To design a successful website, your web designer needs to know your business and your goals for that business as well as you do. That’s why the key to an easy, productive collaboration between business and web designer is a clear website brief.
If you are stuck on your website brief, read on for a guide on how to write a business website brief that your web designer will understand.
What exactly is a Website Design Brief, anyway?
It’s simply a document designed to guide the web design process from start to finish. A brief acts as a reference point for all parties involved in the website creation. Therefore, it must be comprehensive, detailed, and clear. Ideally, you already have a strong vision for how your website can represent your business, so a brief is simply a matter of communicating that through a written document. As you write your brief, focus on the following elements:
Business
A website is often the first place a potential customer will go to get a sense of what you offer and what your business stands for. At its best, your website will communicate who you are as a business. First and foremost, the web designer needs to become familiar with your company.
- What exactly do you do and why are you passionate about it?
- What service or product do you sell?
- What sets you apart on the market?
- What are your long-term goals?
Give your web designer the opportunity to get to know your business as well as you do so that he or she can communicate your message.
Users
Customer base greatly influences the look and feel of a website. Your web designer needs to know the demographics and reasons for visiting. Answer the following questions:
- What is the predominant gender and age group?
- What are the language requirements?
- Are you targeting locally or globally?
- Why do people visit your website? (research, news, entertainment, ecommerce, etc.)
- If you already have a website, has the target audience changed?
- How will users be accessing your website? (mobile device, computer, etc.)
You got to know your target audience intimately in order to build a business, and now your web designer needs the same information to build a website.
Website
How do you see your business benefiting from a website? Let your web designer know what you need for a website to be successful. You will also need to lay out some practical information, such as:
- a breakdown of sections
- necessary features and functions such as blog, commerce, and newsletter
- A general sense of what you want it to look like
If you already have a website, consider the following:
- What did you like and dislike about it?
- Why are you looking to rebuild?
- What portion of your traffic comes from mobile devices and are you looking to change that?
- How often does your website lead to genuine sales?
Design
Be creative here. What sort of look do you want? List websites that inspire you. Show examples of images and fonts that you like. Use key words: is your website feminine? contemporary? Do you want it to feel professional or more relaxed?
Budget
Now that you have communicated your vision for your ideal website, it’s time to get practical. A budget is key to knowing exactly what is achievable. Consider your overall budget and how you want to divide it for website design, ongoing site maintenance, and digital marketing.
As long as you know what you want and communicate it with clarity in your brief, the website design process should run smoothly.
Do you want some more help connecting with customers? Here at Pixel Fish, we connect you to your target audience in an organic way.
Contact us today to start building the online presence that your audience is waiting for.
Further Information
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