How to Create a Web Design Brief That Designers Actually Love

It is not easy to create a web design brief. It is an important document that is crucial to get right. Here, we want to discuss what to include in a good brief and provide some general advice on the matter. 

What Is a Web Design Brief

Web design brief is a document that includes all your requirements and constraints for a web design project. It can be for a design of a new website or a redesign, for example. But in any case, the brief will include all the information your web designer or team needs to know to carry out the project. 

A web design brief is very helpful in the following ways.

• A brief communicates what you want from the project efficiently. That means reducing possible miscommunications, which are usually very costly!
• A brief helps you determine whether the web designer or team fit your goals. The web designer will also be able to tell if they fit your requirements based on the brief.
• A brief helps you assess the results of the project in the end. Indeed, as briefs usually contain goals, they help to assess if those are achieved. 

Key Components of a Web Design Brief

As you sit down to write your web design brief, you might realize that you have a lot to share. However, some of that information is crucial for a brief; it really needs to appear in one form or another. Here, let us consider the most important data to include.

Your Company

Your project depends in many ways on the company it is created for, its values, and its audience. The existing website also matters. Consider providing the following information.

• Your company. Indeed, many business owners forget to write about their company in their web design brief. That is a major mistake! Your website is the face of your business. Therefore, it needs to be aligned with what your company does and how it does that. It is also important to include vision, mission, and details about the main products or services.
• Your audience. Your web designer needs to know who is going to use the website. So include all the key information you have about your audience in the brief. Where the audience lives, what their likes and dislikes are, and why they use your products or services. In fact, most information you have about your audience is important.
• Your website. What do you use (or plan to use) your website for? For example, it can be brand awareness, lead generation, as well as sales. The purpose of the website defines how it is going to be designed.
• Why do you want to redesign your website? If you already have a website, it is a goldmine of information. Analyze it — or have it analyzed — and write in the brief what was wrong with it. If nothing is actually wrong, perhaps, you want to improve something about it? The metrics of the old website are crucial for your web designer to know. However, you can also tell them that it is simply time for a change. Nothing has to be wrong with the old website. Just remember to state it if something does need to improve. 

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.

Tony Robbins, author.

This Project

Consider the specifics of why this web design brief even exists. 

• Scope. Tell the designer what you want them to do.  What should the redesign entail and what should the new website consist of? This is where you write about the specific features and even pages that should appear on your website. A website map is a good idea. If you want to use a particular tool, this information should also be included. For example, if you want to choose WordPress like so many Internet users, you should state that.
• Goals. Do you want to increase awareness of your brand? Improve conversions? Make visitors spend more time on your website? Don’t forget to make the goals measurable and specific. For example, you might want to increase conversions by 15% within the first three months of the launch of your new website. Use goals that are realistic and make sense for your business.
• Budget. You need to always discuss the budget early on to make sure that you are compatible with your web designer. The costs of website design and redesign vary a lot. The combination of the scope of your project and budget is important to think through. If you are not sure what price is fair, consider negotiation with designers and consultations with other businesses.
• Deadlines. Naturally, deadlines are a crucial topic. Note that deadlines can affect the budget. Many designers offer a redesign in 30 days as a special, pricey option. The more time you have, the better the redesign is for your bottom line.
• Your involvement in the project. Will you be observing the process? Will you be rather hands-on and request frequent updates? You do not have to be. But you need your web designer to know which you prefer: watching the project closely or not. 

Additional Information

Aside from the key topics in a brief, additional information can be needed. It depends on your needs and your designer’s requests. Let’s consider a few topics.

Design and Images

If your organization has a brandbook, this is the time to show it. If not, you can provide recommendations on what you want your website to look like. There can be other, additional materials like brochures or even business cards that can guide your web designer.

The same goes for images — or any content really. Do you already have the content you want to use or will you need it to be created? That is an important thing to tell your web designer.

Competitors

If you have competitor analysis, it is great — share it in your brief. If you do not, still consider researching your competitors and finding what you like about their websites. You can simply reference them as inspiration if you do not have the hard data. 

Revisions

Most web designers offer a number of free-of-charge revisions for their projects. However, do not just hope that the designer will provide those. Write it down in the brief how many revisions you want free of charge. If you are not sure whether your request is reasonable, negotiate with your designer (or several).

General Advice on Creating the Perfect a Web Design Brief

You know what to include in a brief now. Let’s talk about a few best practices as well.

• Even before you begin working on the brief, you can already start your collaboration with the web designer. Do you have questions? Ask away! A competent web designer (or team) will help you right away. If they refuse to, they might not be a good match. 
• If you do not know whether to add something to the brief, ask your web designer too. In fact, it is a good opportunity to test their communication skills. 
• The ideal web design brief is between 4 and 10 pages. It is very important to include as much useful information as possible. However, making the brief too long is a bad idea. Useless details will distract the web designer without helping much. If you do not know what information is useful, you can always ask your designer. 
• After the work is done, make sure to check if your goals set in the brief are achieved. That is a good way to determine whether your collaboration with this web designer was successful. You can use the experience for future projects, deciding whether you want to continue working with this designer.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, a web design brief can include a variety of information. The most important details are related to your company and the project itself. However, you might want to discuss more depending on your needs. Provide your web designer with a good brief and use it to create goals that will help you measure success.