A website brief is a short document in which you describe the goal of the site, its scope, features, content, deadline and budget. The point is for every contractor to price the same thing. Did you get three offers that differ several-fold? Usually nobody overcharged here. Each company simply guessed differently what you need. Below you will find a checklist, a template for the structure of a brief and the mistakes that make quotes impossible to compare.
Table of contents
Why write a website brief when you can simply ask for a price?
Because without a brief every contractor prices a different scope and the prices cannot be set side by side. Ask “how much does a website cost” and you will get everything: from a ready-made template to a fully custom project. And both answers will be honest, because the question was too general. What really determines how much a website costs only becomes clear once the scope is described. Oh, and a brief also shortens the initial talks. You quickly see who understood the need and who sent a generic price list.
Site goal and audience: where to start the brief
With one measurable business goal. Not with colors, not with the look. The goal can be collecting quote requests, online sales, recruitment or taking the load off customer service. Then the audience: who they are, what they are looking for and what they should do on the site (send a form? call?). Add a few sentences about the company, the offer and what sets you apart from the competition. The contractor will build the site’s message from this, so there is no point in saving on words here.
Website project requirements: scope, features and integrations
Here you describe which subpages and features the site should have and which systems it needs to work with. Specifically, point by point:
- a sitemap, meaning a list of the main sections and their subpages,
- language versions,
- forms and who in the company receives them,
- a blog or knowledge base,
- a store, payments and deliveries,
- a customer area with login,
- integrations: CRM, ERP, newsletter, analytics.
In my opinion the most useful trick in the whole brief: split the items into “must have” and “nice to have”. The contractor will then price a basic and an extended variant. Do you have a favorite platform (WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, PrestaShop)? Write it down. You don’t? Ask for a recommendation with a justification, the way it is done when building websites for companies.
Content, graphics and visual identity: who delivers what
State clearly what the company delivers and what the contractor prepares. Copy, photos, logo, brand book, content migration from the old site. Everything. Also attach 2-3 example sites that you like and add what exactly appeals to you in them: the layout, the navigation, the style? This is exactly where quotes drift apart most often. One contractor includes copywriting, meaning writing the texts, while another assumes the texts will arrive ready.
SEO, hosting and post-launch care: what to ask about in the offer
Whatever runs after the site goes live should go into the brief too. Otherwise it will come back as an extra cost, after the contract is already signed. Ask about URL redirects from the old site, basic SEO optimization and analytics setup. Agree on who is responsible for hosting, the domain, the SSL certificate, backups and updates. Do you need training on the admin panel? Note that as well. Have the implementation and the later care priced separately, then it is easier to see how much the launch costs and how much the upkeep does.
Budget and deadline: should you state them in a request for a website quote?
Yes. A budget range and a realistic deadline let the contractor propose something that fits within your means, instead of an offer for everything. An amount down to the last zloty is not needed, a range is entirely enough. As a reference point before you set it, indicative implementation price estimates will come in handy. Also write down the start date, fixed deadlines (a trade fair, a campaign) and the person on your side who approves each stage.
Website brief template: a checklist before you send it
A finished brief usually fits on 1-2 pages and answers the questions from this list:
- Company and offer: what you do and what sets you apart.
- Site goal: one, measurable.
- Audience and the main action on the site.
- Sitemap.
- Features and integrations, split into mandatory and optional.
- Platform or a request for a recommendation.
- Content and materials: what you provide, what the contractor should prepare.
- Inspirations with a comment.
- SEO and migration from the old site.
- Hosting and post-launch care.
- Budget range.
- Deadline and fixed dates.
- Contact person and approving person.
You can compare the answers reliably only when every contractor gets the same document and breaks the quote down into items. When assessing the offers, it also helps to know how to choose a website contractor beyond the price alone.
And one piece of advice to finish. Send the same website brief to 3-4 companies and ask each one for an itemized quote. You will get offers that can be laid side by side and compared point by point. That was the whole idea.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a website brief be?
1-2 pages of specifics are enough. What counts is completeness, not volume. It is better to answer every point of the checklist briefly than to write at length about the company’s history and forget about the integrations.
What should I do if I don’t know which features I need?
Describe the goal of the site and the processes it should support. For example: how inquiries reach you today and who handles them. Then ask the contractor for a feature recommendation with a justification. The quality of those justifications will quickly show you who is actually thinking about your business.
Is a brief the same as a technical specification?
No. A brief describes the company’s needs and expectations. The technical specification is usually prepared together with the contractor at the analysis stage, after the offer has been chosen. In short: the brief is the starting point for a quote, the specification is the basis for the work.
