To write a website brief for an agency, put the site's goal, target audience, reference and competitor examples, required pages, the readiness of your copy, images and logo, needed integrations, budget range and deadline into one document. A clear two-to-three-page brief is the fastest way to get comparable quotes from agencies.
A brief is not there to dictate the design to the agency; it is there to answer the right questions up front. When a meeting starts with “we need a corporate site,” the agency has to guess the scope, and the result is either an inflated or an incomplete quote. The sections below cover, in order, what an agency actually needs from a brief. At the end there is a template you can copy and fill in.
What is a website brief and why does it matter?
A website brief is a short written document describing what a business expects from its website, who the site is for and which constraints apply, such as budget, timeline and technical requirements. A good brief makes agencies quote the same scope, cuts revision rounds and prevents the “that's not what we meant” argument at the end of the project.
Three quotes collected without a brief often price three different projects: one agency imagines a five-page brochure site, another a multilingual corporate site, the third a structure with a product catalog. The price gap becomes meaningless. Sending the same brief to every agency lets you compare like with like.
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How do you define the site's goal and audience in a brief?
A website's goal should be defined in the brief as a measurable action: a quote form submission, a WhatsApp message, a dealer application or an online sale. The audience should be described by industry, decision-maker role, region and device habits. These two pieces of information drive every design decision, from page structure to tone of voice.
- —Weak goal: “We want to look corporate.” Strong goal: “Receive at least 20 qualified quote requests a month.”
- —Weak audience: “Everyone.” Strong audience: “Purchasing managers at manufacturers in Kocaeli and Sakarya; they research on desktop and call from their phone.”
- —Separate primary and secondary goals, for example quote requests first and job applications second.
- —Write down how you will measure success: form count, call count, visibility for specific searches.
How should you share competitor and reference examples?
Competitor and reference examples should be shared as links to sites you like or dislike, with a concrete note on what exactly you like. Instead of “we like this site,” a note such as “the product filtering and simple menu on this site” lets the agency understand your taste without turning it into a copycat design.
- —3-5 reference sites, which can come from other industries, each with a one-sentence note.
- —2-3 direct competitors, and the gap on their sites where you want to stand out.
- —1-2 examples you dislike; what to avoid is valuable information too.
- —If you have a current site: sections to keep and sections that must change.
How do you plan the page list and content readiness?
A page list is a simple outline of the site's main menu and subpages in a rough tree structure; content readiness states which copy, photos, logo files and product data for those pages are ready and which you expect from the agency. The most common cause of project delays is not design but missing content.
- —Typical corporate structure: Home, About, Services (one page per service), References/Projects, Blog, Contact, plus privacy (KVKK) and cookie notices.
- —Copy: is it ready, does it need updating, or do you want copywriting as a service?
- —Logo: in vector format (SVG, AI, EPS or vector PDF); if you only have a low-resolution PNG, say so.
- —Brand identity: color codes, typefaces and a brand guideline if one exists.
- —Photos: do you have your own facility, team and product photos, or is a professional shoot needed?
- —Product or service data: a tidy list in Excel or CSV, especially for catalogs and e-commerce.
- —Languages: Turkish only, or English and others too, and who handles translation?
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Why do integrations, budget range and deadline belong in the brief?
Integrations, budget range and deadline are the three facts that change a web project's cost and technical architecture the most. An ERP connection or payment gateway can add weeks to a project; a budget range lets the agency propose the right solution, and a realistic deadline keeps quality from being sacrificed.
- —Forms and contact: quote form, WhatsApp button, email notifications, CRM sync.
- —Sales: virtual POS or payment provider, shipping carrier, e-invoice/e-archive integrator.
- —Operations: ERP, inventory, dealer portal, booking system.
- —Measurement: Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Ads conversion tracking, cookie consent management.
- —Budget range: not a single figure but “between X and Y”; the agency prioritizes scope accordingly.
- —Deadline: if there is a fixed event (trade fair, launch, start of season), include the date.
Stating a budget can feel like weakening your negotiating position, but in practice the opposite happens: when an agency does not know the budget, it either proposes the most expensive option or quietly drops a meaningful part of the work. A range makes it easier to see which agency offers more value for the same money.
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A fill-in website brief template
A fill-in website brief template gathers everything an agency needs to prepare a quote under seven headings. Copy the items below into a document and answer each line in a sentence or two; marking a line as “not sure, we'd like your recommendation” is a perfectly valid answer.
1. Company and contact
- —Company name and industry: ____
- —Project owner and decision-maker: ____
- —Current website address (if any): ____
2. Goal and audience
- —Primary goal of the site (measurable): ____
- —Secondary goals: ____
- —Target audience (industry, role, region, device): ____
3. References and competitors
- —Sites we like and why: ____
- —Competitors and where we want to stand out: ____
- —Examples we want to avoid: ____
4. Page structure and languages
- —Main menu and subpages: ____
- —Languages: ____
- —Do we need a blog or news section: ____
5. Content status
- —Copy (ready / needs updating / needs writing): ____
- —Logo and brand identity files: ____
- —Photo and video status: ____
6. Technical requirements
- —Integrations (payments, shipping, ERP, CRM, e-invoice): ____
- —Domain and hosting status (who holds them, in whose name): ____
- —Who will update content, and is an admin panel needed: ____
7. Budget and timing
- —Budget range: ____
- —Target launch date and any fixed event: ____
- —Expectations for post-launch maintenance and support: ____