A website brief is a short document that tells an agency what the site must achieve, for whom, with which pages and features, by when and within what budget, so that quotes can be compared and the project starts from shared facts. To write one, describe the business and the reason for the project, the audience and the actions you want them to take, the content and features, the technical and legal constraints, how success will be measured, and the practical terms. This guide explains each section with example answers, lists what to leave out and ends with a template you can copy.
Last updated: 21 October 2026.
Why does the brief decide the quality of the quotes?
Agencies price what they understand. A vague brief gets vague quotes, padded for risk, and they are impossible to compare because each agency has imagined a different website. A clear brief gets proposals that answer the same question, which is the only way to choose on substance rather than on presentation.
The brief also protects the project after you sign. When a debate arises about whether something was included, the brief is the first document everyone goes back to. Two readers of a good brief should picture the same website.
At Odduel, a creative and technology agency in Barcelona and São Paulo, the first thing we do with a brief on our website development service is read it back in our own words. Where our version differs from the client’s intention, the brief had a gap.
In short: a website brief is two to six pages that describe the business, the goal, the audience, the content, the features, the constraints and the terms. It should say what you need, not how to build it. It makes quotes comparable and becomes the reference for scope. The template at the end of this article covers every section.
What should a website brief include?
The sections below follow the order in which an agency reads a brief: first the business and the goal, then the people and the pages, then the constraints and the terms.
The business and the reason for the project
Describe in a few sentences what the company does, who its customers are and how it earns money. Then explain why the project is happening now. “The current site was built five years ago, does not work on phones and cannot be edited by the marketing team” gives an agency more to work with than “we need a new website”.
Name what must not change, too. A domain with years of search history, an integration the sales team relies on or a booking system customers know are all facts that shape the approach.
Goals and how you will measure them
State one primary goal and a few secondary ones, each with a measure. For example: increase qualified enquiries from the target sector; reduce support emails about delivery times; let the team publish news without a developer. If you have current figures, include them; if you do not, say so, and ask for analytics to be set up properly.
Audience and the actions you want them to take
List the main groups of visitors, what they come for and what you want them to do. A short line per group is enough: “procurement managers comparing suppliers: download the specification, request a quote”. This shapes navigation and page priorities more than any design reference.
Pages, content and features
Give a first list of pages or sections and the features the site needs: forms, search, accounts, booking, a shop, a blog, languages, integrations with a CRM or an ERP. Separate what is essential at launch from what can follow.
Be honest about content. Say who will write the text, who provides photographs and video, and how much existing content will move across. Content is the most common cause of delay in website projects, and an agency can plan for it only if it knows.
Brand, references and tone
Attach your brand guidelines, or say there are none. Name three to five sites you admire and say why, and one or two you dislike and why. The reasons matter more than the links: “clear pricing tables” or “pages that load fast on a train” tell a designer far more than a list of famous brands.
Technical, legal and accessibility requirements
Note the platform if one is required, hosting preferences, integrations, security needs and who will maintain the site. In the European Union, include data protection (consent, forms, analytics) and accessibility: since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act applies to many websites that sell to consumers, and public bodies have their own rules. If you are not sure what applies to you, say so and ask the agency to advise.
Budget, timeline and decision process
Give a budget range. Agencies do not ask to take all of it; they ask so they can propose the right scope instead of guessing. Give the launch date and any fixed event behind it, the people who will approve the work, and how you will choose between proposals.
What should you leave out of a website brief?
A brief can fail by saying too much as well as too little. Leave out these.
- Solutions disguised as requirements. “Use a carousel on the home page” closes a door; “show our three product lines prominently” leaves the best answer open.
- Every idea from every department. Collect them, then prioritise. A list of forty equal requirements means none is a priority.
- Lengthy company history. One paragraph is enough unless the history is the brand.
- Unrealistic combinations. A large scope, a short timeline and a small budget cannot all be true; say which of the three matters most.
Brief, request for proposal or specification?
These documents are often confused. The table below shows how they differ and when each is used.
| Website brief | Request for proposal (RFP) | Functional specification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written by | The client | The client, often procurement | The agency, with the client |
| Purpose | Explain the need | Run a formal selection | Define exactly what will be built |
| Length | Two to six pages | Often ten pages or more | As long as the project needs |
| Level of detail | Goals, audience, scope | Brief plus legal and selection terms | Every page, feature and rule |
| When | Before talking to agencies | Before a formal tender | After the agency is chosen |
For most private companies a good brief is enough to start. The specification follows in the agency’s discovery phase, and our website development guide explains what happens in that phase.
How do agencies read your brief?
When a brief arrives, an agency looks for a few things first: the goal, the budget range, the date, the scope of content and integrations, and who decides. Then it looks for risk: unclear content ownership, a fixed date with no room, integrations with systems nobody has documented.
A strong agency will come back with questions rather than an instant price. That is a good sign. Answer the questions in writing and share the answers with every agency you are talking to, so all proposals rest on the same facts.
A website brief template you can copy
Copy the headings below into a document and answer each in a few lines. Leave nothing blank: “not decided” is a useful answer.
- Company: what we do, for whom, how we earn money.
- Why now: the problem with the current situation and what triggered the project.
- Goals: one primary goal, up to three secondary goals, each with a measure.
- Audience: main visitor groups, what each comes for, the action we want from each.
- Must keep: domain, integrations, content or features that stay.
- Pages and sections: first list, marked essential or later.
- Features: forms, search, accounts, booking, shop, blog, languages, integrations.
- Content: who writes, who provides pictures and video, what moves across.
- Brand: guidelines attached or not; sites we admire and why; sites we dislike and why.
- Technical: platform requirements, hosting, security, who maintains the site.
- Legal and accessibility: data protection, consent, accessibility obligations we know of.
- Budget: a range, and whether it includes content, hosting and maintenance.
- Timeline: launch date, the reason for it, fixed milestones.
- People: who approves, who is the day-to-day contact.
- Selection: how and when we will choose, what we want in a proposal.
Before you send it, check the brief against the website QA checklist: many of the items tested before launch are easier to plan when they are in the brief from the start.
Questions people ask
How long should a website brief be?
Most good website briefs are two to six pages. That is enough to cover the business, goals, audience, pages, features, constraints, budget and timeline without prescribing the design. Longer documents are usually formal requests for proposal, which add selection and legal terms. Clarity matters far more than length: every section should answer a question an agency would otherwise ask.
Should I include a budget in my website brief?
Yes. A budget range lets each agency propose the scope that fits it instead of guessing, and it makes proposals comparable. Without one, you receive quotes for very different websites and cannot tell which is better value. Say whether the range includes content, hosting, maintenance and any third-party licences, so nothing is counted twice or left out.
Who should write the website brief?
The person who will own the project on the client side should write it, with input from sales, marketing, operations and whoever will maintain the site. One author keeps the document consistent and the priorities clear. Gather ideas widely, then decide what is essential at launch and what can follow, before the brief goes to any agency.
What is the difference between a brief and a specification?
The brief is written by the client before choosing an agency and explains the need: goals, audience, scope, constraints and terms. The specification is written later, usually by the agency during discovery, and defines exactly what will be built, page by page and feature by feature. The brief starts the conversation; the specification ends the scoping.
Can an agency help me write the brief?
Yes, and many will run a short paid discovery session to do it properly. The risk is that a brief written by one agency favours its own approach. If you plan to compare several agencies, write the first version yourself using a template, then share each agency’s questions and your answers with all of them.
Fill in the template, attach your brand files and send the same brief to every agency you are considering. If you would like us to read it and come back with questions, a scope and a fixed quote, see our website development service or send us your brief.
