What Should a Website Brief Include?

Most website projects that go wrong do so before a single line of code is written. The brief was vague, the scope was assumed rather than agreed, and both sides spent the project working from different versions of what was supposed to happen. A clear brief does not guarantee a good outcome, but the absence of one almost guarantees a difficult one.

Most businesses think the brief exists to help the agency. It does not. It exists to protect the client. A vague brief transfers risk from the agency to the business. The agency delivers what was asked for — vaguely. The business receives something that does not quite work — also vaguely. The brief is the only document that creates accountability on both sides.

The brief does not need to be long. It needs to be specific. In practice, projects where scope is defined in writing before work begins resolve disputes in hours. Projects where scope is assumed rather than agreed resolve disputes in weeks — and frequently not at all.

Start with what the business does and who its customers are. Not the marketing version — the plain version. What do you sell, who buys it, and why do they choose you over the alternatives. This context shapes every design and content decision that follows.

Next, define what the site needs to achieve — not how it should look. The distinction between an Outcome Brief and a Feature Brief matters here. A Feature Brief defines what the site must contain: a homepage, a contact form, a gallery. An Outcome Brief defines what the site must achieve: more local enquiries, a credible first impression for referred clients, a clear service explanation for trade show follow-ups. Agencies can build to a Feature Brief. Only an Outcome Brief can tell them whether what they built actually worked.

Then scope. How many pages, roughly, and what they cover. A list does not need to be exhaustive but it needs to be honest. Scope that appears mid-project is the most common source of cost disputes and missed deadlines.

Include anything you know about your customers' behaviour. If most of your enquiries come from mobile, that matters. If your customers are typically over sixty, that affects font sizes, contrast, and the complexity of your contact forms.

Finally, practical constraints. Your budget range, your deadline, and any technical requirements you are already aware of. These are not embarrassing questions — they are the information that allows an agency to quote accurately rather than optimistically.