The Website Brief That Saves You From Rebuilding Twice

Halfway through a website project is an expensive time to discover that nobody agreed who was writing the service pages. Or that the new enquiry process needs a system no one included in the quote. A good website brief brings those conversations forward, while you can still make choices without undoing finished work.

You do not need to arrive with every screen designed. In fact, that can close off useful ideas too early. What your delivery partner needs is a clear account of what the business is trying to change, what visitors need to do and who can make the decisions.

Open your website brief with the business problem

Replace “we need a modern website” with an example of something the current site makes difficult. Perhaps buyers cannot distinguish your services, or staff need outside help for a simple update. If the problem is still a hunch, a small round of website usability testing before a redesign can help you brief the right work.

For a hypothetical commercial interiors company, the problem might be that prospective clients see attractive project photographs but cannot understand the delivery process. The brief should call for a clearer explanation of stages, responsibilities and project suitability. It should not jump straight to requesting a new animation.

Set a small number of success criteria that can be checked. A visitor should be able to identify the relevant service, understand the process and find an appropriate contact route. Internal editors should be able to update agreed content without rebuilding pages.

Define audiences and priority tasks

Choose the visitor whose task matters most at launch. A new buyer assessing your offer and an existing customer looking for support may need different routes. Giving both a clear path is more useful than asking one homepage message to serve everyone equally.

Use the task list to establish priorities:

1. Identify the pages and information essential to the primary audience.
2. Describe the action each page should support.
3. Record secondary audiences whose needs require a separate route.
4. Mark features that are useful later but not essential for launch.

This keeps website redesign planning grounded when a long wishlist begins competing with the available budget.

Make content ownership explicit

Put a name beside every substantial piece of content. “The team will supply it” is an easy promise to make and a difficult one to schedule. Check who has the knowledge, who has writing time and who can give final approval. Include photography and downloads in the same conversation.

Specify whether the delivery partner is expected to research, write, edit or simply load the content. Those are different scopes. Identify one person who can consolidate feedback from the business.

For the interiors company, operations may need to approve the delivery process while leadership approves positioning. Put those responsibilities in the schedule so design is not waiting on an unresolved internal decision.

Describe functionality in terms of behaviour

Describe the behaviour you need, in words a colleague can test. “An editor can add a service without a developer” is a useful requirement. “A flexible platform” is not yet specific enough. For each integration, name the other system and the person who can answer questions about it.

Include mobile use, testing, migration and ongoing maintenance in the conversation. For an existing site, identify important pages whose addresses may change and ask how those transitions will be managed.

Any collection of personal information or connection to external systems should be reviewed before implementation. This article is general information only, not legal or privacy advice. Obligations depend on the organisation, industry, jurisdiction, technology and circumstances. Check current regulator guidance or obtain independent professional advice where appropriate.

Compare proposals against the same scope

Place proposals side by side and compare the work behind the total. Does each include content, migration, revisions and handover? A clearer view of the full marketing investment makes a price difference easier to interpret. Ask what your team must supply before deciding which scope is affordable.

Do we need a final sitemap before requesting proposals?

A provisional sitemap is often enough to start a productive conversation. Mark what is known, what needs discovery and whether the supplier will help resolve it. Uncertainty is manageable when it is visible in the brief.

Use the brief throughout delivery

Before requesting proposals, have someone uninvolved in the project read the brief. Can they explain the problem, the priority visitor task and the decisions still open? If they can, you have a useful starting point. Keep that document close when the first designs arrive.

Place the website project within a realistic schedule by building a practical 90-day marketing plan. Our website services can help connect the brief to the finished experience.