A website design brief can feel like unnecessary paperwork when both the business owner and designer are eager to begin. Like many designers, I have sometimes accepted projects without a clear brief because I wanted to secure the work and worried that asking too many questions might slow the client down. I learned that starting quickly does not always mean working efficiently.
When the goals, pages, content and responsibilities are not clear, both the client and designer can fill the gaps with assumptions. A simple brief helps prevent that. It gives the designer a clearer picture of your business and creates a starting point for discussing what the website should achieve, what you need to provide and how the project should move forward.
If you are preparing for a new website or redesign, this guide explains what to include before contacting a designer. You can also explore my website design service for small businesses to understand how I approach planning and building a business website.
What is a website design brief?
A website design brief is a document that explains what your business needs from a new website. It usually covers your business, customers, goals, required pages, content, functionality, design preferences, budget and timeline.
Think of it as the starting point for a conversation rather than final instructions. You describe the business problem and desired result; the designer helps turn that information into an appropriate website.
For example, "a modern website" leaves many questions unanswered. A five-page site that explains your electrical services and helps homeowners request a quotation gives the project a clearer direction.
Why should you prepare a website brief?
A good brief helps a designer understand the project before recommending a solution. It makes early discussions more focused and reduces assumptions that may later cause extra work.
It can help you:
- • clarify why you need the website;
- • compare proposals using the same requirements;
- • identify missing content or branding;
- • involve decision-makers early; and
- • discuss a realistic budget and timeline.
Business owners sometimes begin by thinking mainly about colours or a competitor's website. Preparing the brief brings the conversation back to customers and business outcomes.
What should a website design brief include?
The exact detail will depend on the size of your project, but the following sections provide a strong foundation for most small-business websites.
You can follow these sections using my free Small Business Website Design Brief Template. It helps you organise your goals, required pages, content, budget and timeline without needing to understand the technical side of website development.
1. A short description of your business
Begin with what your business does, where it operates and what it offers. Mention the most important services and what makes the business meaningfully different.
You do not need to paste your full company profile. A few paragraphs about your main services, customers, locations and strengths are usually enough.
2. The reason you need a new website
Explain what has created the need for this project. Perhaps your business has no website, the existing one looks outdated, your services have changed or visitors struggle to find important information.
Describe the problem instead of prescribing the solution. "Our website does not explain our corporate service clearly" is more useful than "put a large slider on the homepage." The first allows the designer to solve the underlying problem.
3. Your primary website goal
What is the most important action visitors should take? Your answer will influence the pages, messaging and calls to action.
The goal could be to:
- • generate quotation requests;
- • encourage appointment bookings;
- • receive telephone or WhatsApp enquiries;
- • present your company professionally; or
- • explain a complex service clearly.
A website may support several goals, but choosing one primary goal creates focus.
4. The customers you want to reach
Avoid describing your audience as "everyone." Explain who needs your offer, what they want to accomplish and what may prevent them from choosing a provider.
For example, a childcare centre may target working parents who value flexible hours and safety. An accounting firm may target growing businesses that need dependable support without a full-time finance team.
This helps the designer decide what visitors need to see first, which questions to answer and what evidence may build trust.
5. Your products, services and priorities
List the products or services the website should cover. If some are more profitable, more popular or strategically important, identify them.
This prevents the website from giving every offer equal attention when your priorities are different. It also helps determine whether important services need their own pages.
6. The pages you think the website needs
Provide an initial list of pages, even if you are unsure. A small business might begin with Home, About, Services, Work or Case Studies and Contact.
Treat this list as a proposal, not a fixed requirement. A designer may combine, remove or add pages after reviewing the customer journey and available content.
If you are unsure how to organise your website, my guide to what a 5-page business website should include explains which pages most small businesses need and how to choose a page structure that suits your customers.
7. Required features and customer actions
Mention anything visitors must be able to do, such as completing an enquiry form, viewing a gallery, downloading a document or requesting an appointment.
Describe the outcome in ordinary language. You do not need to choose the software or explain how it should be programmed. For example: "Customers should be able to request an appointment and select a preferred date."
Separate essential features from those that would merely be nice to have, particularly when the budget or timeline is limited.
8. The content and materials you already have
State what is available and what still needs to be created: copy, a logo, brand colours, photographs, testimonials or company documents.
Content affects both price and schedule. If you expect the designer to write, edit, organise or source anything, say so early and identify who will approve it.
9. Your design preferences
Share two or three relevant websites and explain what you like: perhaps the navigation, visual style or presentation of services.
Avoid sending a collection of links without explanation. The designer should understand the reason behind each example. You can also mention colours, styles or approaches you want to avoid.
Examples provide direction, but your website should reflect your own customers and brand rather than copy another business.
10. Your budget range
A budget gives the designer context for recommending an appropriate scope, from a focused informational website to a larger project with additional functionality.
If you do not have an exact figure, provide a comfortable range and explain what support you expect. Website costs are influenced by planning, content, functionality and the level of service not only the number of pages. My guide to small-business website costs explains these factors in more detail.
11. Your preferred timeline
Include your desired launch date and mention any event, opening or seasonal deadline connected to it.
Clarify whether the date is fixed or flexible. The designer must also consider how quickly you can supply content and approve designs.
12. The people involved in approval
Identify who will give feedback, make decisions and approve the final work. When several people are involved, agree on one person who will collect their comments and send a clear response to the designer.
This avoids contradictory feedback and prevents decisions from being reopened. If you are comparing possible partners, use this guide to choose a website designer for your small business.
What if you do not have all the answers?
You can still contact a designer. A brief is meant to improve the conversation, not prevent it from happening. It is acceptable to write "not decided" where you need advice. You might know the website's main goal but remain unsure about the number of pages, platform or exact functionality. Those are areas the designer can help you define. You also do not need technical specifications, finished copy or professional photographs before the first conversation. Be honest about what is ready, what is missing and where you need support.
A simple website design brief example
Imagine a small HR consultancy whose website no longer reflects its current services. Instead of simply asking for a modern-looking website, the business could prepare the following brief.
Business overview
We provide HR support to small and growing companies. Our main services include recruitment support, HR policy development and employee management advice.
Why we need a new website
Our current website focuses on services we no longer prioritise. We need a website that clearly explains our current offer and helps prospective clients understand how we can support their businesses.
Our target customers
We primarily want to reach owners and managers of small and growing businesses who need professional HR support but do not have an in-house HR department.
Main website goal
We want to encourage prospective clients to request an initial consultation. The website should make our services easy to understand and provide a straightforward way to contact us.
Pages we expect to need
We expect approximately five main pages:
- Home: Introduce the business and its main services.
- About: Explain our background and professional experience.
- Services: Present our three main HR services.
- Insights: Share useful HR advice for business owners.
- Contact: Allow visitors to request a consultation.
We are open to the designer recommending a different structure if it would better serve our customers.
Content and features
We already have a logo and some written content, but we need help organising and editing it.
We would like a mobile-friendly website, a simple enquiry form and space for future articles.
Budget and timeline
We would like to launch within eight weeks. Our budget is still being finalised, and we would appreciate advice on a realistic scope.
We understand that the final timeline and cost will depend on the agreed requirements.
What can a designer learn from this example?
This brief does not specify every design detail or technical requirement. Instead, it explains the business, the problem, the intended customers and what the website needs to achieve.
That gives a designer a useful starting point for discussing the website's structure, estimated cost, responsibilities and next steps.
Your own brief does not need to follow these exact answers. The purpose is to provide enough information for a productive conversation, even when some decisions have not yet been made.
How long should a website brief be?
For a straightforward small-business website, two to five pages can be enough. Explain the project without repeating every piece of company information.
Use headings, short paragraphs and bullet points. Prioritise clear answers over polished language and mark unresolved sections as undecided.
What happens after you send the brief?
A responsible designer will review the document and discuss the goals, audience, scope and content. They may question assumptions or recommend a different structure.
After that discussion, you should better understand the deliverables, responsibilities, estimated cost, timeline and next steps. The brief starts this process; it does not replace discovery or a proposal.
Prepare your website project with confidence
A useful website brief does not tell a designer how to design every screen. It explains your business, your customers, the problem you want to solve and the practical limits of the project.
Preparing those details can help you approach designers with greater confidence and evaluate their recommendations more carefully. It can also expose missing content or internal decisions before they delay the work.
Download the Small Business Website Design Brief Template to organise your information step by step. If you already understand what you need, you can also request a website estimate based on your business goals and intended scope.