Website Design Brief: 12 Powerful Details to Prepare Before You Start

A clear website design brief helps a designer understand your business, customers and priorities before layouts are created. It reduces assumptions, produces more useful proposals and gives everyone a shared definition of success.

The brief does not need to prescribe every colour or page. Its job is to explain the problem, desired outcome and practical constraints. The designer can then recommend the right structure and experience.

What should a website design brief include?

A useful website design brief covers twelve areas: business context, goals, audience, customer questions, scope, features, content, brand, competitors, technical requirements, budget and schedule, plus the measures that will show whether the project worked.

You can write it in a simple document. Be specific where facts are known and honest where you need guidance. Uncertainty is easier to solve when it is visible.

1. A short description of the business

Explain what the business does, where it operates, how it makes money and what makes it different. Avoid copying an existing about page if it contains broad marketing language. Give the designer the practical version.

Include the main services, average customer relationship and any planned changes. A website should support where the business is going, not only describe where it has been.

2. The main reason for the project

State why you are investing now. The current site may be dated, difficult to edit, attracting the wrong enquiries or failing to explain a new service. A new business may need credibility and a reliable way to receive leads.

Turn the reason into a useful goal. “Make it modern” is subjective; “help commercial property managers understand our three services and request a survey” gives the design team a decision-making tool.

3. Your priority audiences

Describe the people who need to use the website. Include their role, situation, level of knowledge, concerns and what prompts them to search. Focus on behaviour rather than inventing unnecessary personal details.

If there are several audiences, rank them. A website that treats every visitor as equally important can become vague. Your website design brief should make the primary journey clear while still supporting secondary users.

4. The questions customers need answered

Collect real questions from emails, phone calls, meetings and search data. These often reveal the information architecture more accurately than an internal list of departments.

Common questions include price, timescale, suitability, process, evidence, location and support. Answering them openly can improve lead quality because visitors understand the offer before they enquire.

5. Required pages and content

List known pages, then mark them as essential, optional or open to recommendation. A service business may need a homepage, about page, service pages, case studies, FAQs, resources, contact and legal information.

Our guide to essential small business website pages provides a starting structure. The final sitemap should reflect actual customer journeys rather than copying a competitor.

6. Features and integrations

List what visitors and administrators need to do. Examples include forms, bookings, payments, gated downloads, multilingual content, maps, customer logins and newsletter subscriptions.

Name existing tools that must connect, such as a CRM, email platform, payment provider or stock system. Explain the workflow after a form is submitted, not only the visible button. Integrations can significantly affect cost and schedule.

7. Content responsibilities

Clarify who will write copy, provide photography, approve legal text and enter products or case studies. Mention what already exists and whether it can be reused. Old content may need auditing rather than automatic migration.

If the project needs search research, copywriting or photography, request these services explicitly. Read our comparison of professional imagery and stock photography when planning visual content.

8. Brand assets and visual direction

Share logos, fonts, colours, photography, tone-of-voice guidance and any broader brand rules. Identify which assets are current and whether a brand refresh is part of the project.

Examples of websites you like can help, but explain why. You might admire their calm spacing, straightforward copy or case-study structure rather than wanting the design copied. Also share examples that feel wrong and explain the concern.

9. Competitors and alternatives

List direct competitors, but also consider what customers might do instead of hiring you. They may use an internal team, delay the decision or choose a cheaper substitute.

Explain where competitors communicate well and where the market feels repetitive. This helps the designer find meaningful differentiation instead of producing another version of the same industry website.

10. Technical, accessibility and legal needs

Record domain, hosting and content-management requirements, plus any security, browser or integration constraints. State who currently controls important accounts. Do not send passwords inside the website design brief; share them securely only when needed.

Include accessibility expectations from the beginning. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide the recognised framework. If the site collects personal data or uses cookies, consult the ICO’s small-business guidance and obtain appropriate advice.

11. Budget and target schedule

A budget range lets suppliers propose a realistic approach. Without it, one proposal may cover a focused template build while another includes strategy, original content and extensive custom design. Both could be reasonable but impossible to compare.

State the reason behind any launch date, such as an event or contract. Include internal approval time and content preparation. Our guide answering how long it takes to build a website explains the typical stages.

12. Success measures

Define what should be different three to six months after launch. Measures may include more qualified enquiries, higher booking completion, increased sales, better engagement with service pages or fewer repetitive support questions.

Record the current baseline when possible. Analytics should focus on actions that matter to the business rather than vanity metrics. Agree who will review performance and make improvements after launch.

How long should a website design brief be?

Two to five focused pages are usually enough for a small-business website. A complex ecommerce or integration project may need supporting documents. Clarity is more important than length.

Use headings and bullet points, link to relevant resources and label assumptions. Attach a separate content inventory or feature list if the main document becomes difficult to scan.

What should you avoid putting in the brief?

• A fixed solution when the underlying problem has not been explained.
• Vague claims that every type of customer is equally important.
• Passwords or sensitive personal and commercial information.
• Unexplained requests to copy another website.
• A long feature wish list with no priorities.
• A launch date that ignores content and approval time.

A brief should create a productive conversation, not prevent the designer from contributing expertise.

Turn your brief into a better website

A strong website design brief saves time because it moves essential thinking to the start. It gives proposals a common basis, helps teams approve decisions and keeps the project connected to customer needs.

Use these twelve sections as a template and write the first version in plain language. If you want help turning it into a practical sitemap, scope and timeline, send your brief to Olli Hopkins Digital for an informed conversation.