Send us a clear development brief when requesting an assessment or quotation for a website project. The brief should describe the required result, existing systems and acceptance criteria so the proposed scope can be reviewed accurately.
01 Prepare the brief
- Describe the business, intended audience and the main actions visitors should complete. Prioritise outcomes such as qualified enquiries, bookings or completed purchases.
- List required pages and functions. Separate essential launch requirements from later enhancements and identify who supplies copy, images, translations and product data.
- Describe the current domain, hosting, email and website platform. State whether the work is a new build, redesign, migration or repair.
- List integrations such as payments, booking, CRM, forms and analytics. Identify the account owner and available supported connection method without sending secret credentials in the brief.
- Provide examples of desired visual qualities and explain what you like about them. Confirm brand assets and image-use rights.
- Set measurable acceptance checks for mobile navigation, forms, key transactions, performance expectations and accessibility needs.
- State the target date, budget range and ongoing maintenance needs. Ask the proposal to identify deliverables, exclusions, dependencies, ownership and the process for changes.
02 Example: a brief for a local service business
A useful request could read: “We need a website for a fictional repair business with Home, Services, Service Areas, About and Contact pages. The launch goal is to receive qualified repair enquiries from mobile visitors. We will supply the logo, approved photographs, service descriptions and contact details. Online payments are a later phase.”
Add measurable checks: a visitor can find the phone number without signing in, submit a form with the device type and preferred appointment date, receive a clear confirmation, and have that enquiry arrive at the agreed business inbox. State who owns the domain and email, the target launch date and the available budget range. This lets the proposal separate the initial build from future booking or payment integrations.
Common questions
Does buying hosting include a custom website build?
Confirm the specific order. Hosting, a builder licence and bespoke development are different deliverables, and a development scope must be agreed explicitly.
Should I provide administrator passwords with the first enquiry?
No. Describe the systems first. Arrange any required access later through an approved, limited and revocable method.
How do I make a deadline realistic?
Include time for content delivery, integration approvals, testing and review. Identify decisions that the business must make before implementation can proceed.