Most project problems trace back to a vague brief. A brief does not need to be long or formal — it needs to communicate what you are trying to achieve, for whom, and what "done" looks like. Everything after that is easier.
Start with the goal, in plain terms
Not "we need a new website" but "we need more of the right enquiries", "we need to look credible to enterprise buyers", or "our current site can't be updated and it's holding us back". The goal shapes every later decision.
Describe the audience
Who is this for? What do they already know about you? What are they trying to do when they arrive? A site for existing customers is a different project from a site for people who have never heard of you.
Say what already exists and what you have
- Current site URL and what does and does not work about it.
- Brand assets: logo, colours, fonts, guidelines — or a note that these need creating.
- Content: do you have finished text and images, or does this need writing and art direction?
- Technical constraints: hosting, a CRM or booking tool it must connect to, an existing platform you must stay on.
Define success and constraints
- How will you know the project worked? (Enquiries, sign-ups, a specific page that must perform.)
- Budget range — even approximate. It lets the team scope to reality instead of guessing.
- Timeline, and what is driving it. A real deadline is useful; an arbitrary one adds risk.
What to leave open
Resist specifying the solution. "We want a full-screen video hero and a mega-menu" pre-empts the work you are paying for. Describe the problem and the outcome; let the team propose how. If you already know exactly what to build, you may not need an agency — you need a production team.
Include examples, carefully
Two or three sites you admire, with a sentence each on *why* — "this one explains a complex product clearly", not "this looks nice". Also useful: one or two you dislike, and why.
In short
Goal, audience, what exists, what success looks like, budget and timeline — that is a brief. It saves weeks. When you have one, send it over and we will come back with questions and an approach — or read how to choose a digital agency first.