Website Brief: What to Send Your Developer Before Ordering

Why is a brief important?

A poor brief = the wrong site + rework + frustration. A good brief saves: - 2–4 weeks of time - 30% of the budget - Countless emails

Structure of a brief

1. Company Information - Name, industry, location - Years in operation - Target audience (age, gender, income, location) - USP (Unique Selling Proposition) - Competitors (3–5)

2. Goals What must the website do? - Sell products (e-commerce) - Generate leads (B2B) - Increase brand awareness - Inform (informational site)

Measurable: "200 enquiries/month", "20% conversion rate"

3. Detailed Target Audience Persona example: - **Maris, 38**, accountant in Tallinn - Problem: needs a reliable partner for annual reports - Behaviour: Googles, checks reviews, asks for recommendations - Objections: price, experience, location

4. Existing Brand - Logo and brand books - Colours (if any) - Fonts (if any) - Images (if any) - Tone of voice (formal / friendly)

If none exist: describe what the brand should be like.

5. Sitemap List of pages: - Home - Services (subpages?) - About us - Blog - Contact - Terms and conditions - Privacy policy

For each page: what is its purpose?

6. Functionality - Contact form - Newsletter signup - Live chat - Booking system - E-commerce (how many products?) - User accounts - Multilingualism (which languages?) - Integrations (CRM, email, payment gateways)

7. Design Preferences - 3–5 reference websites (link + what you like) - 3–5 websites you DO NOT like (link + why) - Style: minimalism / maximalism (see [comparison](/blogi/minimalism-vs-maksimalism-disainis)) - Colour preferences - The "feel" you want to convey

8. Technical Requirements - Platform: WordPress / custom / Webflow - Hosting: existing / needed - Domain: existing / needed - SEO expectations - Performance expectations (under 2s load time) - Compliance (GDPR, accessibility)

9. Content - Who creates the copy? (you / copywriter / developer) - Images? (stock / custom photography / illustrations) - Videos? - Migration of existing content?

10. Budget and Timeline - Budget range (exact or "up to €5,000") - Desired launch date - Milestones (if important)

Brief template

COMPANY: [Name]
INDUSTRY: [Industry]

GOAL: - Primary: ... - Secondary: ...

TARGET AUDIENCE: - Persona 1: ... - Persona 2: ...

PAGES: 1. Home – intro + CTA 2. Services – 4 services 3. ...

REFERENCES: - competitor1.com (like the colour scheme) - competitor2.com (like the structure)

BUDGET: €3,000–€5,000 DEADLINE: 8 weeks `

What NOT to do

• "I want something modern" (too vague)
• "Make it like Apple" (budget doesn't match)
• "Just like that site" without analysis
• Not mentioning a budget (the developer won't know what to propose)
• Saying "everything is flexible"

Refining the brief

After the first meeting, refine it: - Add an overview of the developer's questions - Add missing information - Send the updated version

Creative Brief vs Technical Brief

Creative Brief – for the designer (visual references, brand) Technical Brief – for the developer (functionality, integrations)

For larger projects, these are separate.

Specifics of the Estonian Market

• Multilingual (usually EE + EN)
• Smart-ID / Mobile-ID integration
• E-invoicing system (if B2B)
• Stebby (for health services)
• Estonian registry code and VAT number in the footer

After the brief: the proposal

A good proposal should include: - Scope (exact) - Price (fixed) - Timeline (milestones) - Payment terms - Responsibility for content - What is included / what is NOT - What follows after launch

See how to choose a web developer.

Summary

10 minutes spent writing a brief saves weeks of development time. We offer a free brief template and consultation – get in touch and we'll send it to you. Our website development service begins with a thorough briefing.

Sources

• Smashing Magazine – Web Design Brief
• UXPin – Effective Project Briefs