How to Write a Web Design Brief (with Template)

Why a brief matters

Without a brief, each designer quotes for the website they imagine. One prices five pages with your own text, another fifteen pages with copywriting and SEO, and you end up comparing totals that mean nothing. A one-page brief makes quotes comparable, shortens the project and gives you something to check the finished site against. It also forces useful decisions early, such as what the site is actually for.

What to include

1. About the business. What you do, where you work, how long you have traded, and what makes you different in plain words.
2. Who the site is for. Homeowners, trade buyers, patients, tourists? What do they need to know before contacting you?
3. The main goal. One primary action: phone call, enquiry form, booking, quote request or purchase. Everything else supports it.
4. Pages. A rough list. Our guide to which pages a small business needs helps.
5. Features. Booking, payments, shop, members area, quote calculator, integrations with your CRM or accounts.
6. Content. Will you write the text, or do you need copywriting? Do you have photos?
7. Brand. Logo files, colours and fonts, or whether you need these designed.
8. Current site. Its address, what works, what does not, and whether it gets traffic you need to keep.
9. Examples. Two or three sites you like, and what you like about each.
10. Budget and deadline. A range is fine. Mention any hard date.
11. After launch. Who will update the site, and whether you want hosting and a care plan.

A simple template you can copy

• Business: [name], [what you do] in [area], trading since [year].
• Customers: [who they are and what they need to know].
• Main goal: [calls / enquiries / bookings / sales].
• Pages: [home, services x N, about, contact, ...].
• Features: [booking, shop, forms, integrations].
• Content: [we supply / we need copywriting]; photos: [have / need].
• Brand: [logo and colours ready / need help].
• Current site: [URL, what to keep].
• Sites we like: [URL and why] x 3.
• Budget: [range]. Deadline: [date and reason].
• After launch: [who edits it, hosting needs].

Mistakes to avoid

• Describing the look, not the job. "Modern and clean" tells a designer little. "Get more boiler service bookings from landlords" tells them a lot.
• Listing every possible feature. Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves so you can phase the build.
• Hiding the budget. A range lets a designer suggest what is realistic rather than guessing.
• Forgetting ownership. State that you expect to own the website and domain. See do I own my website?
• Ignoring the old site. If it ranks for anything, say so, so redirects are planned. See redesign or start again.

What happens after you send it

A good designer will read the brief and come back with questions before quoting. Expect to be asked which services matter most to your income, what your best customers have in common, which competitors you lose work to, and what you would like to change about how enquiries arrive. Those answers shape the structure of the site far more than colour choices do.

You should then receive a written quote that mirrors your brief: the pages, the features, who writes the content, the timeline, what is excluded and who owns the result. If a quote ignores parts of your brief, ask why. Sometimes a designer will suggest leaving a feature for a second phase to keep the first version on budget, which is often sensible. Keep the brief and the quote together; they become the checklist you use to sign off the finished site.

When to call us

Send your brief to info@dijitul.uk or use our quote form, and we will reply with a fixed price and any questions. If you have not written one yet, call 01623 650333 and we will build the brief with you over the phone. You can also read how to choose a web designer before you send it out.

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