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A website brief in ten minutes, not a ten-page document
A website brief is a short document that tells an agency what the website is for, who it has to reach and what it has to do. It is not a technical specification. You do not need to know which CMS or hosting you want; you need to know your business, your customers and what a good result looks like.
The generator asks the questions an agency would ask in the first call. Skip what you do not know yet, open points are useful information too. The brief works with us and with any other studio or freelancer.
Your brief
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Why a brief makes website quotes comparable
Send “we need a new website” to five agencies and you get five offers between €1,500 and €15,000. Usually nobody is lying: each one has guessed a different project. One imagined five pages with your existing texts, another a twenty-page site with a booking system, new photography and two languages.
With the same brief in every inbox, the differences that remain are real: process, experience, what is included after launch. That is what you actually want to compare. Our guide on how to choose a web design agency covers the questions to ask once the offers are in.
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What a good website brief contains
These are the parts that move a quote. A brief that covers them is usually one to two pages long.
| Section | What to write | Why it changes the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Business and goal | What you do, and the one thing the site must achieve: enquiries, sales, bookings, applications | Decides structure and calls to action, and which features are essential |
| Audience | Who your customers are, where they come from, what they need to know before contacting you | Shapes content depth, tone and languages |
| Pages | A rough list of pages or sections, even if it is only a guess | Number of page templates is the biggest design cost |
| Features | Forms, shop, bookings, newsletter, customer login, connections to CRM, ERP or till systems | Integrations are where estimates differ most |
| Languages | Which languages at launch, which later, who translates | Each language multiplies content work and SEO setup |
| Content and brand | Are texts, photos and logo ready, partly there or still to be made? | Copywriting and photography can cost as much as the build |
| Current website | Address, what works, which pages bring traffic | A redesign needs redirects so rankings survive |
| Examples | Two or three sites you like, and what exactly you like about them | Saves a design round; “why” matters more than “which” |
| Budget and date | A range and a realistic launch date, plus any fixed event | Lets the agency propose the right scope instead of the biggest one |
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Brief, requirements document or specification?
You will come across all three terms. For a small or mid-sized business website the brief is usually enough.
Website brief
Written by you. Goals, audience, scope and budget in plain language. The basis for a first quote and a discovery call.
Requirements document
Also written by the client, but more formal: numbered requirements, acceptance criteria. Common in larger companies and public tenders.
Technical specification
Written by the agency after the brief or requirements: how exactly each requirement is built. Part of the offer or of the project kickoff.
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How agencies quote from a brief
- 01
Scope the pages
They count page templates (home, service, article, contact) rather than individual pages, and estimate design and build time per template.
- 02
Price the features
Every form, booking flow, shop function and integration gets its own estimate. Unclear features get a buffer.
- 03
Weigh the content
Ready texts and photos cost little to place. Missing content means copywriting, translation or a photo shoot on top.
- 04
Add risk
Everything the brief leaves open is priced as risk. The vaguer the brief, the higher or wider the quote.
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Common mistakes in website briefs
- Only describing the look. “Modern and clean” says nothing about what the site has to do. Start with the goal.
- Hiding the budget. Without a range, agencies quote either their smallest or their biggest package. A range is not a negotiating weakness, it gets you the right proposal.
- Forgetting content. Most delays come from texts and photos that are “almost ready” for weeks. Say honestly where you stand.
- Ignoring the old site. If your current website brings visitors from Google, the brief should say so. Our website redesign checklist explains what to protect.
- Listing features nobody uses. Every extra function costs money to build and to maintain. Ask for each one: who uses this, and how often?
- No decision maker. Name who approves designs and texts. Projects with five approvers take twice as long.
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What happens when you send your brief to us
- 01
You unlock and send it
Enter your name and email under the brief. It reaches us as an enquiry, and you can copy or download it straight away to share it with other providers too.
- 02
We read it and reply
If points are open, we reply with a few specific questions. If the brief is clear, we suggest a short call.
- 03
Fixed quote
After the call you get a fixed quote, not an hourly estimate. Websites start at €1,500 and most go live in 2–6 weeks.
- 04
No obligation
The quote is yours to compare. If you go ahead, we work with a 50 % deposit and 50 % at launch.
FAQ
Common questions
01What should a website brief include?
The business and the main goal of the site, the audience, a rough list of pages, the features you need, languages, the state of your texts, photos and logo, your current website, examples you like, a budget range and a target launch date.
02How long should a website brief be?
For a business website, one to two pages is enough. Longer is not better: the agency needs the decisions that change scope, not a description of every page.
03Should I put my budget in the brief?
Yes, as a range. It lets the agency propose a scope that fits instead of guessing. Our article on what a website costs, linked below, gives market ranges to orient yourself.
04Is the brief generator free, and what happens with my details?
It is free. Your answers stay in your browser until you unlock the brief with your name and email. Then the brief reaches us as an enquiry, and we use it only to reply with questions or a quote.
05Can I use the brief with other agencies?
Yes. Download it or copy the text and send it to as many providers as you like. That is exactly how you get comparable quotes.