A website project often starts with a reference link and a request to make something similar. That gives the designer a useful starting point, but it leaves the most important decisions unanswered. Who should the website help? What should a visitor understand first? Which action matters to the business? A clear brief connects the design to those questions before the team begins arranging sections, choosing images or writing headlines.
At Marketing Eraa, our published process begins with understanding the business, audience and priorities before creating and launching the work. The checklist below turns that approach into a practical document a business owner can prepare. It is planning guidance, not a promise that any particular layout will generate sales. The goal is to make the project easier to scope, review and maintain.
1. Define the visitor and the decision they need to make
Describe the primary visitor in plain language. A local service business might need to help nearby customers compare services and enquire about availability. A company selling to other businesses might need to explain its capabilities before a procurement conversation. Avoid treating everyone as an identical visitor. Include the questions prospects usually ask before they feel ready to contact you.
Then select the main action for each important page. That could be submitting an enquiry, calling the team, requesting a quote or exploring a relevant service. Secondary actions can still exist, but the brief should explain their relationship to the main goal. A page with five equally prominent instructions can be harder to review because nobody has agreed what it is trying to achieve.
2. List the services and information that must be accurate
Write down the actual services you provide, where you provide them and any limits a prospect should understand. Distinguish a standard deliverable from something quoted separately. If pricing depends on project scope, say how a visitor can obtain a proposal instead of inserting an attractive price that does not describe the service. Include the approved business name, phone, email, address and opening hours.
For a full-service agency, a short homepage overview and a more detailed services page serve different needs. The overview helps visitors orient themselves; the service detail explains the work. Decide which claims belong in each place. Do not copy a competitor’s service list just because it looks complete. The website should describe what your team can actually deliver and support.
3. Prepare evidence with its original context
Provide the team with approved portfolio examples, original images and permission to use any client names or testimonials. For numerical results, include the timeframe, source and definition of the metric. A screenshot showing messaging results is evidence about conversations, not automatically evidence about purchases. The brief should carry those qualifications so they remain visible when the case study is shortened for a homepage card.
Our published work includes examples from fashion, healthcare and education, with explanations of the figures shown. That structure is useful when preparing your own evidence: state the business situation, describe the work you can substantiate and show the relevant result with its limits. If there is no baseline, do not turn a period total into a growth claim. Clear evidence helps readers assess relevance.
4. Describe what happens after someone enquires
A contact form is only the beginning of an enquiry journey. Specify who receives each submission, where it is recorded and who follows up. Include the essential fields and explain why they are needed. A service business may need the prospect’s service requirement and contact details; it may not need a long questionnaire before the first conversation. Match the form to your actual sales process.
Also define the visible success and failure messages. A visitor should know when their enquiry has been received and what to do if submission fails. Before launch, test the journey from a phone and a desktop, including the destination inbox or enquiry record. If response times are published, make sure the team has agreed to them. The brief should not create a commitment nobody owns.
5. Agree on content, access and review responsibilities
Record who supplies the logo, photographs, product or service descriptions and legal page information. Identify who can approve copy and who can provide domain or hosting access through the appropriate secure process. Do not place passwords in a shared creative brief. Missing content and unclear approval responsibilities can delay a project even when the visual direction is already agreed.
Set out the page list, review stages and what counts as a revision. A wording correction, a new page and an additional booking feature are different types of work. Agreeing on those distinctions early helps both sides assess later requests. Include launch ownership and the process for reporting bugs or requesting ongoing changes, so the website remains manageable after the initial handover.
A short brief you can use before your next project
- Business goal and primary audience.
- Main action for each important page.
- Approved services, contact information and service areas.
- Brand assets and reference websites, with notes about what you like.
- Portfolio evidence, metric definitions and permissions.
- Form fields, enquiry destination and follow-up owner.
- Page list, content owner, review process and launch responsibilities.
You do not need a polished presentation to begin. A concise document with clear answers is enough to make the first planning conversation more useful. Marketing Eraa can help translate that brief into a website scope, content structure and design direction around your business goals. Share your requirements through our contact page so we can discuss the pages, functionality and enquiry journey your project needs.
Sources & further reading
Explore our client work and results or digital marketing services.
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