How to write a website brief (with a free template)

A website brief is a short document that tells a designer what you need, so they can give you an accurate quote and a realistic timeline. It doesn't need to be long or technical. One or two pages that answer seven questions will do more than a 20-page document full of buzzwords.

Here's what to include, why each part matters, and a template you can copy.

#What should a website brief include?

#1. Who you are, in two sentences

What you do, who you do it for, and what makes you different. If you can't say it in two sentences yet, write it badly and let the designer help you sharpen it. That's part of the job.

#2. Who the website is for

Describe your ideal visitor: a hiring manager at a record label, a homeowner planning a renovation, a startup founder comparing tools. The same studio needs a very different site depending on whether it's trying to impress art directors or reassure procurement teams.

#3. What the website must achieve

Pick one main goal and at most two secondary ones. For example:

• Main: get qualified project enquiries
• Secondary: show the range of work, and rank for "[your service] in [your city]"

A clear goal decides everything else: what goes on the home page, where the buttons go, and how success is measured after launch.

#4. What goes on it

List the pages or sections you think you need (home, work, services, about, contact, blog) and what content you already have: case studies, photos, videos, testimonials, copy. Be honest about gaps. Missing content is the most common reason website projects run late.

#5. Sites you like, and why

This is the most useful part of any brief. Share three to five websites and one sentence each on what you like: "the way the projects fill the screen", "how calm it feels", "the playful cursor". It doesn't matter if they're from a different industry.

If you're not sure where to start, browse our live reference websites. They cover a creative studio, an architecture firm, a musician, a SaaS launch and a video studio. Telling us "like Forma, but warmer" is a perfect brief line.

#6. Budget range

A range lets the designer suggest the right scope instead of guessing. A one-page launch site, a multi-page site with a CMS and a custom 3D experience are very different projects. If you're unsure, see our website packages for typical starting points.

#7. Deadline, and why

Give the date and the reason: a product launch, a tour, a funding round. A real reason helps the designer prioritise what must be ready on day one and what can follow in a second phase.

#What can you leave out?

• Technical specifications, unless you have hard requirements (a specific CMS, an existing booking system). A good studio recommends the stack.
• Detailed page layouts. Describe the goal and let the designer design.
• Long lists of adjectives. "Modern, clean, bold" describes almost every brief. Links to examples say it better.

#A website brief template you can copy

WEBSITE BRIEF

1. About us (2 sentences):
2. Who the site is for:
3. Main goal / secondary goals:
4. Pages or sections we think we need:
   Content we already have:
   Content we still need:
5. Sites we like and why (3–5 links, one line each):
6. Budget range:
7. Deadline and the reason for it:
Anything else (existing domain, tools, must-haves):

#What happens after you send a brief?

With us, a brief leads to a free 30-minute discovery call, then a fixed quote and a timeline, so there are no surprises later. You can also skip the document entirely: our project form walks you through the same questions in about two minutes.