Website Development Brief Template
Define the job
Business and contact owner: __. Main audience: __. Primary offer: __. Launch goal: __. Primary visitor action: __. Decision maker: __. Desired date and reason: __. Budget range: __.
- Pages: list each page and the question it answers.
- Content: identify who supplies copy, images, product data and permissions.
- Functionality: forms, payments, bookings or integrations with clear acceptance criteria.
- SEO: existing URLs to retain, priority topics and redirect requirements.
- Operations: domain, hosting, business email, analytics and access ownership.
- Handoff: editing needs, documentation and support after launch.
An illustrative acceptance criterion
“The enquiry form works” is incomplete. A stronger brief says: “A mobile visitor can submit a valid enquiry, sees confirmation, and the assigned business mailbox receives one message; invalid submissions show clear field errors.” Define equivalent checks for checkout, search or booking if they are in scope.
Separate essential work from later ideas
Mark each requirement as launch-critical or a later improvement and state what is explicitly excluded. Agree revision rounds, feedback timing and who approves production. Keep existing search-performing pages and business integrations visible in the brief so redesign work does not accidentally remove them. A clear scope improves the usefulness of quotes and gives both sides a shared way to decide whether the website is ready.