What should a website brief include?

A good website brief answers seven key questions: what the site needs to accomplish, who the audience is, what pages are needed, what content you already have, what the design style should feel like, what the budget and timeline are, and how you will measure success. Writing these down before hiring a designer saves time, money, and frustration.

How long should a website brief be?

One to two pages is ideal. The brief is a decision-making document, not a novel. Clear bullet points and short paragraphs are easier for a designer to work with than pages of unstructured prose.

Do I need a website brief if I am hiring a small agency?

Yes. Even a one-person studio or freelance designer benefits from a brief. It sets expectations, reduces revision rounds, and helps the designer give you an accurate quote. A brief is especially important for small agencies because they often juggle multiple projects and need clear direction to prioritize your work.

How to Write a Website Brief That Gets You the Site You Actually Want

If you have ever hired someone to build a website and ended up with something that did not match what you pictured, the problem was almost certainly not the designer. It was that nobody wrote down what the site was supposed to do.

A website brief is a short document that answers a handful of questions about what you need, who it is for, and what success looks like. It does not need to be fancy. One to two pages of clear answers is enough to save you weeks of back-and-forth and revision rounds.

Here are the seven questions every Northern Ontario business owner should answer before starting a website project.

What is the website supposed to accomplish?

Every website exists to do something. Get phone calls. Sell products. Book appointments. Show your work. If you cannot answer this in one sentence, the designer cannot build the right site. Write down the single most important action you want a visitor to take.

Who is the audience?

Your website is not for everyone. It is for the specific people who might become customers. Are they homeowners in Sudbury looking for a plumber? Business owners in North Bay comparing hosting providers? Parents in Thunder Bay researching camps? The more specific you can be, the better the site will speak to them.

What pages do you actually need?

Most small business websites need surprisingly few pages: a homepage, an about page, a services or pricing page, a contact page, and maybe a blog or portfolio. Listing the pages you need forces you to think about your content before the design starts, not after.

What content do you already have?

Photos, logos, written copy, product descriptions, testimonials. Gather what exists before the project kicks off. If you do not have professional photos, note that as something to budget for. If you do not have written copy, say so. A designer who knows you need copy can plan the timeline accordingly.

Tip: If you are not sure what content you have, do a quick audit. Open a folder on your computer and drop in every logo file, photo, and document that describes your business. That folder is your starting inventory.

What should the site feel like?

You do not need to know design terminology. But you do know what you like. Pick three websites you admire and note what you like about each one. "I like how this site is clean and simple" or "I like the colours on this one" is enough for a designer to understand your taste. Be honest about what you do not like too.

What is your budget and timeline?

Neither has to be precise. Saying "roughly $2,000 to $4,000 and I need it live by October" gives a designer the information they need to scope the project correctly. A good designer will tell you whether your budget matches your goals, and adjust scope if needed. What they cannot do is build a $5,000 site for $500 without cutting corners.

How will you measure success?

This is the question most people skip, and it matters more than any design choice. "I want 10 more phone calls a month" or "I want to show up when people search for my service in my city" is a measurable outcome. It also tells the designer what to optimize for. A site built to generate phone calls looks and works differently than one built to showcase a portfolio.

The bottom line: A website brief does not need to be a formal document. A Notes app file with answers to these seven questions is enough. The point is clarity, not perfection. When both you and your designer know what success looks like before a single line of code is written, the project goes faster, costs less, and ends with a site you are actually happy with.

If you are getting ready to start a website project and want help thinking through what you need, get in touch with SuperStack. We work with Northern Ontario businesses on web hosting, design, and AI visibility -- and a good brief is always the first step.