Website Design Brief: What to Include Before Starting a Website Project

Introduction

A website project becomes much easier to manage when everyone involved understands what the website needs to achieve, who it is being built for, what it should contain, and how it should look and function.

That is the purpose of a website design brief.

A design brief gives your business, designer, developer, content team, SEO team, and other stakeholders a shared understanding of the project before design and development begin. Without one, important decisions are often made during the project, which can lead to delays, scope changes, inconsistent design, and unnecessary development costs.

A good design brief does not need to be complicated. It simply needs to capture the important decisions and expectations before work begins.

This guide explains what to include in a website design brief and how to use it to create a clearer, more efficient website project.

What Is a Website Design Brief?

A website design brief is a document that explains the purpose, requirements, audience, content, structure, visual direction, functionality, and expectations for a website project.

It acts as a reference point throughout the project.

Instead of saying:

"We need a modern website that looks professional."

a useful design brief might explain:

• What the business does

• Who the website is targeting

• What the website should achieve

• Which pages are required

• What actions visitors should take

• What features are needed

• What type of visual style is appropriate

• What content and brand assets are available

• What technical requirements need to be considered

• What the expected timeline and project responsibilities are

The more clearly these decisions are defined before design begins, the less guesswork the project team has to deal with later.

Why Do You Need a Website Design Brief?

Website design is not simply about choosing colors, fonts, images, and layouts.

Design decisions should support business objectives, user needs, content, SEO, navigation, and functionality.

A website design brief helps connect these areas.

It reduces misunderstandings

Different people can have very different interpretations of words such as "modern," "simple," or "premium." A written brief gives those expectations more context.

It keeps the project focused

The team can refer back to the original objectives when making design and feature decisions.

It helps control scope

Clearly documenting required pages and functionality makes it easier to distinguish between essential requirements and additional requests.

It improves collaboration

Designers and developers can work from the same understanding of the project instead of making assumptions independently.

It can reduce costly changes

Major structural or functional changes are usually easier to address before development than after a website has already been built.

This is particularly important when you are still working through the fundamentals covered in How to Plan a Business Website Before Development.

Start With the Website's Business Goals

Before discussing colors or layouts, explain why the website is being created.

A website might be intended to:

• Generate leads

• Increase enquiries

• Sell products

• Promote services

• Build brand credibility

• Support an existing sales process

• Provide information

• Generate bookings or registrations

• Improve an outdated online presence

• Enter a new market

Try to identify the primary goal rather than listing every possible objective as equally important.

For example:

Primary goal: Generate qualified enquiries for consulting services.

Secondary goals:

• Build credibility

• Explain the company's expertise

• Improve organic search visibility

• Provide useful resources to prospective customers

Clear goals make later design decisions easier.

If the primary objective is lead generation, for example, the design brief should consider where enquiry forms, calls to action, service information, trust signals, and supporting content should appear.

For a deeper foundation, our earlier article on How to Define Website Goals and Objectives for Your Business can help establish these goals before completing the design brief.

Define the Target Audience

A website should not be designed for "everyone."

Your brief should describe the people the website is primarily intended to serve.

Include information such as:

• Target customer type

• Industry or profession

• Geographic market

• Common problems

• Purchase motivations

• Questions they may have

• Level of product or service knowledge

• Factors that influence their decisions

For a B2B website, for example, the audience may include business owners, department heads, procurement teams, or technical decision-makers.

For a consumer website, the audience could be defined by needs, interests, location, or purchasing behavior.

Understanding the audience influences language, content hierarchy, navigation, calls to action, visual presentation, and functionality.

This connects directly with How to Define Your Website Target Audience Before Development.

Explain the Brand and Positioning

Your designer needs to understand how the business wants to present itself.

Include:

• Company positioning

• Brand personality

• Brand values

• Key differentiators

• Desired customer perception

• Existing brand guidelines

• Logo files

• Brand colors

• Typography guidelines

• Photography or illustration style

If you already have a brand identity, provide the relevant assets rather than asking the designer to recreate them from scratch.

You should also explain how you do not want the website to feel.

For example:

• Too corporate

• Too playful

• Too minimal

• Too technical

• Too sales-focused

• Too similar to competitors

This can be surprisingly useful when translating a general creative preference into practical design decisions.

Define the Website's Page Structure

Your design brief should identify the pages the website is expected to contain.

Typical pages may include:

• Home

• About

• Services

• Individual service pages

• Products

• Product detail pages

• Industries or solutions

• Case studies

• Blog

• Contact

• FAQs

• Careers

• Legal pages

The exact structure depends on the business.

Avoid treating the page list as an afterthought. The number and type of pages influence navigation, templates, content requirements, design effort, and development scope.

Our earlier article, Website Page Planning: Which Pages Does Your Business Website Need?, can help you establish this list before finalizing the design brief.

Include the Website Sitemap

A page list tells you what pages exist. A sitemap shows how those pages relate to one another.

For example:

Home

→ Services
→ Service A
→ Service B
→ Service C

Home

→ About
→ Team
→ Careers

Home

→ Resources
→ Blog
→ Individual Articles

Including the sitemap in the design brief helps designers understand the website hierarchy and helps developers understand how templates and navigation may need to work.

It also creates a stronger foundation for SEO and user experience.

For more detail, see Website Sitemap Explained: How to Plan Your Pages.

Document the Navigation Requirements

Explain how users are expected to move through the website.

Your brief can specify:

• Primary navigation

• Secondary navigation

• Dropdown requirements

• Mobile navigation

• Footer navigation

• Breadcrumbs

• Search functionality

• Important conversion paths

• Links between related pages

Navigation should reflect the website structure rather than being designed independently from it.

For example, if several services belong to one category, the navigation should make that relationship understandable.

This is why navigation planning should happen before visual design, as discussed in How to Plan Website Navigation for Better User Experience.

Describe the Content Requirements

Design and content need to work together.

Your brief should identify:

• Which content already exists

• Which content needs to be written

• Who will provide the content

• Required page sections

• Images and media

• Product information

• Testimonials

• Case studies

• FAQs

• Downloadable resources

• Calls to action

For each important page, it can also help to define the intended purpose of the content.

For example, a service page might need:

Hero section

Clearly communicate the service and primary value proposition.

Problem section

Explain the customer's challenge.

Solution section

Explain how the service addresses the problem.

Benefits

Show the practical value.

Proof

Include testimonials, case studies, certifications, or other trust signals.

CTA

Provide a clear next step.

This approach prevents designers from creating layouts using placeholder content that later becomes difficult to accommodate.

For a more detailed content-planning process, see How to Plan Website Content Before Development.

Define the Required Website Features

Your design brief should also identify important functionality.

Depending on the website, this might include:

• Contact forms

• Lead-generation forms

• Search

• Blog functionality

• Filters

• Account areas

• Booking functionality

• Product catalogs

• Ecommerce

• Payment functionality

• Downloads

• Testimonials

• Reviews

• Interactive calculators

• Maps

• Integrations

• Analytics

• CRM connections

Separate must-have features from nice-to-have features.

This distinction is important because additional functionality can affect design, development time, testing, maintenance, and budget.

Our Website Features Checklist: What Features Does Your Business Website Need? provides a useful framework for working through this part of the brief.

Include Wireframes When Available

A design brief and a wireframe serve different purposes.

The brief explains what the website needs to accomplish.

A wireframe helps show how individual pages may be structured.

If wireframes have already been created, include them or link to them from the design brief.

For example, a homepage wireframe might indicate:

• Header

• Hero section

• Key services

• Benefits

• Social proof

• Featured content

• CTA

• Footer

Wireframes help designers and stakeholders discuss structure before detailed visual design begins.

For more information, see How to Create a Website Wireframe Before Design and Development.

Provide Visual References

Designers work better when they understand the visual direction you have in mind.

Include examples of:

• Websites you like

• Websites you dislike

• Competitor websites

• Typography styles

• Photography styles

• Layout preferences

• Animation examples

• Illustration styles

• Brand references

However, avoid simply saying:

"Make it look like this website."

Instead, explain what you like about the reference.

For example:

• "We like the simple navigation."

• "We like the amount of whitespace."

• "We like how the services are presented."

• "We like the use of customer proof."

• "We prefer this type of typography."

This gives the designer direction without turning the project into a copy of another website.

Identify Competitors

List your primary competitors and explain what you want to learn from their websites.

The objective is not necessarily to copy competitor designs.

Instead, review them to understand:

• How competitors position themselves

• Which services they emphasize

• How their websites are structured

• How they communicate value

• What content they provide

• What calls to action they use

• Where their user experience could be improved

Competitive research can help identify opportunities to differentiate your website.

Include SEO Requirements From the Beginning

SEO should not be added after the design is finished.

Your design brief should identify important SEO considerations such as:

• Primary target topics

• Important landing pages

• Content hierarchy

• Search intent

• Internal linking requirements

• URL structure

• Heading hierarchy

• Image optimization

• Mobile usability

• Technical SEO requirements

Design decisions can affect SEO. For example, hiding important content behind interactions or creating overly complicated navigation can affect how users and search engines understand the website.

If your project is also focused on search visibility, Technical SEO for Websites: A Complete Guide to Building Search-Friendly Websites in 2026 provides a broader technical foundation.

Define the Technology and CMS Requirements

If a technology stack has already been selected, document it.

Your brief might specify requirements such as:

• CMS preference

• Ecommerce platform

• Frontend framework

• Backend technology

• Hosting environment

• Third-party integrations

• Database requirements

• Analytics tools

• CRM

• Marketing automation

• APIs

If the technology has not yet been selected, explain the business requirements instead of forcing a technology decision too early.

For example:

Requirement: Marketing team needs to create and update service pages without developer assistance.

That requirement can then influence the eventual CMS and implementation approach.

The earlier guide on How to Choose the Right Technology for Your Website can help with this decision.

Specify Responsive and Accessibility Expectations

Your design brief should make it clear that the website needs to work across different screen sizes.

Consider:

• Desktop

• Tablet

• Mobile

Also define accessibility expectations where relevant, including:

• Readable typography

• Sufficient contrast

• Keyboard accessibility

• Clear form labels

• Alternative text for meaningful images

• Logical content structure

• Accessible interactive elements

Accessibility should influence design and development from the beginning rather than becoming a last-minute checklist.

Document Performance Expectations

Website performance can influence both user experience and search visibility.

Your brief can include expectations around:

• Fast page loading

• Optimized images

• Efficient animations

• Responsive layouts

• Mobile performance

• Core Web Vitals

• Lightweight assets

• Efficient third-party scripts

Performance requirements are easier to accommodate when they are considered during design rather than after a visually heavy website has already been built.

Define Calls to Action

Every important page should have a clear purpose.

Your brief should identify the primary actions you want visitors to take.

Examples include:

• Contact us

• Request a quote

• Book a consultation

• Buy now

• Download a guide

• Register

• Call the business

• Submit an enquiry

You can also define secondary actions.

For example:

Primary CTA: Request a consultation

Secondary CTA: Explore our services

This gives the design team a clearer understanding of how calls to action should be prioritized.

List Trust Signals

If credibility is important to the project, identify the trust elements that should be incorporated into the design.

These could include:

• Customer testimonials

• Client logos

• Case studies

• Awards

• Certifications

• Industry memberships

• Years of experience

• Statistics

• Reviews

• Guarantees

Trust signals should be connected to the appropriate pages instead of being placed randomly throughout the website.

Define Project Deliverables

A design brief should clarify what the design team is expected to deliver.

Potential deliverables include:

• Homepage design

• Internal page designs

• Mobile designs

• Design system

• UI components

• Wireframes

• Prototypes

• Design assets

• Developer handoff files

• Design specifications

This is especially useful when multiple people or agencies are involved in the project.

Establish Roles and Responsibilities

Website projects often become delayed because nobody is sure who is responsible for a particular task.

Document responsibilities for:

• Business owner

• Project manager

• Designer

• Developer

• Content writer

• SEO specialist

• Photographer

• Branding team

• Marketing team

For example:

Client: Approves content and designs.

Designer: Creates visual designs and component specifications.

Developer: Builds approved designs.

SEO specialist: Provides search and technical requirements.

Clear ownership reduces unnecessary back-and-forth.

Set the Timeline and Approval Process

Include the expected project stages and major milestones.

A typical process might include:

Planning

Requirements, goals, audience, sitemap, and content planning.

Wireframing

Page structure and user flows.

Visual design

Colors, typography, components, and page designs.

Development

Frontend and backend implementation.

Testing

Functional, responsive, accessibility, and performance testing.

Launch

Deployment, analytics, monitoring, and post-launch checks.

Also define how approvals will work.

For example:

• Who provides feedback?

• Who has final approval?

• How many review rounds are expected?

• How quickly should feedback be provided?

This can prevent a project from getting stuck during design reviews.

Include the Budget or Budget Range

You do not necessarily need to disclose an exact budget if you are still evaluating options.

However, providing a realistic range can help determine what is practical.

Website costs vary considerably depending on:

• Number of pages

• Design complexity

• Custom functionality

• Integrations

• Ecommerce requirements

• Content requirements

• Technology

• SEO scope

• Development complexity

• Ongoing maintenance

For a broader understanding of website costs, see Website Development Cost in India: Complete Pricing Guide for 2026.

Include Existing Website Information

If you are redesigning an existing website, provide relevant information about the current site.

Include:

• Existing website URL

• Current sitemap

• Important landing pages

• Existing analytics data

• Search performance information

• High-performing pages

• Existing content

• Conversion data

• Technical issues

• Pages that should be retained

• Pages that can be removed or consolidated

A redesign should not automatically mean starting from zero.

Some existing pages, content, or search visibility may be valuable and should be considered during planning.

For projects involving an existing website, see Website Redesign Planning: When and How to Rebuild Your Website.

Include the Website's Technical and Business Constraints

Every project has constraints.

Your brief should document them early.

These might include:

• Launch deadline

• Existing technology

• Hosting restrictions

• Internal resources

• Legal requirements

• Industry regulations

• Integration limitations

• Content availability

• Brand requirements

• Budget constraints

• Maintenance capabilities

Being transparent about constraints allows the team to design a realistic solution rather than discovering limitations halfway through development.

Create a List of Must-Haves and Nice-to-Haves

One of the most useful sections of a design brief is a priority list.

Must-have

Requirements that need to be included for the website to meet its primary objectives.

Should-have

Important features that could potentially be adjusted if time or budget becomes constrained.

Nice-to-have

Enhancements that can be introduced later.

This prioritization can make decision-making much easier when the project encounters time, technical, or budget constraints.

Website Design Brief Checklist

Before handing the brief to your designer or development team, make sure you have covered the major areas.

• Business overview

• Website goals

• Target audience

• Brand positioning

• Brand assets

• Competitor websites

• Sitemap

• Page requirements

• Navigation requirements

• Content requirements

• Website features

• Wireframes

• Visual references

• SEO requirements

• Technology requirements

• Responsive requirements

• Accessibility expectations

• Performance expectations

• Calls to action

• Trust signals

• Project deliverables

• Roles and responsibilities

• Timeline

• Approval process

• Budget or budget range

• Existing website information

• Technical constraints

• Must-have and nice-to-have requirements

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Creating a Website Design Brief

Focusing only on visual design

A design brief should cover business, users, content, functionality, SEO, and technical requirements—not just colors and layouts.

Using vague language

Words such as "modern," "premium," or "simple" are subjective. Explain what those words mean for your business.

Leaving content until after design

Content affects layout. Important headings, paragraphs, images, and calls to action should be considered before finalizing designs.

Ignoring mobile users

Mobile layouts should be part of the project from the beginning.

Adding features without priorities

A long feature list without prioritization can create unnecessary complexity.

Designing without understanding the sitemap

A visually attractive page can still create a poor experience if it does not fit into the broader website structure.

Treating SEO as a post-launch task

SEO requirements should influence structure, content, navigation, headings, URLs, and technical decisions before development begins.

How a Website Design Brief Fits Into the Website Planning Process

A design brief should not exist in isolation.

It is part of a larger planning process.

A practical sequence is:

1. Define business goals

Determine what the website needs to achieve.

2. Define the target audience

Understand who the website is intended to serve.

3. Define requirements

Document the business, content, technical, and functional requirements.

4. Plan the website structure

Organize pages and relationships.

5. Create the sitemap

Translate the structure into a clear hierarchy.

6. Plan navigation

Determine how users will move between important sections.

7. Plan content

Determine what each page needs to communicate.

8. Define features

Identify the functionality required.

9. Create wireframes

Plan page layouts before detailed visual design.

10. Create the design brief

Bring the business, user, content, structural, visual, and technical decisions together into one project reference.

11. Begin visual design

The designer can now work from a much clearer foundation.

12. Move into development

Once designs are approved, development can proceed with fewer assumptions.

This planning-first approach is also consistent with the broader principles explained in the Website Development Guide: How Modern Websites Are Built for Growth and AI Search

Final Thoughts

A website design brief is one of the simplest ways to bring clarity to a website project before design and development begin.

It does not need to be a complicated document. Its purpose is to answer the questions that designers and developers would otherwise have to discover during the project.

A strong brief explains:

• Why the website is being built

• Who it is for

• What pages it needs

• What content it requires

• What features it should provide

• How it should be structured

• What the brand should communicate

• What technical and SEO requirements matter

• Who is responsible for decisions

• What the project needs to deliver

When these decisions are made early, the design process becomes more focused and development can begin with a much clearer understanding of the project.

The goal is not to predict every detail before work starts. It is to create enough clarity that the team can make informed design and development decisions as the project progresses.