Tips
Don't write the brief in one sitting. Take a break and think what else you may want your site to achieve.
Avoid generalities such as "etc" or "nice".
Use technical jargon (e.g. "Bobby AAA standard") if you know it. Otherwise describe what you want to achieve as clearly as possible (e.g. "Should be able to be used by blind visitors").
Don't write the brief in one sitting. Take a break and think what else you may want your site to achieve.
Avoid generalities such as "etc" or "nice".
Use technical jargon (e.g. "Bobby AAA standard") if you know it. Otherwise describe what you want to achieve as clearly as possible (e.g. "Should be able to be used by blind visitors").
Lighthearted Articles
Read If Architects Had to Work Like Web Designers and How a Website Design Goes Straight to Hell to see how not to do it.
Read If Architects Had to Work Like Web Designers and How a Website Design Goes Straight to Hell to see how not to do it.
Website Brief Writing
When commissioning a website it is worth spending a good amount of time getting your ideas clear in your mind and conveying these to your web developer by writing a clear and comprehensive brief.
The following topics are suggestions for inclusion when you write your brief. Feel free to include the topics that are relevant to your project.
Business Overview
What does your business do? Why do you want a new website?Target Audience
Demographic information including age, social class and geographic location.Existing Website
If you are replacing an existing website it is useful to know what you like and do not like about the site and if any parts of it are to be renovated.Inspiring Websites
Are there three or four websites you particularly like? Which elements of those sites inspire you (e.g. clear horizontal menu bar)?Content
It is important to list all the pages that you would like your site to contain and what you would like on those pages (the exact text does not need to be supplied at this stage). Some of these will be just one page (e.g. contact page), others will be an infinate number of articles (e.g. news, recipes).
Examples of content are:
- Welcome Page
- About Us
- Products (or services)
- News
- Contact Us (with or without an enquiry form)
- Polls
- Blog
- Forum
- Disclaimer
- Privacy Policy
Look and "Feel"
Do you have a colour scheme in mind? Should it complement your existing corporate image and logo (please include examples)?Photography
Will you be supplying images or should an image library or photographer be used?Copywriting
Will you be supplying text or would you like to use a web copywriter?Advertising
Would you like to display Google Adwords on your site? Would you like to sell and display your own advertising space?Foreign Language Versions
Search Facility
Payment Services
Does your site require a shopping basket, checkout and integration with a specific payment gateway (e.g. PayPal, SagePay, WorldPay)?Personalisation and Membership
If your site requires users to log in you will require a registration page (even if only for admin staff to use), log in page, profile page and password reminder page. Your site might also require different user roles (e.g. administrator, super-administrator, content provider, user).Administration/Content Management
If you would like to maintain the site yourself then you will require a content management facility (e.g. to add, edit and delete new articles and upload photos to them). Sites that allow items to be purchased will also require a sophisticated backend to fulfill orders.Reporting
Do you require visitor analysis or sales reports?Marketing
Would you like search engine optimisation and/or social media promotion? Would you like to use email marketing? Would you also like off-line promotion (e.g. brochures, gifts)?Mobile Proliferation
Would you also like versions of your sites specifically for phones and tablets? Would you also like apps created.Hosting
If you have specific hosting requirements (e.g. site must be written in ASP, use a Microsoft SQL Server database and have encrypted traffic) this should be specified.Budget
It is important to know how much you would like to spend in order to not suggest functionality that is either far too basic or far too advanced for your situation.Timescale
Do you have a deadline?
