A website brief is the document you give to a web design agency before they start work. A good brief means the agency understands your business, your goals, and your requirements before they design a single page. Here's a template you can use directly.
Business overview. Describe your business in two or three sentences: what you do, who your customers are, and what makes you different from competitors. Include your location and the geographic area you serve.
Project goals. What do you want the website to achieve? More enquiries? Better local search rankings? A more professional online presence? Be specific. 'I want to rank on the first page of Google for web design Edinburgh' is more useful than 'I want a better website'.
Target audience. Describe your ideal customer in detail: their age range, their job or business type, their location, their main problem or need, and what they're typically searching for when they find you.
Pages required. List every page you want on the site. For each page, write one sentence describing what it needs to achieve. Example: 'Services page — clearly describe each of our three service packages and encourage visitors to request a quote'.
Functionality required. List any specific features: contact form, booking system, live chat, e-commerce, client portal, blog, etc. For each feature, describe what it needs to do.
Design preferences. Share three to five websites you like, with notes on what specifically you like about each. Note any colours, fonts, or visual styles you want to avoid.
Budget and timeline. State your budget range and any hard deadlines. Being upfront about budget helps the agency propose the right solution.
Assets available. List what you already have: existing logo files, brand guidelines, photography, copy, domain name, hosting account.
