How to write a well-crafted website design brief

So everyone’s agreed - the time has come for a new website. But, before you dive in headfirst and email a bunch of website design agencies about your project, (hello there!), you need a brief.

A BRIEF, you say? Do I really need a website design brief?

The answer is yes, yes you do. Unless of course, you revel in complete chaos, have unlimited budget and time at your disposal, and love headaches? We like none of these things.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to the world of possibility a well-crafted website design brief unlocks, and guide you to writing yours. We’ve even made a template you can use (for free!) so you can get stuck in, and get your project off to a good start.

What is a website design brief?

Call it a roadmap, call it a blueprint — a website design brief is a document which outlines your project in as much detail as possible, including everything from your objectives and target audience, to technical integrations and content management requirements.

The key aim of your brief isn’t to list every last requirement, or have all the answers; it’s to get everyone, that’s your marketing team, your stakeholders and your agency partner (hello!), on the same page. We believe the best design briefs are crafted from a collaborative approach, where everyone involved in the project has the opportunity to input their expertise, ask questions, assess needs and wants, and even gain fresh perspectives on potential proposals.

Strong digital design comes from strong working relationships; and a well-conceived brief offers designers that all-important call for collaboration. It’s an invitation to work with you, to create a digital experience of your brand that outshines your competitors

More good reasons to write a web design brief

Nothing good comes out of a brief-less project, certainly not a powerful website. A quick list of bullet points isn’t going to cut it. Here are the quick fire reasons time spent on your brief, is time saved in the website design and build:

• Clarity from the start – No guessing games or scope-related miscommunications, just clear expectations.
• Smoother process – Fewer revisions, less back and forth, more satisfaction and optimism.
• Stronger collaboration – When designers understand your goals, they can develop solutions specifically with your audience and your business in mind. And so, by nature of bespoke design solutions, the result will lean into what makes you different. 
• Content realism - Your website’s content matters. Get the ball rolling on your content requirements now, so these don’t stall your project later down the line.
• Tech spec - From operations to marketing, your most valuable digital asset should boost every aspect of your business. Task automations, integrations; list all your requirements here.
• Better results – A well-crafted brief leads to a site that meets all your objectives, and then some. If you're looking nail your website redesign project, start with nailing the brief.

Your complete guide to writing website design brief

Whether this is the first brief you’ve ever written (and you want to get it right!) or you’ve been here before, the easiest way to get started is by focusing on the big picture, and working down into the nittier, grittier detail as you go. Here’s our 10-point guide to writing your brief:

Your business, and your audience

This is our chance to get to know you, so introduce yourself! Who are you and what do you do? What gets your team out of bed in the morning, and what makes you, you? A concise summary of your story-to-date sets the context and offers a clear idea of the kind of business you are from the get-go. Use this opportunity to introduce the team responsible for the project management, any stakeholders and include key contact details to establish clear communication channels from the start.

Your audience(s) are fundamental to your business, so provide a clear picture of who they are, what their needs are and how your business or brand serves them.

The current website, and your challenges

Now the introductions are over, it’s time to present a clear indication of what you’re currently working with. Include some clear website stats to indicate how your website is currently performing, and make some observations about its performance in the context of your business and marketing objectives, highlighting the pain points and challenges you’re currently experiencing.

The new website, and your goals

You’ve set the scene, now it’s time to be frank about the crossroads you’re at and why you need a new website. Whether you’re rebranding, launching a new product or service, or targeting new markets, share the big picture business strategy, followed by your objectives. This will allow your web design agency partner to establish a deeper understanding of how a new website can drive this change forward, and meet your goals with smart design considerations that also accommodate future brand or business development.

The brand, and your design thinking

Full-rebrand or quick refresh? Use this section of your brief to include all the guidelines to your current brand system or indeed a new work-in-progress set of brand assets that are being developed by a branding agency. Then share any design thinking you’ve already done; for example, references of design work you do, and don’t, like or how you anticipate the brand elements could evolve with the website design and development.

The content, and your resources

Give your website’s content the attention and consideration it deserves to be truly audience-focused and audience-first. After all, the digital experience will inform your user’s perception of your entire brand. The creation of your brief is the perfect jump start for assessing your website content — where nearly every project timeline threatens to derail. Is it within the scope of the project or out of scope? Be clear so your design partner can take this into consideration, and collaborate with copywriters, photographers etc on content creation to achieve the best outcome.

The technical specifications, and your requirements

This is where your brief gets down into the finer details. The more information you can provide on technical requirements, the greater the likelihood of the project being completed on time and on budget. Include details of platforms, integrations and any other additional features you require to support operational, administrative or marketing functions.

The maintenance, and your site’s health

In writing your brief, there’s an opportunity to establish a robust plan for the hosting, maintenance and optimisation of your website as part of the project, rather than hastily adding it on post site-launch when, let’s be honest, everyone has mentally-checked out. A clear website management plan, that provides regular site maintenance and optimisation will make the whole website redesign more cost effective in the long-term, and futureproof your website; allowing it to evolve and grow with your business.

The next steps, and your budget

Give all the design agencies you reach out the chance to put their best food forward, and outline the budget, project timeline and tender requirements at the end of your brief. Include details of dates for both the bidding process and the project as a whole, with any additional details surrounding the launch deadline. A clear idea of your budget allows design agencies to pitch solutions which meet it. The result will be next-level quality proposals from your chosen agencies, and confidence in your final choice of agency partner.

The Mud team’s tips for your website brief

We've read a few briefs in our time as website designers and developers. Some good, some average and some not-so-good. Here are a few top tips from our studio to help make yours the good kind:

• Keep it factual, and to the point (bullet points, in fact)
• Keep an open-mind, collaboration always produces the best outcomes
• Don’t fly solo on this one. Get as much input as possible from across disciplines and departments, to make sure nothing gets overlooked or forgotten. 
• Bring your expectations and your goals, but trust your design partner to bring their creative solutions to you.

Get started, with our free website design brief template

Download our free, easy-to-use, brief template, and get your project underway. You’ll save time and have a clear format to provide all the necessary information required to brief potential design partners on your project (hello!). We've been around this block, well, many, many times, and all we can say is be completely assured that the work you put into your website design brief now, will save you time, budget and sanity later. 

Got your brief ready go? Drop us a line. We’re pretty great at turning well-crafted briefs into websites that sing!