How to write a website project brief for a small team

You contact three developers about building a website for your new business. One asks for your budget, another wants to schedule a long discovery call, and the third sends a quote based on a few lines of information. The prices and proposed features are difficult to compare because everyone is imagining a different project. Learning How to write a website project brief helps you describe what you actually need before anybody starts designing pages.

How to write a website project brief: what to include

Describe your business, the intended audience and the main action visitors should take. List the content and pages you expect, required languages, available materials, technical integrations and desired launch date. Identify who will approve the work and which requirements are essential. A short, specific document is more useful than a long collection of vague preferences.

Start with the business problem, not the design

The first section should explain why you are creating the website.

Perhaps customers currently ask the same questions on Instagram. Maybe you need a professional place to present services and collect enquiries. Or you are launching a new offer and want one page that explains it clearly.

Describe the current situation in a few sentences.

For example:

We provide professional services in Valencia. Most customers currently contact us through recommendations or WhatsApp. We want a website where potential clients can understand our services and send a request for a quotation.

That statement tells the developer what the site should accomplish.

It is more useful than writing «We want a modern and beautiful website».

Words such as modern, premium and professional are subjective. They can help communicate a preference, but they do not define a deliverable.

Focus on what visitors must understand and what they should be able to do.

If your business already has a website, explain what is not working. A redesign and a new project may require different information.

Identify the people who will use the website

You do not need an elaborate marketing research document.

Start with the customers you already serve or are preparing to serve.

Are they local residents, international clients living in Spain or businesses operating in several countries?

Which languages can you actually use when responding to them?

What questions do customers normally ask before deciding to contact you?

For example, a visitor may need to confirm that you operate in their area, understand how consultations work or see examples of previous work.

Those details can influence the website's structure.

Avoid describing your audience as «everyone aged 18 to 65». Such a broad definition rarely helps the developer decide what information belongs on the page.

If you have several distinct customer groups, explain their different needs.

But do not automatically request a separate website for each one.

The brief should describe the audience, while the proposed solution can determine how best to organise the content.

List the pages and features you believe you need

You do not have to design the entire sitemap yourself.

A preliminary list is enough to begin the discussion.

For example, you might expect a homepage, services section, about page and contact page.

Specify whether you need a separate page for each service or whether a single overview might be sufficient.

Then describe required functionality.

A contact form and a WhatsApp button are specific requests. «An interactive website» is not.

If you need appointment booking, explain how appointments are currently managed and whether you use an existing calendar tool.

If you need analytics, identify the actions you want to measure.

If you want several languages, list them and clarify who will supply or approve the translations.

Keep required features separate from ideas that might be useful later.

A developer can suggest alternatives when the business goal is clear.

What does a small website brief look like?

Here is an illustrative example for a business requesting a straightforward landing page.

This is a starting document, not a complete technical specification.

It gives the developer enough context to ask useful follow-up questions and recommend a suitable scope.

At Skyba Tech, Landing Express costs 290 € excluding IVA. It includes one page with up to five sections, a contact form, WhatsApp button, basic SEO and configuration of the domain and hosting, with a seven-day launch.

That package is relevant only when the requested scope fits its conditions.

A brief containing appointment integrations, multiple languages and extensive custom features should not be treated as if it were automatically covered by the same package.

The purpose of the document is to reveal those differences early.

Include content ownership and responsibilities

A surprising amount of website work can be delayed because nobody knows who is responsible for supplying the materials.

Write down whether you already have a logo, photographs, descriptions of services and contact information.

If the content is not ready, say so.

Do not describe unfinished text as approved material.

Clarify who will prepare the final wording and who has authority to approve it.

If multiple business partners need to review the website, identify one person who will collect their feedback.

Otherwise, the developer may receive contradictory requests in separate conversations.

Also establish who controls the domain and hosting.

A business should understand whether these services will be registered in its own name and how it will receive access after launch.

Ask about source code delivery when that is relevant to your project.

At Skyba Tech, clients receive their code, with domain and hosting under their own names.

Make the ownership arrangement explicit rather than assuming every provider works in the same way.

Define the deadline carefully

A desired launch date is useful, but it should be connected to real requirements.

For example, you might need the website before opening a physical location or launching an advertising campaign.

Include the reason for the date and any fixed event that cannot move.

Then explain which materials are already available.

A seven-day development promise does not mean a project can begin without decisions, text or access to the necessary accounts.

If you have not finalised your services, you may need to resolve those questions first.

Distinguish between the desired date and the latest acceptable launch date.

Also identify who will be available to review drafts.

A business owner who is travelling during the approval stage can unintentionally delay publication.

If the deadline is genuinely fixed, ask the developer which features can be delivered within the available scope.

Do not use urgency as a reason to skip testing the contact form or confirming ownership of the domain.

Should you include your budget?

Yes, when you have a realistic budget or spending limit.

You do not have to disclose every financial detail of the business.

However, providing a budget range can help the developer explain which solutions are appropriate.

Without that information, one provider may propose a custom corporate website while another suggests a single landing page.

Comparing the prices would then tell you little about which proposal suits your needs.

Ask for clear inclusions and exclusions.

For example, establish whether the price covers text writing, translations, photographs, domain registration, third-party subscriptions and future changes.

Also ask how payments are divided.

Skyba Tech uses an advance payment of 30–50%, with the balance paid after launch. Its published prices exclude IVA.

A written brief makes it easier to check that the quote addresses your actual project rather than a different set of assumptions.

How to describe design preferences

Collect a small number of websites that demonstrate specific features you like.

Explain what you are pointing to.

Perhaps you like how one site organises its services or how another presents contact information on mobile.

Do not simply send a collection of screenshots and say «Make something like this».

The developer needs to know whether your preference concerns layout, typography, navigation or content structure.

Also explain what you want to avoid.

If your customers usually contact you by phone, hiding the number behind several menu levels may be a poor choice.

A practical brief connects design decisions to the visitor's needs.

It does not require you to choose every colour, margin or animation before development begins.

Leave room for the developer to recommend appropriate solutions.

What should happen after the brief is approved?

The developer should be able to translate the brief into a defined scope.

That usually means confirming the deliverables, responsibilities, timing, payment terms and process for handling changes.

If a requested feature remains unclear, resolve it before treating the estimate as final.

A useful project discussion should also cover how the website will be tested and what access the client receives after launch.

Keep one approved version of the brief.

If you later request another language or an additional booking integration, record that as a change rather than assuming it was included from the beginning.

This avoids disputes caused by different recollections of the same conversation.

When you do not need to hire someone to prepare the brief

For a small landing page, you can usually write the first version yourself.

You do not need a separate consultant, a lengthy workshop or an expensive requirements document.

A couple of pages containing clear business information may be enough.

If you have no paying customers yet and are still testing whether a service has demand, it may be better to validate the offer before investing in a full website project.

How to write a website project brief is mainly about explaining your needs clearly enough that the developer can make a practical recommendation.

If you have a draft brief and want to check whether it fits a landing or corporate website, contact Skyba Tech on WhatsApp.