Writing a Brief for Your Website Design Project

Writing a content brief

So, you want to redesign or create a new website, then you need to write a website brief.  The purpose of a website design brief is to clearly establish what you want your new website to achieve to meet your demands and expectations.

In this blog, we’re going to guide you through the brief writing process. Understanding a brief is the best place to start. The aim of the brief is to provide summarised information to the web design team that will provide them with: a guide and instructions on what is required from your new website, the target market and any further relevant information you wish to provide.

A brief can be a few sentences, a single page or hundreds of pages long, depending on the nature of the redesign or build.

Researching is the First Step

Before you begin writing the brief, you’ll need to gather relevant information.  We suggest you look at other relevant websites online, perhaps your competitors’ websites, with a critical eye and explore how they work.  Establish what you like about their design and functionality and create a wish list for your new website. Try to make your wish list clear and concise.

Writing the Brief

Using your wish list begin writing down your requirements in the following format for a website design brief format:

  • An introduction – An outline of the task.
  • Background – Information about your business or service, the market it operates in. 
  • Requirements – Specific information that you want to be included in the website, for example, eCommerce functions, a blog.  
  • Supporting information – Any information that will support the website build, such as branding and marketing materials, details of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, any technical information you have regarding your current website (hosting for example) and examples of websites that you dislike or find inspirational.

Discussing the Budget

The final task is to approach the subject of budgeting for your project. There are two choices available:

  • Provide your maximum budget – Your web designer will then be able to provide you with solutions that fit within your budget.
     
  • Omit your maximum budget – You may end up with a high quote that may be out of your budget and require you to make changes to the brief to fit within your budget.

We advise talking about the budget early in the process so that the agency is on the same page as you early in the process.

Now you have all the information you require to write a website design brief.  With the brief, you’ll be able to approach website design agencies and gain the best value for the investment you’re about to make. 

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