How to write a website brief designers can use

Start with context, not a feature list

Describe what the organisation does, how it creates value and why the project exists now. Include the recent change or recurring problem that has made the current website inadequate.

Explain the commercial model in simple terms. A designer needs to know whether success means enquiries, bookings, purchases, applications, donations or a shorter support journey. That context shapes structure more than a list of visual references.

Describe real audiences and situations

Avoid broad labels such as “everyone” or “business owners”. Identify the people whose decisions matter most, what they already know, what worries them and the situation that brings them to the site.

Share the questions customers ask before they commit. Include objections, accessibility needs, device habits and any differences between the buyer and the end user. Useful audience detail is behavioural, not fictional biography.

• What triggered their visit
• What they need to compare
• What could prevent trust
• What a successful visit looks like

Make scope and responsibilities visible

List the required page types, functions, languages, integrations and compliance needs. Say what content exists, what needs rewriting, who approves it and whether photography or video is available.

State the practical constraints: target date, budget range, internal availability, technical preferences and dependencies on other teams. Hidden constraints are usually more expensive than difficult ones.

Define outcomes and invite a response

Choose a small set of measures tied to the original problem: more qualified enquiries, fewer misdirected calls, better completion on mobile, or faster publishing by the team. Avoid making rankings or visual awards the only measure.

Finish by asking the designer to explain their recommended approach, assumptions, exclusions and next decisions. The brief should begin a considered conversation rather than turn creative work into a commodity checklist.