When first taking steps to work with a website development team, many underestimate how much detail they need to provide in their initial brief to get the most out of their investment, as well as the project timeline.
If you overlook the importance of a brief, your collaboration with a web development agency in London will start off on the wrong foot. A brief not only conveys what you want to build, but also aligns all expectations, reduces delays, and limits the number of revisions required. Whether it’s launching an e-commerce website, doing a branding overhaul, or fixing some kinks, the guidance you provide will have a direct impact on your website from day one.
Short project timelines aren’t just about getting things done quickly; What concerns them most is communication between teams and precise planning. The perfect brief helps a web developer prevent project scope expansion, establish a practical timeline, and minimize ambiguity. So how do you make sure yours is up to standard?
Below we explain the essential characteristics of a strong web development direction and offer practical tips and tricks to ensure you work efficiently with your team and achieve a successful outcome.
What are your business goals?
Let’s start with the basics. Why are you updating your current website (or creating a completely new one)? Business owners often make a mistake when they focus solely on the features and appearance of their web design and not what they are doing it for.
It’s important to ask yourself:
● What are the main results you want to achieve with this project?
● Is this project intended to generate new leads, increase brand awareness, improve credibility, reduce customer pain points or increase your online bookings/sales?
● How do you want to measure success after the market launch?
These clear goals give website developers insight and expectations so they can prioritize what’s right for you. They also offer you the most suitable technical solutions.
Who is your target group?
The users navigating your website have their own expectations. These are the people we want to impress, not just with the product you offer, but also with the website experience. By understanding your target audience and providing this information to the web agency, you can create a website that delivers the right message, design and functionality, ultimately leading to happier, paying customers.
Include details about the target audience in your brief; that could be:
● The demographic of people browsing, including age, location, occupation, interests, etc.
● Their behavior, from the way they use your new website to the actions you expect them to take.
● Current challenges these prospects may be facing and how you plan to solve them.
Providing this context early reduces guesswork for developers and designers, which in turn speeds decision making and improves the end result.
The scope and functions
Can you guess a website developer’s worst nightmare? An unclear, evolving scope of work. This is one of the main reasons why many projects like this stall and create tension between teams. Your brief must be specific. Remember the following:
● The core functionality of your new and improved website, from member sign-ups to e-commerce functionality to search functionality.
● Always indicate how many pages you think you will need in addition to the templates.
● Your design requirements, including layouts, features to avoid, and most importantly, the company’s brand guidelines.
● Along with the brief, send your website designer any copy, third-party integrations, and existing content that needs to be added to your pages.
If it’s easier for you, you can always explain these forecasts in business terms. The agency you work with can then translate this into the technical approach for the project.
Brand and style guidelines
Asset deployment is a huge advantage because it means the designer and developer has to waste less time guessing. By clearly aligning branding and styling, you have more time to create mockups that meet your expectations and guidelines.
Your branding and styling assets could include:
● Examples of competitor websites you like and why you like them
● Your logos and other relevant images
● Color palettes and typography settings
● Messaging and tone of voice
● Any other branding elements you deem essential
Visual direction doesn’t have to be complex, but developers and designers need a sense of your brand identity before starting.
What is your ideal schedule?
Timelines not only keep track of things, but also ensure that everyone is on the same page. Instead of a final deadline for the entire project, ask your agency to provide a clear overview of all phases of the website development process.
These phases can be:
- Discovery calls and briefing deadlines
- Design models and approvals for the first phase
- Frontend development
- Backend development
- Quality assurance
- Test and refine
- Launch day
- Post-launch support if agreed in advance
These clear phases ensure accountability, reference points and seamless project management, allowing everyone to monitor progress without the team feeling micromanaged or pressured to reassure you that the process is on track.
Other factors to consider when briefing a website development agency:
● Technical access to hosting, CMS and third-party tools to avoid delays
● Clear communication roles and response expectations to avoid bottlenecks
● Defined testing standards to ensure quality before market launch
● Post-launch support expectations to maintain continuity and success
So what have we learned?
A sophisticated brief is much more than a simple document that you hand out to someone who works for you. It can be a strategic tool that defines your business goals, scope of work, relevant brand assets, required technical access and alignment with timelines. Informing your prospective web development agency before starting a project will ensure faster turnaround and higher quality of work produced. Align your expectations with your website developer and watch the success of your partnership grow.
