How to Write a Website Brief Before You Contact an Agency

The fate of a web project is often decided long before the first design mockup, in the very first conversation with an agency. Businesses that can explain clearly what they need get more accurate proposals, go through fewer revision rounds and end up with a site that actually does its job. The most effective tool for this is a well-prepared website brief. This article covers the questions to answer before you contact an agency and how to turn the answers into a short, practical document. You do not need a long specification; for most projects, two or three clear pages are enough.

What a good brief changes

A brief is a shared reference that makes sure the agency sees the project the way you do. Without one, every agency fills the gaps with its own assumptions, and the proposals you receive become impossible to compare.

A good brief also aligns your own team. Management, sales and marketing often expect different things from the website, and it is far easier to settle those differences before the project starts than to change direction halfway through.

Goals: what is the site for?

We need a modern website is not a goal. The goal is what the site will change for your business. Pick one or two main goals and write down how each will be measured.

• Increase the number of quote requests or enquiries.
• Start selling online or grow existing online sales.
• Enter a new market, such as Spain or the Gulf.
• Reduce repetitive questions coming in by phone.
• Build credibility and collect dealer or partner applications.

Audience and user scenarios

Describe who will visit your site as concretely as you can. Demographics such as age and location matter less than why visitors arrive and what they want to find.

Short user scenarios are extremely useful. For example: a hotel owner in Almería feels their current site is slow on mobile and wants to see similar projects and request a quote quickly. That one sentence tells the agency which pages, which content and which button matter most. Writing scenarios like this for two or three main visitor types is enough.

Scope and sitemap

A sitemap shows which pages the site will have and how they connect. It does not need to be final, since the agency will refine it with you, but a rough draft is the quickest way to understand the size of the project. A simple structure for a service business might look like this:

Home
├── Services
│   ├── Service A
│   ├── Service B
│   └── Service C
├── Projects / Case studies
├── About us
├── Blog
├── FAQ
└── Contact / Get a quote

Content: the item that slips most often

In our experience, most web projects are delayed not by design or development but by content that is not ready on time. Make it clear in the brief who is responsible for content.

• Will you write the copy, or do you need copywriting support?
• Which content from the current site stays, and which needs rewriting?
• Do you need professional photography or video?
• Are logo and brand identity files ready, or do they need updating?
• How many languages will the site have, and who will translate?
• Who will keep the blog or news section updated after launch?

References: what you like and why

Sharing websites you like explains your taste better than pages of description. But a list of links is not enough; note exactly what you like about each one. The colours, the simple navigation, the product filters, the tone of the copy?

Add examples you dislike as well. Knowing what you do not want stops the agency heading in the wrong direction. List your main competitors’ sites too, and say how you want to stand apart from them.

Technical needs and integrations

You do not need to know the technical details, but you do need to know which systems the site has to talk to. These answers have a direct impact on scope and timeline.

• Do you need a content management system so you can edit pages yourself?
• Does the site need to connect to a CRM, ERP, accounting or stock system?
• Do you need online payments, appointments or bookings?
• Is there a login area, dealer portal or customer account?
• Who owns the domain and hosting, and who holds the access details?
• Is a redirect plan needed to protect search traffic from the current site?

Timeline and decision-making

Write down your target launch date and why it matters: a trade fair, the start of a season or a product launch. If the date is flexible, say so; flexibility allows for better planning.

Be clear about who makes decisions and how approvals work. Having one person responsible at each stage, with feedback collected and sent through a single channel, shortens revision rounds considerably. Even if you would rather not name an exact budget, sharing a range helps the agency propose a realistic scope.

Website brief checklist

Before sending your brief, make sure it covers the following:

• A short introduction to your company and what it does
• One or two main goals and how they will be measured
• Target audience and two or three user scenarios
• A rough sitemap and the language versions
• Content responsibilities and existing materials
• Reference sites you like and dislike, plus competitors
• Technical needs and integrations
• Target date, decision-maker and approval process

A brief is a starting point

Your brief does not need to be perfect; its job is to start the conversation in the right place. A good agency will read it, ask questions, challenge some assumptions and possibly suggest better alternatives. That is a sign the process is working.

If you get stuck while preparing it, a short initial call with the Norcored team can help you clarify goals and scope together.

FAQ

How long should a website brief be?

For most company websites or small online shops, two or three pages are enough. What matters is clarity on goals, scope and responsibilities, not length.

Should I prepare the sitemap myself?

A rough draft is helpful, but it does not need to be final. The agency will refine the structure with you from a user experience and SEO point of view.

I am not technical. Can I still write a brief?

Yes. A brief describes business needs, not a technical specification. Simply explain which systems you use and what the site needs to do, in plain language.