Web Design Brief Creation

So, you've decided that you need a website.
Or maybe your current site is need of an overhaul.
But where do you begin? How do you know what to include in your site?

Preparing a clear brief is the first step towards helping us to develop the best solution for you.
Here you will find some suggestions on the sorts of things should you be thinking about and including in your brief.

Why are you building a website?

It's important for us to understand what has led you to your current situation.
Why do you need a new site or to update an existing one?
Is it because your competitors have launched a successful website?
Or are you launching a new product/service?
It is useful to include any information that will help us gain an understanding of your business, its brand, the current company situation and the industry you operate in.

Who is your audience?

Understanding who your audience is enables our designs to be more user focused. Understanding a users needs helps us make sure that their interaction engages them and directs them to your defined business goals for the site.

How will you judge the website a success?

Defining goals for the projects enables us to develop a solution that is optimized towards your aim. It helps us make better decisions, in terms of design and recommendations to you our client.
Websites design techniques have developed at a rapid rate over the past few years and it's important that the design of your site takes advantage of the latest user trends and interface techniques.

How do you want the website to look?

The clearer you can be about what you want, the easier it is for us to create a design that meets your needs. You may have a very specific idea of what you want the site to look like, from layout to colour, or you may be looking for some inspiration.
If you know of any sites that you like, or dislike, it will help to include links to them so we can have a look as see the reasons why you like/dislike them. This helps us to gain a better understanding of the type of design you like.

Other things you may want to consider are:

• Are there any company branding requirements or corporate guidelines we need to meet (with regards to colour, logos, fonts etc). Your company's communications department should be able to supply you with this information.
  
  
• Your target audience - maybe you want it to be animated, colourful, fun. Or perhaps your company needs a very corporate design that is clean and simple

What do you want to include in the site?

One of the most important things we need to know is what you are planning to put in the site as this can have a significant effect on how we build the site.

• If you have a site map you should include this with the brief
• If you don't have a site map, you need to think about what sections you want to include in the site and what information will be in these sections
• Will you be supplying the copy?
• Media requirements - do you have pictures, video, sound, animation?
• Will there be any interactive elements
• Do you require any specific functions - e.g. printable pages or real-time reporting?
• Will your site contain a product catalogue or have e-commerce functionality?
• Who will update the site? Will you require a Content Management System?