How to write a useful website brief

Write down who the website is for, what that person needs to see and what you want them to do next. Then list the material, people and systems needed to build it.

Start with the decision your visitor is making

“We need a better website” could mean almost anything. Try a sentence someone can design against: “An art director needs to review our interiors work, understand our role and ask about a shoot.” Add the information you want that inquiry to contain, such as location, intended use and timing.

For an independent professional, the sentence might be: “A referred visitor needs to understand which work I take on, check my background and ask about a first conversation.” The brief should explain your actual service without requiring visitors to know your industry vocabulary.

Look at a few recent inquiries. Which questions did you have to ask before you could reply properly? Which requests were for work you do not offer? Use those examples to explain the problem. If you have no inquiries to review, record that as an open question.

• Visitor: who chooses or recommends your work?
• Decision: what do they need to know before contacting you?
• Material: which services, projects, images and details can you publish?
• Action: what should arrive in your inbox or booking system?

Put the boundaries in writing

List the pages or sections, what you will supply, and what the designer must produce. Assign a person to copy, image approval, design approval and future updates. Choose one person to collect feedback before it goes back to the designer.

A meeting about the meeting is not required.

Explain any deadline. An exhibition opening or a booked campaign gives the schedule a reason. Share a budget boundary privately when you have one, and ask the proposal to separate the build, recurring charges and optional support.

Write down what stays: the domain, email, booking account or existing content system. For an integration, specify what should move between systems and who will check it. Put a new identity, extra pages or a client portal outside the project unless you intend to include them.

A small, concrete example

We photograph interiors for architects. The site should help a new art director review six selected projects and send a location, intended use and approximate date. We have cleared images and project credits. Keep our current domain and mail. We need a portfolio, service context and a short inquiry form. One partner approves the work. A new identity and client portal are outside this project.

This is an illustrative example. It gives a designer material to work with and identifies the domain and mail as things to preserve.