Describe the business and the people using the site
Name the services you sell, the places you work and the customers the website should serve. Explain any change behind the project, such as a new service, a move into a different market or a site that no longer represents the business.
Describe current problems as things a visitor experiences. “People cannot find examples of our commercial work” is a clearer brief than “make it premium”. If you include reference sites, point to the feature you mean: readable project pages, a clear service list or photographs that show scale.
Choose the main business action. An enquiry, a meeting booking and a purchase each require different information and checks. Separate what the first release must do from ideas that can be considered later.
List the pages and content you already have
Share the current website URL and a page list. Mark the pages that still explain the business accurately, the ones that need work and any important addresses that should be preserved. A designer needs that context before proposing a new structure.
For each proposed page, identify its reader, the question it answers and the material available. Service descriptions, project records, approved reviews and real photographs are more useful than a folder of unrelated inspiration. Assign someone to confirm the facts and supply missing copy.
Our Appselec record describes a rebuild for an established electrical contractor. HR Homestyle Projects needed its brand and first website. Those are different starting points; your brief should make yours clear.
Plan the photography and video with the pages
Match the visual material to what the page needs to explain. A team page may need portraits. A service page may need people doing the work. A project page needs enough views to show the finished job and relevant details.
List the people, premises, products and work available to photograph. Note who can approve their use, when access is possible and which existing files have suitable permission and quality. This reveals whether a new shoot belongs in the project scope.
Brief commercial photography alongside the website so the shoot has a purpose. If video is needed, describe where it appears and what it should explain rather than asking for a film simply to fill a banner.
Describe the actions and the handover in plain language
Write what must happen when someone uses the site. For an enquiry, who should receive it? For a meeting, should the visitor choose an available time? For a download, which file should they receive? Name existing tools the site must work with so dependencies are visible before a quote.
Identify who controls the domain, hosting and analytics accounts. Explain who will update the finished site and which changes they need to make. Request a clear description of the files, access and guidance included at handover.
Use the domain and account ownership guide to check existing access. Our website service page sets out the ownership and handover included in our work.
Name the deadlines, dependencies and decision maker
Give the real launch date and the reason behind it. Then list what that date depends on: approved copy, a photography session, domain access, a booking provider or someone returning from leave. An unexplained deadline hides work that still has to happen.
Nominate one person to bring the business’s feedback together and approve each stage. Include the budget range your business is working within, if known, and which elements are essential. This helps proposals describe a comparable first release rather than different interpretations of the same short email.
Copy this website brief template
Fill in these labels before your first conversation. Write “to confirm” where you need advice; an explicit unknown is more useful than a guess.
- Business: name, services, service area and current website.
- Audience: who the main visitors are and what they need to find.
- Reason for the project: what has changed and what the current site makes difficult.
- Main action: what visitors should do and what happens next.
- Pages: what to keep, improve or add, including important existing URLs.
- Content: available copy, project details, approved reviews, photography and video; owner for each gap.
- Functionality: required enquiries, bookings or downloads; existing tools and later ideas.
- Ownership and handover: current account holders, required files/access and who will maintain the site.
- Timing and budget: target date, reason, dependencies and the range available for the work.
- Approvals and completion: decision maker, review stages and what must be demonstrated before launch.
Hypothetical example: a Melbourne trades business wants buyers to understand its current services and see finished work. It needs service and project pages plus an enquiry form delivered to its office. Existing project photographs need a permission check, new team photographs are required, and the owner will approve the copy. This describes a buildable job without inventing a client result or specifying the technology.
Send the same brief to each designer
Compare what each proposal includes: pages, copy responsibilities, photography, revisions, required functionality, handover and the evidence used to call the work complete. Ask about exclusions where a proposal is silent.
Use how to choose a web designer in Melbourne for the selection conversation. If you are replacing a live site, bring the business website redesign checklist into the brief so useful pages and business services survive the launch.
Questions about writing a website brief
Do I need to know which technology to use?
No. Explain the business requirements, existing tools and who will maintain the site. Ask the designer to explain how their proposed approach meets those needs.
Do all the words and photographs need to be ready first?
They do not need to be finished before the first conversation. Your brief should show what exists, what is missing and who will supply or create it, so the proposal includes that work.
Should I include a budget?
Include your business’s available range if you know it, together with the essential scope and timing. Ask each designer to state inclusions and exclusions so you can compare the proposals fairly.