How to Write a Website Brief (With a Free Template)

Most website projects that go over budget or over time share one root cause: nobody wrote down what the website was supposed to do. A website brief fixes that. It takes an hour to write, and it makes every quote you receive more accurate and easier to compare.

What is a website brief?

A website brief is a short document, usually one or two pages, that describes your business, what the website must achieve and what it needs to include. It is not a technical specification. You do not need to know which programming language to use. You only need to describe the outcome you want, and a good developer will translate it into the right solution.

Why does a website brief matter?

• Accurate quotes. Developers price what they can see. A vague request gets a vague, padded quote.
• Comparable proposals. When three developers respond to the same brief, you can compare them fairly.
• Fewer surprises. Features you forgot to mention are the most common source of extra charges.
• Faster delivery. Decisions made upfront do not hold up design and development later.

What should a website brief include?

Use these ten sections. Short answers are fine; clarity matters more than length.

1. About your business. What you do, where you operate and what makes you different.
2. Your audience. Who visits the site and what they need to know before they contact you or buy.
3. Goals. The one or two actions that matter most: calls, WhatsApp chats, quote requests, bookings or online sales.
4. Pages. A list such as Home, About, Services, Projects, Blog, Contact. Note any page that needs special layouts.
5. Features. M-Pesa or card payments, booking calendars, product catalogues, member logins, forms, live chat, multilingual content.
6. Content. Who writes the text and supplies photos? Is there an existing site to migrate?
7. Branding. Do you have a logo, colours and fonts, or do you need branding support first?
8. Examples. Two or three websites you like, and what you like about each.
9. Budget and timeline. A range is fine. Mention any fixed launch date, such as an event or campaign.
10. After launch. Who updates the content, and do you want a maintenance plan, hosting and SEO support?

A free website brief template you can copy

Section	Your answer
Business name and what you do
Who your customers are
Main goal of the website
Pages you need
Features (payments, bookings, logins, forms)
Content status (ready, partly ready, needs writing)
Branding status (logo, colours, fonts)
Websites you like and why
Budget range
Ideal launch date
Who maintains the site after launch

What mistakes should you avoid in a website brief?

• Listing features without goals. "We need a blog" is less useful than "we want to rank for questions our customers ask".
• Hiding the budget. Sharing a range lets developers propose the best solution you can afford instead of guessing.
• Forgetting the old website. If you have one, mention it. Moving content and protecting existing Google rankings is part of the job.
• Ignoring maintenance. Security updates, backups and content changes continue after launch. Decide early who handles them.
• Copying a competitor. Use examples for inspiration, but describe what will make your site better for your own customers.

How detailed should the brief be?

For a business website, one or two pages is enough. For an online store or a custom system, add a short list of user journeys, for example: "a customer finds a product, pays with M-Pesa, receives an SMS confirmation and our team sees the order in a dashboard". Journeys like this help developers understand integrations and workflows without technical jargon.

What does a completed website brief look like?

Here is a short example for a fictional restaurant in Westlands, Nairobi, to show the level of detail that is useful:

• Business: a 60-seat restaurant serving Swahili and Indian dishes, open for lunch and dinner, with a growing delivery business.
• Audience: office workers nearby at lunchtime, families at weekends, and customers ordering delivery through apps.
• Main goal: more direct table bookings and direct delivery orders, so we pay fewer third-party commissions.
• Pages: Home, Menu, Book a Table, Order Online, Events and Private Dining, About, Contact.
• Features: an editable menu with prices, table booking with confirmation by SMS or WhatsApp, online ordering with M-Pesa, and a gallery.
• Content: we have a logo and food photos; the menu exists as a PDF and needs to be turned into web pages.
• Examples we like: sites with large food photography and a booking button that is always visible on mobile.
• Budget and timeline: a stated range, with launch before the December holiday season.
• After launch: our manager will update the menu weekly; we want hosting, backups and help with Google Business Profile.

Notice that nothing here is technical. Yet a developer can now estimate the booking system, the ordering flow, the payment integration and the content work with confidence.

How do you separate must-haves from nice-to-haves?

Budgets are rarely unlimited, so mark each feature as must-have at launch or later phase. A booking system might be essential; a loyalty programme can wait. Phasing lets you launch sooner, learn from real visitors and invest in the next features with evidence. Good developers will plan the first phase so later features can be added without rebuilding.

What happens after you send the brief?

A professional developer should respond with clarifying questions, a recommended scope, a timeline and a written quote. If a proposal ignores parts of your brief, ask why. That conversation tells you a lot about how the project will run.

Ready to start? Send your brief through our quote request form, or read how long a business website takes to build to plan your timeline.