Start with a specific business outcome
Describe what is difficult about the current situation and what a better website would help visitors do. Identify the primary audience and the most important enquiry or decision. Avoid a list of fashionable visual effects without a purpose. Reference sites are helpful when you explain the particular layout, clarity or tone you want to learn from.
List content and functions separately
Outline the main information areas, languages and any product or project catalogue. Then describe forms, booking, payments or account requirements as visitor journeys. Include the existing site and any URLs that matter. Mark material that is ready, needs revision or does not exist yet. This separates production effort from functionality.
Make the approval process workable
Name the person who can approve scope, content and design. Share meaningful deadlines and dependencies, such as a product launch or a photographer’s schedule. Provide budget context if available and identify firm constraints. Keep passwords and private customer data out of the initial brief; access requirements can be handled later through an appropriate authorised process.
A practical next step
What to prepare.
- Outcome and audience
Write one primary goal and the visitor group it serves.
- Material inventory
List existing pages, images, documents and missing content.
- Decision route
Confirm approver, feedback timing and any fixed launch dependency.
Questions worth asking.
Do we need to know the technology?
No. Describe the business requirements and operating needs; implementation choices can follow discovery.
Can the brief contain unknowns?
Yes. Label them and explain which decisions depend on resolving them.
Should we send login details?
No. An initial brief should describe access needs without including credentials or sensitive records.