Free template
Website brief template
Answer these and your build starts on day one.
This website brief template covers everything a web designer needs before kick-off: your goal, your customers, what you sell, the pages, content, features, sites you like, brand, search, hosting, budget, deadline and who signs off. Copy it into a document, fill in what you can and leave blanks where you're unsure.
A clear brief is the quickest route to a fast website, because most delays come from missing content and decisions, not from design or code.
5 days
website, kick-off to live our average
At a glance
- What
- A 12-section website brief in plain text, free to copy.
- For
- Anyone planning a new website or a redesign, with any agency or freelancer.
- Price
- Free. No email or sign-up.
- Next
- Send it to us and we'll turn it into a written plan and a fixed price. We'll reply within the hour (working hours).
Ready when you are.
We'll reply within the hour (working hours).
Copy the website brief template
The full template is below in plain text. Copy it into Google Docs, Word or an email and fill in each section.
WEBSITE BRIEF
Business: [name] Date: [date] Contact: [name, email, phone]
1. ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS
What you do, in one sentence:
Where you're based, and the areas you serve:
What makes you different from the businesses you compete with:
2. THE GOAL OF THE WEBSITE
The one thing the site must do (for example: get enquiries, sell products, take bookings):
How you'll know it's working (for example: enquiries a month, online sales, calls):
3. WHO IT'S FOR
Your main type of customer:
What they need to know before they get in touch:
The questions they ask you most often:
4. WHAT YOU SELL
Each service or product, with a one-line description:
"From" prices, or how you price:
How long the work usually takes:
5. PAGES
Pages you need (for example: Home, Services, one page per service, About, Contact):
Pages on your current site that must stay:
6. CONTENT
Who will write the copy (you, us, or both):
Photos and video you already have:
Proof you can use (reviews, results with a timeframe, press coverage):
7. FEATURES
Forms, bookings, payments, an online shop, a member area or a calculator:
Tools the site must connect to (CRM, booking system, email, accounts):
8. WEBSITES YOU LIKE
Two or three sites you like, and what you like about each one:
Anything you don't want:
9. BRAND
Logo, colours and fonts you already have:
Three words that describe how you want to come across:
10. SEARCH AND AI ASSISTANTS
The searches you want to be found for:
The towns or regions that matter most:
11. DOMAIN, HOSTING AND YOUR CURRENT SITE
Your domain, and who it's registered with:
Where the current site is hosted, and who has the logins:
12. BUDGET, DEADLINE AND SIGN-OFF
Budget:
Ideal launch date, and any fixed deadline:
Who signs off the work, and when they can give feedback:How to fill in a website brief
Answer each section in plain words, as if you were explaining your business to a new member of staff. Short answers are fine.
- 1
About your business
One sentence on what you do and where. If you can't say it in one sentence, the website will struggle to as well.
- 2
The goal
Pick one main job for the site. Everything else on the page supports it.
- 3
Who it's for
Your customers' questions become your headings and FAQs, so write them down as they ask them.
- 4
What you sell
List each service with a "from" price where you can. Buyers, Google and AI assistants all compare on price and turnaround.
- 5
Pages
One page per service usually works better than one long services page, for visitors and for search.
- 6
Content
Say who writes the copy. Waiting for copy is the most common reason a website project stalls.
- 7
Features
Name anything beyond pages and a contact form, and every tool the site has to talk to.
- 8
Sites you like
Say what you like about each one: the layout, the tone, how quickly it gets to the point.
- 9
Brand
Send what you already have. If you don't have a logo or colours yet, say so.
- 10
Search and AI assistants
The searches and places you want to be found for shape the page names, headings and copy.
- 11
Domain and hosting
Find the logins before kick-off. Chasing them later can hold up the launch.
- 12
Budget, deadline and sign-off
Name the person who signs off and when they're free. One decision-maker moves faster than a committee.
What makes a good website brief?
A good brief is specific, honest about what's ready, and names who decides. Length matters much less.
- One clear goal."Get more enquiries for kitchen fitting in Leicestershire" beats "a modern website".
- Real customer questions.Written the way customers ask them, not the way you'd like them to.
- Prices and timings.Even a rough "from" price gives the copy something concrete to say.
- Content owners.Who writes, who supplies photos, and by when.
- A named decision-maker.With feedback slots agreed before work starts.
How does Foundry use your brief?
We read it before the kick-off call, so the call is about decisions rather than questions. Then we write the homepage and key pages first, share a live preview link instead of a PDF, and agree feedback slots up front.
That's how our websites go live in 5 days on average from kick-off. Websites start from £499 + VAT, with a fixed price agreed before we start.
Our averages. Not our best days.
Our averages
5days
Website, kick-off to livethis service
20mins
Average reply time
Website brief FAQs
Your goal, your customers, what you sell and for how much, the pages, who writes the content, any features, sites you like, your brand, the searches you want to be found for, hosting details, budget, deadline and who signs off.
As long as it needs to be and no longer. One to three pages is plenty for most business websites. Clear answers matter more than length.
Say so in section 6. A good web team can write it with you. It's better to know at the start than to find out halfway through.
A rough figure helps, because it shapes what's sensible to build. Our websites start from £499 + VAT, and you get a fixed price in writing after a short call.
No. Fill in what you can, or bring the template to the call and we'll go through it together.
Yes. Email it to hello@foundryagency.co.uk or send it through the contact page. We'll reply within the hour (working hours).
Related
Brief ready? Get moving.
Tell us what you need. We'll reply within the hour (working hours), and most websites go live about 5 days after kick-off.
We'll reply within the hour (working hours).
Or email hello@foundryagency.co.uk