that’s part of the value you’re paying for.
Bringing it all together
When you pull your brief together, aim for something that another person could read and understand your business, your goals and your expectations without having met you. Use headings, bullet points and plain language.
A solid brief will:
- Help you clarify what you really want from your Website Design project.
- Give your designer the context they need to make good decisions.
- Reduce surprises on both sides around scope, cost and timing.
- Increase the chances that the finished site feels right for your brand and works hard for your business.
If you invest a little time in writing a proper brief, you set the tone for a smoother project and a stronger result – a website that looks the part, fits your Branding and, most importantly, actually does its job.