Ask three agencies to quote for “a new website” and you will get three numbers that have nothing to do with each other. One agency pictured five pages on a template, another pictured forty pages with a booking system, and the third padded its price because it could not tell. A clear website brief fixes most of this. It gives every agency the same picture, so the quotes you get back can be compared and the one you sign is less likely to grow halfway through the build.
This guide covers what a website brief should contain, how much detail is enough, and a template you can copy into a document today.
What a website brief is for
A brief is a short document, usually two to five pages, that tells a designer or developer what the site has to do for your business. It is not a design. You do not need wireframes or colour palettes. You need to describe the job the website does, who it is for, what it must include, and the limits on time and budget.
Agencies price risk. Every unclear line in a brief becomes a guess, and guesses get priced on the high side or left out and charged later as a change request. The aim of the brief is to remove as many guesses as possible.
The sections every website brief needs
1. About the business
Two or three paragraphs: what you sell, who buys it, where you operate and how you make money. Mention anything that affects the site, such as serving customers in both India and the UAE, or selling to businesses rather than consumers.
2. The goal of the website
Pick one main goal and say how you will measure it. “Get more enquiries from facility managers in Dubai” is a goal. “Look modern” is a preference. If the site has a second job, such as hiring or investor credibility, list it separately so the agency knows its priority.
3. Who will use it
Describe two or three types of visitor and what each one needs to find. A Pune bakery taking wholesale orders, for example, has cafe owners who want price lists and minimum order sizes, and walk-in customers who want opening hours and a map. Those are different pages with different calls to action.
4. Pages and content
List the pages you expect, even roughly. Then say who writes the words and supplies the photos. This line moves quotes more than almost anything else. Copywriting, photography and translation are separate pieces of work, and if the agency has to do them it needs to know now.
5. Features and integrations
Write down anything the site has to do beyond showing pages: contact forms, bookings, payments, a blog, a customer login, WhatsApp chat, a CRM connection, multiple languages. For each one, name the tool you already use if there is one. “Send form entries to our Zoho CRM” is far easier to price than “connect to our systems”.
6. Content management
Say who will update the site after launch and how often. A team that posts weekly needs an editor they can use without a developer. A site that changes twice a year can be simpler. If you have a preference for WordPress, Webflow or something else, mention it, but you can also ask the agency to recommend one.
7. Examples you like and dislike
Add three to five links to sites you like, with one line on what you like about each. Add one or two you dislike. This is faster than describing a style in words.
8. Technical details
Do you already own a domain? Who controls the DNS? Is there an existing site with traffic that must not be lost? Any hosting you are tied to? If an old site exists, say so clearly, because moving it without losing search rankings needs planning of its own.
9. Timeline and budget
Give a launch date and say whether it is fixed (a trade show, a funding round) or flexible. Give a budget range too. Many founders hold this back, thinking it protects them. In practice it means agencies guess at the level of finish you expect. A range lets them propose what fits, and tell you honestly if it does not.
10. How you will decide
Say who signs off on the work, how many people give feedback and when you will choose an agency. Agencies plan their time around this.
A website brief template you can copy
- Business: what we do, who we serve, where
- Main goal: one sentence, plus how we will measure it
- Second goals, if any
- Visitor types: two or three, with what each needs
- Page list: rough is fine
- Content: who writes copy, who supplies photos, any translation needed
- Features: forms, bookings, payments, logins, languages, integrations (with tool names)
- Updates after launch: who, how often
- Examples: liked and disliked, with a reason for each
- Existing assets: domain, hosting, current site and its traffic, brand guidelines
- Launch date: fixed or flexible, and why
- Budget range
- Decision makers and decision date
Mistakes that make quotes unreliable
- Writing features as wishes. “Maybe an app later” leaves the agency wondering whether to plan for it now. Separate “must have at launch” from “later”.
- Leaving content ownership vague. If nobody owns the words, the project stalls at the point where the design is ready and the pages are empty.
- Asking for a fixed price with an open scope. A fixed price only works when the scope is written down. Otherwise you are buying an argument.
- Sending different information to different agencies. If you clarify something for one, send the update to all of them.
- Skipping the existing site. A redesign of a site with years of search traffic is a different project from a fresh build.
What to expect back
A good agency will come back with questions before it quotes. That is a good sign. It means they read the brief and found the gaps. Once those are answered, you should receive a written scope listing pages, features, what is included and what is not, a price, and a timeline with milestones.
At Emberoot every website project starts with a free 30-minute call, then a written scope with price and timeline agreed before any work begins. If you are not yet sure what the site should do for the business, that is often a strategy question to settle first, and the brief gets much easier afterwards.
If you have a draft brief and want a second pair of eyes on it, book a short call and we will go through it with you.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a website brief be?
Most briefs for small and mid-sized business sites fit in two to five pages. Length matters less than coverage: goal, audience, page list, content ownership, features, existing assets, timeline and budget. A one-page brief that covers all of those is better than ten pages of brand history that leave out who writes the copy.
Should I share my budget in a website brief?
Sharing a range usually gets you better quotes. Without it, agencies guess the level of design, content and functionality you expect, and their guesses vary widely. A range lets each agency propose what fits and tell you early if your scope and budget do not match, which saves both sides time.
What is the difference between a website brief and a scope of work?
You write the brief. It describes your goals, needs and limits. The agency writes the scope of work in response. It lists exactly what they will deliver, what is excluded, the price, the timeline and the milestones. The scope is what you sign, so check that every must-have from your brief appears in it.