Business website brief template: fill it in before asking for quotes

A business website brief is a short document that tells a developer who your visitors are, what they must be able to do on the site, which pages and features you need, what materials you already have, and when the work counts as finished. Copy the template below, complete it in plain language, and send the same file to every provider you contact.

Without a brief, two providers price two different jobs. One quote may already include copywriting and form setup, while the other assumes you supply both. The price gap only makes sense once both providers are quoting for the same requirements.

A brief template you can copy

Fill in what you already know. Open decisions can go in as questions, such as "Do we need two languages, or is one enough?", so the provider explains the options and what each costs.

WEBSITE BRIEF
Date and version:

1. BUSINESS
Business name:
Line of business and service area:
Person in charge and contact:
Final approver:

2. VISITORS
Who is looking for us:
Their questions:

3. GOAL
One main action:
Who receives it and replies:
How we measure it:

4. PAGES
Pages and the question each answers:

5. FEATURES REQUIRED AT LAUNCH
Feature, how it works, where the data goes:

6. CAN FOLLOW LATER
Features for the next phase:

7. MATERIALS
Already available:
Not yet available, and who prepares it:
Who approves their use:

8. MANAGEMENT
Parts we change ourselves:
Who changes them:

9. BUDGET AND SCHEDULE
Initial cost limit:
Recurring cost per year:
Deadline and the reason for it:

10. HANDOVER
Accounts in our business's name:
Guide or training:
Conditions for accepting the work:

The ten sections cover four concerns. Sections 1 to 3 explain what the website is for, 4 to 6 define what gets built, 7 and 8 record what you provide and manage yourself, and 9 and 10 set the cost limit, the time limit and the conditions for acceptance.

How to fill in the sections that most often go wrong

Goal

Write the result you expect in one sentence. "Potential customers can check the service area and request a site survey via WhatsApp" is more useful than "a modern website", because it shows at once which pages and which flow to build.

Choose the action that matches how you sell: asking for a quote, booking an appointment or buying. If your staff must assess a customer's needs first, a consultation button usually fits better than a checkout. Also name who replies to these requests, since the person you name decides where the form data is sent.

Pages

Pair every page with the customer question it answers, for example "Service area: do you cover my district?". If two pages answer the same question, merge them. If a page answers nobody's question, cut it.

Features

Providers price a feature by how it works, so its name alone is not enough. A request for a CMS (content management system) should state which parts can be edited, the user roles and who may publish changes. A request for a form should state the fields, where submissions go and what happens if sending fails.

What often gets written	What a provider can price
A modern, elegant website	Three reference websites, and the part you like in each
Has a CMS	The admin changes prices, service areas and opening hours without help. One person publishes changes.
Has a contact form	Four fields, submissions go to the admin, the visitor gets a confirmation, and input errors are explained
Available in two languages	Indonesian and English for five pages, translation supplied by us
Can upload products	About 40 products with photos, entered by the provider from our spreadsheet

Materials

Mark what is still missing and who will prepare it. If nobody is lined up to write the service descriptions yet, say so plainly, because writing is separate work that goes into the price. Also confirm that you may use the photos and the logo, and note who has the right to approve them.

Budget and schedule

State both your initial cost limit and the recurring cost per year you can afford. With those limits, a provider can propose a scope that fits from the start. A deadline with a business reason, such as a branch opening, is easier to respond to than "as soon as possible". How to work out recurring costs is covered in our article on website development cost components.

Completion criteria

Write down what can be tested on handover day. For a form, for example: a test request reaches the right recipient, the visitor gets a confirmation, and input errors are explained. A target for new customers does not belong here, because that figure can only be evaluated once the website is in use.

A filled-in example brief

This example is made up, figures included. An air conditioner (AC) servicing business serves households in Karawang, West Java. Its customers usually ask about the service area, the type of work, what the job will likely involve and when a visit can be scheduled.

Section	Content
Business	Household AC servicing in Karawang. The owner is the person in charge and also gives final approval.
Visitors	Homeowners who want to know whether their district is covered, what work is done and when a technician can come.
Goal	The visitor sends an inspection request, the admin replies via WhatsApp, and the number of requests is counted from the forms received.
Pages	Home, Services (what work do you do?), Service area (is my district covered?), About us (who will come to my house?), Contact (how do I book?).
Required features	A form asking for a preferred name, district, type of service needed and contact details for the reply. Submissions go to the admin and the visitor gets a confirmation.
Can follow later	Regular service reminders, each customer's service history and online payment.
Materials	The logo and job photos are available, and permission for the photos has been obtained. The service descriptions do not exist yet, so providers are asked to price the writing separately.
Management	The admin updates the service areas and booking hours without help.
Budget and schedule	Initial cost of at most IDR 5,000,000, recurring cost of at most IDR 1,000,000 a year, live before the June servicing promotion.
Handover	Domain and hosting in the business's name, a short guide to changing the service areas, and a test form sent from a phone that reaches the admin.

Separate what must be ready at launch from what can follow

You can test each feature that comes to mind with one question: if it did not exist yet, could the customer still complete the main action? If so, move it to the second list.

In the made-up AC business, customers need the service information, the list of areas and a form to request an inspection. Service reminders, service history and online payment are useful, but customers can still book without them.

Ask providers to price the two lists separately. You can then decide the phases from the quoted figures, and the postponed features already have a cost estimate when their turn comes.

Accessibility requirements to put in the brief

The W3C, the body that develops web standards, makes accessibility part of the work from the planning stage in its planning guidance: responsibilities are assigned, a budget is set, and the results are evaluated early and regularly. For a business website, three lines in the brief are enough to start with:

• All menus, buttons and forms can be used with a keyboard alone.
• Every form field has a clear label.
• Text stays readable and is not cut off when enlarged.

Technical testing is the job of the team building the site, and you can ask to see sample results. The W3C also offers Easy Checks that anyone can try, such as moving between parts of a page with the Tab key. As the business owner, try the three main tasks on a phone: finding information, filling in the form and opening the contact details. If something goes wrong, note the page address and the steps that caused it.

Five questions before you send the brief

• Does each page answer a different customer need?
• Who writes the copy and supplies the photos if the materials are incomplete?
• Who gives final approval and collects the revisions?
• Have you asked about recurring costs and managing the site after launch?
• Are domain, hosting and admin access on the handover list?

Keep the agreed version of the brief with its quote. If features are added later, record the change in scope and schedule in the same document. When the website is nearly finished, build on the completion criteria with a pre-launch checklist.

To work out what you need at the start, see the details of our web development service. You can send your completed brief through our contact page.