Website brief template

A good website brief template does one job: it gets the facts about your business, your customers and your goals out of your head and onto paper before anyone designs anything. With a clear brief, a developer can give you an accurate price, a realistic timeline and a site that sells. Without one, you get guesses, extra revision rounds and a project that drifts.

Below is the template I use with clients, split into seven sections with twenty questions. Most owners fill it in within an hour. You can copy it into a document, or fill in the shorter online version on my website brief page.

Why a brief saves you money

Every question a developer has to ask later costs time, and time costs money. Worse, questions that never get asked become assumptions, and assumptions become pages you did not want. A written brief also makes quotes comparable: if you send the same document to three people, you can compare their prices for the same job instead of three different interpretations.

There is a quieter benefit too. Writing the brief forces you to decide things you have been putting off, like which service you actually want more of, or what your prices really are.

Section 1: your business in plain words

1. What do you sell, and to whom? One or two sentences. Example: "Kitchen and bathroom renovations for homeowners in Edmonton and nearby towns."
2. Which services or products matter most? Rank them. The ones that earn the most, or that you want to grow, should get the most attention on the site.
3. Where do you work? Cities, regions, provinces, or all of Canada. This shapes the pages and the SEO.
4. What makes you the better choice? Not "quality and service". Concrete things: a written warranty, a fixed quote, same-week start, a bilingual team, twenty years in the trade.

Section 2: your customers

5. Who is your typical customer? Homeowner, property manager, clinic owner, newcomer to Canada? Age range, language, how they usually find you.
6. What do they ask before buying? List the five questions you hear on every call. These become your FAQ and much of your copy.
7. What worries them? Price surprises, delays, mess, being sold something they do not need. The site should answer these worries directly.

Section 3: goals and numbers

8. What should the site make people do? Call, fill in a quote form, book online, buy, visit the shop.
9. How many enquiries a month would make the site a success? Even a rough number helps.
10. Will you run ads or work on SEO? It changes how landing pages and tracking are planned.

Section 4: content you already have

11. Logo and colours. Files in the best quality you have.
12. Photos. Your team, your work, your premises. Real phone photos are better than stock.
13. Texts. Old website copy, brochures, price lists, descriptions of finished projects.
14. Proof. Link to your Google reviews, licences, insurance, memberships, numbers you can stand behind.

Section 5: what you like and dislike

15. Three websites you like and why. They do not have to be in your industry. "I like how clear the prices are" is more useful than "it looks modern".
16. Three competitor sites. What do they do well, and what annoys you about them?
17. Anything you definitely do not want. Pop-ups, stock photos, long text, a certain colour.

Section 6: functions and technical details

18. What does the site need to do? Online booking, a quote calculator, multi-location pages, a blog, a store, a customer login.
19. What is connected to it? CRM, email platform, phone system, booking software, accounting.
20. Access. Who holds the domain, hosting, current website, Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Business Profile and ad accounts? Write down the names, not the passwords.

Section 7: budget, deadline and decisions

Add three short lines at the end:

• Budget range. Even a rough one. It lets the developer suggest the best version for the money instead of the most expensive one.
• Deadline, and why it matters (a season, a trade show, an ad campaign).
• Who decides. One person who approves copy and design.

A note for multi-location and Quebec businesses

If you serve several cities, say so early and say how. Does each location have its own hours, staff and phone number? These answers change the structure, the copy volume and the price, so they belong in the brief, not in an email three weeks into the project.

If you also serve customers in French, mention that too. I write and build in English only, so a French version is something you plan separately with your own team or translator. In Quebec, French is a legal requirement, so settle that plan before the English site goes live.

Good answers and weak answers

The useful answers are not longer, they are more specific. Specific answers lead to specific pages.

Common mistakes in website briefs

• Writing for the developer instead of for the customer. Describe what your customer needs to know, not which fonts you like.
• Listing features without goals. "We need a blog" is less useful than "we want to rank for questions people ask before renovating".
• Leaving out prices. If you are not ready to publish prices, at least tell the developer, so the copy can explain how pricing works.
• Forgetting the boring parts. Domain access, privacy policy, French requirements in Quebec, accessibility for larger Ontario organizations.

What happens after you send it

When I receive a brief, I read it, check your current site and competitors, and reply within one business day with questions or a proposal. Then a free 30-minute call to clear up the details, a written quote with deadlines and a payment plan of 30/40/30, and work starts after the agreement and deposit.

If you want to see what the finished project could cost before writing anything, the cost calculator gives a first estimate. And if your plans are still fuzzy, a consultation is a good way to turn them into a brief together.