Practical guide: How to prepare a brief not only for website creation
A quality brief is half the success of any project. Whether you are planning a new website, a logo redesign, or a marketing campaign – a clear idea of what you want will save you money, time, and a lot of misunderstandings. In this article, we will show you what a (non)functional brief looks like, what to pay attention to when preparing it, and we will also offer a practical checklist that you can use before contacting the first agency.
Why You Need a Quality Brief
“I would like a nicer website.” This is sometimes how briefs from our clients look. We can probably agree that a nice website means something slightly different for everyone. Some prefer minimalism, while others enjoy colors and animations.
This is not only true for websites. The same principle applies when you ask a landscape architect to design a nice garden behind your house. Will it mainly feature vegetable beds? Or a pool and sauna? Do you have a dog that will run through the flower beds several times a day? And will your children fall into that perfect swimming pond?
Without a clear brief, even the best team can easily get lost. They won’t know exactly what to deliver, in what scope, for whom, and with what priorities. This often leads to misunderstandings, endless revisions, or a result that does not meet your expectations.
What helps is a quality brief. It aligns expectations, speeds up the creation process, and increases the chances of receiving exactly the output you need.
This article primarily focuses on briefs for website creation. The principles we discuss can easily be adapted to other types of your projects (such as rebranding, marketing campaigns, or preparing printed materials).
What to clarify before contacting the first agency
- Set a goal. Why do you want a new website? Do you feel that the current one is losing momentum and it's time for a change? Is it not meeting your business objectives? Is it generating few conversions? Is its management unnecessarily complicated?
- Consider the plan and budget. How long should it take to complete the website? Do you have a year to launch a new product? Or do you need people to register for a conference you're hosting in five months? What if you want to launch a new e-shop in time for the holiday season? At least roughly clarify how much time you have for the project. And set aside a budget for it. Even with a small budget, great things can be achieved; you just need to know your limits in advance.
- Objectively assess your position. Look at the project from a distance and consider whether you are truly the most qualified person to create the brief. Is there someone in the company who understands the matter a bit better? Whether from a technical, process, or economic perspective… If so, invite them to help prepare the brief and attend subsequent meetings with the agency.
- Check technical and legal limitations. Are there restrictions regarding third-party tools you use? Do you sell alcohol and need to restrict sales on your e-shop to individuals over 18? Or do you offer medications whose promotion is subject to various rules and restrictions? Consider all the specifics of your business – and trust that every insight will be useful at the beginning of the project.
- Express your preferences. Do you have a clear idea of how your website should look? Do you like the color purple, or a specific element from another website? Show it. Specialists at the agency will appreciate knowing your taste. If you don’t completely miss the mark – for example, if you don’t fall in love with the same color as your competitor, making it hard to distinguish between you – you will likely find common ground with the website creators quickly.
- Define target groups. Clients regularly come to us with the idea that their customer is everyone. This is a misconception. No one sells to everyone. Use the data you have available (your customer database) and see who is actually purchasing from you.You will get a website that meets the real needs of users. After all, you don't want to pay for a solution based on imaginary ideas?
- Define success metrics. No matter what the assignment is, someone will ultimately create a new website based on it. You will face the question: how do I know if my project is successful? You will make your job easier if you set clear criteria in advance. Has my traffic increased by 100,000 visitors per day? Have my monthly conversions grown by 20%? Am I spending half as much time managing the website? A successful website does not always mean just higher sales. However, you should always know your goal in advance. Otherwise, the agency will approach a project where simplifying website management is desired differently than a situation where you are striving for higher conversions. If you set a clear goal right from the start, your chances of success will be greater.
“If you have multiple customer groups that differ significantly from each other, take a look at their percentage representation within the entire business. If any of these groups make up only a small portion of your total customer base, it is not necessary to focus primarily on them when designing the website.”
And one more tip – remember that the project does not end with the launch. You should regularly evaluate all goals and optimize your new website (or other project) based on that.
Examples: What a Good and Bad Brief Looks Like
In the twenty years of PUXdesign's operation, we have handled thousands of different briefs. Our UX designer Jiří Gédoš selected two examples that demonstrate how the quality of the initial brief can influence the outcome of the entire project.
Example 1 – When a Quality Brief Leads to a Good Outcome
An example of a good brief is a project in which we created several presentation websites for a client. At the beginning, we conducted extensive user research to gather enough information to help us create content tailored precisely to the website visitors. Representatives from various segments of the company participated in the workshops – they thus saw firsthand the impact their websites have. During the presentation of the results, they realized whom and how they are actually addressing. They gained a much better understanding of their customers. “Thanks to the client going through the entire process of data collection and evaluation, they quickly identified with the results and learned to utilize them in the future,” describes Jiří Gédoš. All subsequent adjustments to the websites were made with regard to the actual needs of the users.
Example 2 – When a Poor Brief Destroys the Entire Project
And how not to do it? An example is a project in which we modified the content of a user portal. The first stumbling block was that the project was assigned by people with limited knowledge of the situation. “The requirements for content and functions were significantly simplistic. Nevertheless, we managed to come up with a proposal that was understandable. However, during subsequent adjustments – which took place without additional consultations – it became clear that the subjective view of the client is more important than the agreed-upon goals,” explains Jiří Gédoš. The result was a solution that is half-hearted, confusing, and unsustainable in the future. It will therefore be necessary to completely redesign it in the foreseeable future.
What is at stake when the brief is unclear
No brief or an incomplete brief can lead to many problems. In the vast majority of cases, we find ourselves making adjustments before the website goes live – whether during testing or in production, which is significantly more expensive than if the changes were made during the design phase.
It also happens that a client requests complex features for a website or portal that, in the end, users do not utilize. “If we based our work on quality user research, it would have been clear from the start that only a handful of customers would use the feature. The client would not have to invest significant sums into developing an element that – to put it mildly – would be used by two people out of a thousand users,” says Jiří Gédoš.
An unclear brief increases project costs, extends the implementation timeline, and can lead to mutual frustration – because if everything is constantly being adjusted, you and the agency preparing your website will likely become desperate sooner or later.
How the introductory workshop helps
You want a new website, but you don't have answers to all the questions yet? That definitely doesn't mean you have to give up on your project. At the beginning of every collaboration, we organize an introductory workshop for our clients, where we go through all the important points and help you refine your brief.
Using various methodologies, we can find answers to most questions. However, there is something you should know yourself before the introductory meeting. Keep in mind your business model and the goal of the new project. We really can't come up with that for you.
And a final piece of advice: it's not a mistake to admit that you don't know something. Be honest with yourself and others when providing the brief. “The worst approach is when a client doesn't know the information but pretends they do. Of course, this affects the outcome of the entire project. At PUX, we like to say: I believe it, but I wouldn't bet on it,” adds Jiří Gédoš.
Checklist: 5 things to consider when creating a brief
Before you take your brief out into the world, make sure that you have all the important information gathered. This will simplify the work for you and others.
- ☐ Do I know my customers? Do I know exactly who I am targeting and who uses my services or products?
- ☐ Do I know the needs and concerns of my customers? Do I understand how they use my product or service?
- ☐ Do I know my product, its (dis)advantages in the market? Why should my customer not go to the competition?
- ☐ Do I know why I want a new website/project? Why do I want to reach out to an agency and invest resources into a new solution?
- ☐ Am I sufficiently competent to create the brief for the new project? Is there someone else in the company who might have a better overview in specific areas?
Do you have a new project in mind and need help with its realization? Get in touch, we would be happy to discuss the options with you.
