How to brief a web design agency: a step-by-step guide

Overview

Most website projects that go wrong start with a brief that was too vague, too prescriptive, or too focused on design preferences rather than business goals. A good brief does not constrain the agency. It gives them exactly what they need to bring genuine strategic thinking to your project rather than guessing.

This guide walks through what a strong brief looks like, what to include in each section, and the mistakes that cause projects to start badly and cost more than they should.

In this article:

1. Why a good brief matters
2. What to include in a web design brief
3. Section-by-section: what to write
4. Common briefing mistakes
5. What happens after you send the brief
6. Brief template: copy and complete

This article is part of our complete guide to B2B web design.

1. Why a good brief matters

A web design brief serves three purposes. First, it forces you to clarify your own thinking before spending money. Second, it enables the agency to give you an accurate proposal: vague briefs produce vague proposals that do not reflect what the project will actually involve. Third, it sets shared expectations for what success looks like.

2. What to include in a web design brief

A complete web design brief for a B2B project should cover:

1. Background and business context
2. Project goals and commercial objectives
3. Target audience and buyer personas
4. Current website: what is working and what is not
5. Scope: pages, functionality, and CMS requirements
6. Brand and design guidelines
7. Content: who is responsible for what
8. Timeline and key milestones
9. Budget range
10. Decision-making process and sign-off

3. Section-by-section: what to write

Background and business context

Give the agency a clear picture of who you are, what you do, who your customers are, and where you are in your growth journey. Include:

• What your company does in plain language, not your mission statement
• The size of your business, team, and market
• Your competitive landscape: who are you competing with, how do you differentiate
• Any recent changes: funding, rebrand, new product launches, leadership changes

Project goals and commercial objectives

This is the most important section and the one most often written too vaguely. We want a new website is not a goal. Specific goals include:

• Generate 20 qualified leads per month from organic search within six months of launch
• Reduce our sales cycle by giving prospects more information before the first call
• Reposition us as a premium provider in our sector and justify higher pricing
• Support an expansion into two new markets with localised pages and messaging

Target audience and buyer personas

Describe who you are trying to reach: their role, their seniority, their industry, their pain points, and the decisions they make. Include what they need to see on a website to build confidence in a supplier.

Current website: what is working and what is not

Be honest. Share your current site URL and tell the agency what you think is working, what is not, and what data you have to support that view. Include current traffic levels, conversion rates, feedback from your sales team, and any specific technical problems.

Scope: pages, functionality, and CMS

Define what the new site should include: a list of all page types required, any custom functionality, your preferred CMS platform, integrations that need to be maintained, and any multi-language requirements.

Not sure which CMS to specify? Read our guide to WordPress vs Webflow vs HubSpot for B2B before writing this section.

Brand and design guidelines

Tell the agency what brand assets exist and what flexibility they have. Share existing brand guidelines if you have them. Include any visual references: websites you admire, competitor sites to differentiate from.

Content: who is responsible for what

Be clear about: who is writing the copy, whether you have existing case studies, what photography or imagery exists, and who owns the sign-off process for final copy.

Timeline and budget

Be honest about both. A brief that does not include a budget range produces proposals that are guesses. Include a realistic launch date if one exists, and any hard deadlines driven by external factors.

Not sure what to budget? Read our B2B website cost guide for realistic investment bands.

4. Common briefing mistakes

Being too prescriptive about the design

Briefs that specify the layout, navigation structure, colour scheme, and page templates in detail are not briefs. They are specifications. These decisions should follow from strategy, not precede it.

Not including a budget

A budget range helps an agency propose a scope that is actually deliverable within your constraints. Without one, proposals are based on guesswork.

Focusing on features, not outcomes

We want a homepage hero video, a chatbot, and an interactive timeline is a list of features, not a brief. Write goals first. Let the agency propose the features that serve those goals.

Not aligning stakeholders before briefing

If the CEO, Marketing Director, and Sales Director each have different views of what the website should do, the briefing process will surface those disagreements at the most expensive possible moment. Align internally before engaging agencies.

5. What happens after you send the brief

A good agency will respond in one of three ways: a follow-up call to clarify specific points; a written proposal that maps their process, scope, and investment to your stated goals; or a discovery session before proposing, if the brief requires more information to scope accurately.

Be wary of agencies that send a proposal immediately with no clarifying questions. It suggests they are proposing a standard package rather than responding to your specific situation.

For guidance on evaluating proposals and selecting the right agency, read our guide to choosing a B2B web design agency.

6. Brief template: copy and complete

Use this structure as the basis for your brief. Replace the bracketed sections with your own content.

Back to the complete guide to B2B web design.