A one-page website brief you can copy

Most website projects go wrong at the brief, not the build. Not because anyone is careless, but because “we need a new website” hides a dozen decisions that nobody has made yet. A good brief forces those decisions early, when they cost nothing to change.

Here is the one-page version we would want from a client. You can copy it into a document and fill it in over a coffee.

1. What is the website for?

Write one sentence. “To get more enquiries from homeowners in East Yorkshire” is a goal. “To look more professional” is a feeling. Both are valid, but only the first can be measured.

2. Who is it for?

Name the one or two types of visitor who matter most, and what they are trying to do when they arrive. A customer comparing quotes behaves differently from a recruiter or a supplier.

3. What should a visitor do next?

Pick a single main action: call, book, request a quote, buy, or download. Everything on the page should make that action easier. If you have three equal priorities, you effectively have none.

4. What exists today?

• The current address and where it is hosted
• What you like and dislike about it
• Any pages that already rank or get traffic, so they are not lost in a redesign
• Logins you will need to hand over

5. Which pages do you need?

List them, even roughly: home, services, about, contact, and so on. For local businesses, add the areas you want to be found in. Ask whoever builds it which pages they would add or remove, and why.

6. What content do you already have?

Be honest about photos, copy, reviews, case studies and logos. Content is the most common cause of delay. If it does not exist yet, decide who will write it and by when.

7. Which sites do you admire, and why?

Three examples is plenty. The useful part is the “why”: layout, tone, speed, photography or the way they handle enquiries. We would rather know what you like about a site than copy it.

8. Budget and timing

Give a range and a date, even if the date is soft. A fixed range lets a developer propose the right scope instead of guessing. A fixed date tells them what to leave for phase two.

9. How will you know it worked?

Choose one or two numbers you will look at three months after launch, such as enquiries per month, calls from the site, or the ranking for your main service in your main area.

What to do with it

Send the same brief to two or three agencies and compare the questions they come back with. The best proposals push back on something. If every reply simply agrees with everything on the page, you are talking to a template.

If you would like a second pair of eyes on yours, send it over and we will tell you honestly what we would change, whether or not you hire us.