A brand and website brief is useful when it helps people make decisions. It should explain who the business needs to reach, what those people need to understand and what the website must allow them to do. A mood board can support that conversation, but it cannot replace it.
You do not need a long document before talking to an agency. You need a clear account of the business, the problem and the practical limits. Use the sections below to build a brief your team can approve and a creative team can act on.
Describe the decision behind the project
Start with what has changed. Perhaps the company has introduced a service, moved towards a different type of customer or outgrown a website that is difficult to update. Explain why the project is needed now.
Then state the main objective. “Make the site modern” is a visual preference. “Help procurement teams understand our capabilities and request the right information” gives the project a purpose. Choose a primary objective so the team can resolve competing requests later.
Identify the people the website must help
Describe your important audiences in terms of their questions and decisions. A first-time buyer may need an explanation of the service. An experienced buyer may be checking delivery scope, technical details or credibility.
List the information each audience needs before taking the next step. Include what your sales or support team is repeatedly asked. These questions can shape navigation, service pages and useful supporting content without guessing at customer needs.
For example, an illustrative brief for a catering business might distinguish a person arranging a small private event from a corporate organiser who needs capacity, dietary options and a proposal. That distinction changes the enquiry journey; it is not just a choice of photograph.
Explain the brand with evidence
Include your positioning, key services and reasons customers choose you. Separate confirmed facts from aspirations. If you want to communicate reliability, provide evidence the team can use: an approved process, verified credentials or permission to show relevant work.
Supply existing identity files, brand guidelines and approved copy. State what must remain, what can change and what needs a separate decision. Do not make the designer infer whether a logo refresh is included in a website project.
Annotate your references
Choose a small number of reference websites and say what you value in each. Is it the typography, the clarity of a service explanation, the project photography or the way the mobile menu opens?
Be equally specific about things to avoid. “We like this layout because the enquiry route is easy to find” gives more direction than “make it look premium.” References should guide decisions, not become a request to copy another company’s identity or content.
List pages, functions and content responsibilities
Write a provisional page list and describe what each page needs to achieve. Then list functions separately: enquiry forms, booking, payments, downloads, multiple languages or integrations. Explain who will maintain them after launch.
- Who writes and approves the copy?
- Which images are available, and do you have permission to use them?
- Who supplies product, service and contact information?
- Who receives form enquiries, and what information is genuinely needed?
- Which systems must connect, and who can provide access?
Mark uncertain items as open questions. An unanswered integration question is easier to plan around than an assumption discovered during the final review.
Protect what already works
For an existing website, include an inventory of URLs, important articles, SEO titles and descriptions, tracking accounts and working enquiry routes. Specify that proposed URL changes need a separate migration plan and review. A design approval should not silently become approval to remove content.
Google’s SEO Starter Guide explains the importance of useful content and links that help people and search engines find pages. Include those needs in the brief from the start, alongside mobile usability and accessible interactions.
Define the launch checks
Agree what must be demonstrated before the site is accepted. A practical list includes readable mobile pages, a usable keyboard-operated menu, working internal links, correctly delivered form submissions and preserved metadata. Name the person who signs off each area.
Add budget, intended launch date, decision-makers and dependencies. Be clear about the difference between a fixed business deadline and a preferred date. Consolidate feedback through one owner so the agency receives decisions rather than conflicting instructions.
Finish with a one-page summary: objective, audience, scope, required content, constraints, responsibilities and acceptance checks. That summary becomes a reference when an attractive new idea would otherwise expand the project without a decision.
Need help defining the scope? Review AdLift Media’s branding, design and website services and share your project requirements. Bring the brief as it stands, including the questions you have not yet resolved.
