Bad briefs produce quotes you can't compare. One agency prices a template build, another prices a strategy-led custom project, and you're left staring at a $4,000 quote next to a $28,000 quote wondering which one is lying.
Neither is. They answered different questions, because the brief didn't specify which question to answer.
A good brief takes two or three hours to write and saves weeks of misalignment. Here's what belongs in it.
1. Business Context
Start with what you do and who buys from you — briefly, but specifically enough that a stranger understands your market.
Cover:
- What the business does, in two sentences
- Who your customers are, and what triggers them to start looking
- Your competitors, named, with links
- What makes you a better choice than them
That last point does more work than any other section. If an agency doesn't understand your differentiation, they'll design something generic, and generic sites don't convert.
2. The Problem You're Solving
Not "we need a new website." What's actually wrong?
Useful problem statements sound like:
"We rank well and get 4,000 visits a month, but only 12 people fill in the contact form. We think the site fails to explain what we do."
"Our site isn't editable without a developer, so nothing has been updated in two years."
"We're moving upmarket and the current site prices us out of conversations before they start."
Vague problems get vague solutions. A clear problem lets an agency propose something targeted — and lets you judge afterwards whether it worked.
3. Objectives and Success Metrics
Name the number. What does success look like twelve months after launch?
Examples: increase form submissions from 12 to 40 per month; reduce bounce rate on service pages below 55%; cut the time to publish a new case study from two weeks to one hour; support 30% more traffic without page speed degrading.
If you can't measure it, you can't tell whether you got what you paid for.
4. Scope
The section that most affects your quote.
Pages and templates. List the pages you expect, and — more importantly — group them into template types. "About, Contact, Team" might all use one template. Twelve service pages might use one. Say so.
Functionality. Be explicit. Contact forms, booking or scheduling, gated downloads, member login, search, multi-language, ecommerce with catalog size, calculators, quote tools.
Integrations. Name the actual systems. "Connects to HubSpot" is scopeable. "Integrates with our CRM" is not.
Content. Who writes the copy? Who supplies photography? This single question can move a quote by thousands.
5. Design Direction
Give agencies something to react to rather than a blank page.
Include three to five sites you admire — from any industry — and say specifically what you like about each. "Clean" is unhelpful. "The way their pricing page uses a comparison table instead of three cards" is useful.
Also list what you dislike, with examples. Knowing what to avoid saves at least one revision round.
Note any brand constraints: existing logo, colors, fonts, brand guidelines document, or whether the identity is also up for review.
6. Technical Requirements
- Preferred platform, if you have one, and why
- Current hosting, and whether you're open to moving
- Anything that must be preserved from the existing site
- Accessibility requirements — WCAG 2.2 AA if you're subject to compliance
- Performance expectations
- Who maintains the site after launch
- Data or privacy requirements specific to your sector
7. Budget
Share the range. Yes, really.
The common fear is that agencies will simply quote whatever number you name. Serious agencies won't — they'll use it to scope appropriately. And withholding it guarantees three incomparable proposals.
If you're genuinely unsure what's reasonable, say so: "We think $10,000–$15,000 but we'd like to understand what different levels buy."
8. Timeline
Give a target launch date and — crucially — the reason behind it. "We'd like it soon" gets treated differently from "our trade show is March 14th and we need it live by then."
Also state your own availability. If your one decision-maker is away for three weeks in the middle of the project, that belongs in the brief.
9. Decision Process
Tell agencies how they'll be evaluated:
- Who reviews proposals and who makes the final call
- Your criteria and rough weighting
- Key dates: submission deadline, shortlist, decision, kickoff
- Whether there'll be a presentation stage
- How many agencies are being approached
This is a courtesy, and it filters out agencies who won't invest in a proper response.
Common Mistakes
Writing a 40-page RFP for a $12,000 project. The effort should match the scale. Good agencies decline bloated processes.
Asking for spec work. Requesting free homepage designs from five agencies means you'll only hear from those with nothing better to do.
Listing features instead of outcomes. Say what the site must achieve; let the agency propose how. You're buying their judgment.
Hiding the awkward parts. Difficult stakeholders, a failed previous project, unresolved brand issues — these surface eventually. Disclosed upfront they get planned around; discovered in week six they become change orders.
A Simple Structure
- About the business
- The problem
- Objectives and metrics
- Scope: pages, features, integrations
- Content responsibilities
- Design direction and references
- Technical requirements
- Budget range
- Timeline and constraints
- Decision process and contacts
Three to six pages is plenty. Clear beats comprehensive.
Want our brief template? We share the same document we use to scope our own projects — no email gate, just ask.