An example brief for a service website
Describe one service, its customer and the desired action, such as reading the scope and leaving contact details. Include pages, existing materials, languages and the enquiry channel. Assign responsibility for missing sections before agreeing the schedule.
- Every section has material or an assigned owner.
- The form has a defined next step after submission.
Why prepare if you have a developer
A developer will handle the structure, design and technical side. But only you know how your business differs from competitors, what customers ask and what counts as a successful enquiry. The clearer these are before you start, the more accurate the estimate and the fewer revisions during design.
The website's goal
Decide what a visitor should do: send an enquiry, book, call, buy or simply become confident they can trust you. Everything else depends on this goal: the number of pages, the order of sections, forms and integrations.
- The main action a visitor should take
- What counts as a successful enquiry
- How you will measure results a few months later
Who your customers are
Describe two or three typical customers: where they come from, what they need to know before getting in touch and what holds them back. These answers become the headings, arguments and FAQ on the website.
Structure and content
List your services or products and mark the priorities. Gather what you already have: copy, photos, work samples, certificates. It's fine if materials are missing — just decide early who will prepare them, because copy and photos often delay a launch more than development does.
- List of services and priorities
- Ready copy, photos and work samples
- Who prepares the missing materials
Websites you like
Collect three to five websites you like and note briefly what you like about them: the structure, the tone, the photos, a simple form. This isn't a brief to copy a design, but a quick way to agree on the impression your site should make.
Enquiries and integrations
Think about what happens after the form is sent. Should the enquiry go to email, a messaging app or a CRM? Who handles it and how quickly? Planning this in advance makes the website part of your workflow rather than a standalone showcase.
Domain, hosting and access
If you already have a domain and hosting, check whose name they are in and whether you have access. Register working accounts to the company or owner from the start so the project stays fully yours.
Timeline, budget and approvals
If there's a date the website is needed by — a service launch, a trade show, an ad campaign — mention it straight away. A rough budget is useful too: it makes it easier to suggest the right scope, for example starting with a landing page and growing the site step by step.
Agree on who in the business approves the structure, copy and design. When decisions are made by one person or a small group with clear roles, the project moves faster and avoids conflicting feedback.
What to send the developer
A short message is enough for a first estimate: what the business does, the goal of the website, which examples you like and why, and whether you have a deadline. The rest is clarified in conversation.
- The website's goal and the visitor's main action
- A description of typical customers
- A prioritised list of services
- Existing copy, photos and work samples
- Where enquiries should go and who receives them
- Access to the domain and hosting
- Websites you like
- Preferred deadline and a rough budget