Website strategy
What a website brief should answer before design starts
A useful brief does not prescribe the homepage. It gives the design team enough truth to solve the right problem.
Many website briefs begin with a page count, a list of features and a handful of websites someone likes. Those inputs can help, but they do not explain what the website needs to change for the business or the person using it.
01
Start with the business shift
Describe what should be different after the website launches. The business may need stronger enquiries, a clearer product story, faster sales conversations or a credible first impression in a new market. A measurable direction is more useful than “make it modern.”
02
Name the decision the visitor must make
A website cannot guide everyone toward everything equally. Define the most valuable audience, what they need to believe and the action they should feel ready to take. Secondary audiences can still be served without weakening the primary journey.
03
Separate facts from assumptions
Existing analytics, search data, sales questions and customer interviews are evidence. Internal opinions about what customers probably want are assumptions. Both can enter discovery, but they should not carry the same weight.
04
Make constraints visible early
Content availability, approval structures, technology, legal requirements, integrations and immovable dates all affect the right solution. Hidden constraints do not disappear; they simply become expensive later.
05
Define how the work will be judged
Agree on success measures and review criteria before visual options appear. This helps feedback stay connected to clarity, audience fit, conversion, accessibility and performance rather than personal taste alone.
Keep these five things
The practical takeaway
- 01 Describe the business outcome before listing pages.
- 02 Prioritize an audience, decision and primary action.
- 03 Bring evidence and label assumptions honestly.
- 04 Share content, technical and approval constraints.
- 05 Agree on success and review criteria.
Published by Papper Web. This article provides general website-planning guidance; project requirements should be validated against the actual business, audience and technical context.