Website Project Brief: A Simple Template to Plan Your Project
Goals, pages, features, content, budget: a clear website project brief saves you time and lets you compare quotes side by side. Here’s a simple template, section by section, that you can fill out in an hour.
Before you ask for quotes for your website, take an hour to put your project in writing. A website project brief (sometimes called a website requirements document), even a short one, prevents misunderstandings, speeds up the design process and lets you compare proposals that are truly like-for-like. You don’t need a fifty-page technical document: here’s a simple template, section by section, that you can fill out yourself.
Why write a website project brief?
- To clarify your ideas: writing forces you to make choices (which pages, which priorities, what budget).
- To get comparable quotes: every provider prices the same project, not their own interpretation of it.
- To avoid surprises: what’s written down is planned; anything that isn’t gets discussed before, not after.
- To save time: the provider understands your project from the very first conversation.
The template, section by section
1. Your business in a few lines
Who are you, what do you do, since when, and where? What are your values, and what sets you apart from your competitors? These details shape the tone of the site and its design.
2. The site’s goals
This is the most important section. What should your website do for you?
- bring in quote or appointment requests;
- get found on Google in your city or region;
- showcase your work and reassure prospects;
- sell online;
- recruit.
Rank your goals by priority: they’ll guide every decision that follows.
3. Your target audience
Who is the site for? Consumers or businesses, age, industry, location, what they’re looking for and what makes them hesitate. A website for a medical practice’s patients isn’t designed the same way as one for industrial buyers.
4. The pages you want (the sitemap)
List the pages you have in mind, for example:
- Home
- Services (one page per key service)
- Projects or portfolio
- About
- Client reviews
- Blog
- Contact
One page per service is generally better than a single page that lists everything: it’s clearer for your visitors and far more effective for SEO.
5. Features
Write down what the site needs to do: contact form, online booking, gallery, blog, multilingual version, online store, members area, review integration… Separate what’s essential at launch from what can come later: a well-built site is easy to expand.
6. Design and visual identity
- Do you have a logo, brand guidelines, required colors?
- Which websites do you like, and why (design, clarity, atmosphere)?
- Which websites do you dislike?
- What impression do you want to leave: serious, warm, high-end, dynamic?
Three or four examples with comments are worth more than a long description. That’s the starting point for UI/UX web design: mockups that capture your image before any development begins.
7. Content
Who’s providing the copy, photos and videos? Does the copy need to be written from scratch or optimized for SEO? Do you have professional photos of your premises, your team, your work? Content is often what delays a project the most: plan for it early.
8. Technical details
- Do you already have a domain name and hosting? With which provider?
- Does an existing site need to be carried over (content, page URLs to keep)?
- Do you want to edit the site yourself after launch?
- Do you need maintenance (updates, backups, security)?
9. Budget and timeline
Give a budget range, even a rough one: it makes it possible to suggest the best-fit solution rather than an off-target quote. Also specify your desired launch date and any constraints (trade show, grand opening, launch of a new offer). For a benchmark, check out my article on how much a WordPress website costs.
Your website project brief template to copy
Here’s the outline to copy as-is into a document:
- Business: what you do, city, strengths, competitors.
- Goals: three goals ranked by priority.
- Audience: who your customers are and what they’re looking for.
- Pages: list of the pages you want.
- Features: essential at launch, then planned for later.
- Design: logo and brand guidelines, sites you like and why, desired impression.
- Content: copy, photos, videos, and who provides them.
- Technical: domain, hosting, existing site, editing on your own, maintenance.
- Budget and timeline: range, target date, constraints.
Common mistakes
- Describing the technology before the goals: the tool should be chosen to fit the need, not the other way around.
- Wanting everything at launch: better to have a simple site that goes live quickly and grows from there.
- Forgetting about content: a beautiful design with no copy or photos can’t go live.
- Keeping your budget secret: without a range, there’s no way to propose the best-fit solution.
What if you don’t have time?
No worries: a project brief can also be put together as a team. During a free first meeting, I’ll ask you the right questions, then turn your needs into a clear proposal: sitemap, features, schedule and quote. You can also see how a WordPress website design project unfolds, step by step.
Do I need a project brief for a small brochure website?
Yes, even a short one. One or two pages are enough for a brochure website: they clarify your goals, prevent misunderstandings and help you get quotes you can actually compare.
How long should a website project brief be?
For a brochure website, two to five pages is plenty. What matters isn’t the length but the clarity of your goals, your list of pages and the features you expect.
Can the web designer help me write the project brief?
Yes. That’s exactly what the first meeting is for: we go over your project together, and based on your answers, I put your needs in writing and propose a sitemap and a clear quote.
