Write a website brief suppliers can quote against

01

What is a website brief and why does it matter?

A website brief is a written description of what a website must do, for whom, with what content and within what limits. It matters because a developer can only price and build what is written down. A vague brief leads to guesses, extra rounds of changes and quotes that cannot be compared.

The GOV.UK Service Manual is written for government teams, but its first rule suits any project: "When designing a government service, always start by learning about the people who will use it." A brief built on customer needs is easier to build and test than one built on a page list.

02

What are the six sections of a website brief?

The six sections are business, goals, content, design preferences, technical requirements and budget. Each answers one question a developer must settle before pricing: who you are, what the site must achieve, what material exists, how it should feel, what it must connect to, and what you can spend.

03

What should I write about my business and my customers?

Write who you are, what you sell, who buys it and why they choose you. Add your legal details and main competitors. The developer uses this to decide what the site should say first and to whom, so plain facts beat slogans.

This section also holds your legal details, because the finished site must show them. GOV.UK says a limited company must show its registered number, registered office address and the nation it is registered in on business letters, order forms and websites. If you name directors, you must name all of them.

Sole traders, partnerships and online sellers have other rules. Check the latest position on gov.uk and tell your developer which apply.

04

How do I set website goals that a developer can build and test?

Pick one main goal, such as more phone calls or more bookings, then describe what visitors need to do in the form "I need to... so that...". Add how you will measure it. A testable goal beats "look professional" or "get more traffic".

The GOV.UK Service Manual says the goal is the most important part of a user story, and that if you struggle to write it you should reconsider the feature. Add two or three measures, such as calls or bookings, with today's figure or "not tracked", so you can tell later whether the new site did better.

Avoid goals nobody can check, such as "rank first on Google". No supplier controls what Google shows each person.

05

What content should I prepare, and who owns it?

List the pages you expect, the text and images you have, and who will write the rest. Say who will own the finished site. Unless a written agreement says otherwise, the creator of a work is its first copyright owner, so ownership must be agreed in the contract.

Content often runs late, because pages cannot be finished without your words and photos.

Intellectual Property Office guidance on GOV.UK says the first owner of copyright is "the person or organisation that created the work and not you the commissioner". If the contract is silent, a court may find only a limited, non-exclusive licence for the work's intended purpose. Ask each supplier to state who owns the design, code and content once you have paid.

Every form also needs privacy information where details are collected. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) publishes what it must include.

06

How do I describe the look and feel I want?

Show rather than describe. Name two or three sites you like and one you dislike, say why, and list your logo, colours and fonts. Then state basic usability needs, such as readable text contrast, so the developer designs for them from the start.

Words like "clean" and "modern" mean different things to different people. Examples remove the guesswork.

07

What technical requirements should a website brief include?

Say who will hold the domain and hosting, which tools the site must connect to, who will edit it after launch, what performance target it must meet, and which old addresses must redirect. Plain descriptions of what must work are enough. The developer chooses the technology.

The technical section describes what the site must do and connect to, not how to build it. Two items carry sourced rules.

Google also says not to send many old addresses to one unrelated page such as the home page, and to expect temporary ranking fluctuation during a move.

08

How should I describe my budget and timeline?

Give a realistic range for the one-off build, a separate figure for yearly running costs, and the date you need the site live with the reason. Suppliers can then propose what fits, instead of quoting for everything or guessing what you can afford.

Holding the budget back makes quotes harder to compare, because each supplier guesses a different size of job. Separate one-off costs, yearly costs (domain, hosting, licences, updates, support) and your own time for reviewing work.

For the timeline, give a launch date and the reason for it. Delays can come from late content or slow feedback as well as the build.

09

How do I use the brief to compare quotes and avoid scope creep?

Send the same brief to each supplier, ask for a written scope that follows its six sections, and compare year-one and yearly costs side by side. Then agree acceptance criteria and a change process in writing, so extra requests are priced and approved before work happens.

1. 01
   Send the same brief to three suppliers

   Use one deadline for questions and share each answer with everyone.

2. 02
   Ask for a written scope

   List pages, features, connections, content work, testing and training, matched to your six sections.

3. 03
   Compare like with likeFull step in the download ↓
4. 04
   Agree acceptance criteriaFull step in the download ↓
5. 05
   Agree how changes are handledFull step in the download ↓

Scope creep is work added without being priced or approved. A brief gives both sides a written baseline.

10

Why do website briefs fail, and how do I stop that?

Briefs fail when they list features instead of customer needs, leave out limits such as budget, content and ownership, or give no way to test the result. Completing all six sections helps avoid this.

Ask someone outside the business what they think the site is for. If their answer differs from yours, fix the brief first.

Reeve Consult builds websites and apps for UK businesses, and you can contact us to talk through a brief, but this method works with any supplier.