Start with the problem, not the number of screens
“We need a modern website” is an understandable wish, but it is not yet a brief. Try describing the situation: customers struggle to choose a service, sales staff answer the same questions, or a new line of business has no online presence. This context helps decide what the website actually needs.
Tell us about your customers
Who makes the decision? What do they already know about your company? What alternatives do they consider, and what concerns them? Even a few real questions from customer conversations are more useful than an abstract audience profile. There is no need to present assumptions as facts: unknowns can be researched separately.
Gather what you already have
Presentations, service descriptions, photos, a logo, a catalogue and testimonials cleared for publication all help reveal the substance of your business. You do not have to rewrite everything at once. First, we identify what is usable, what is out of date and what still needs to be prepared.
Set out the constraints
An indicative budget, a target date, an existing business system and the team who will update the website are part of the brief. The earlier we know about them, the fewer decisions we will need to revisit. If the deadline is tied to an event, separate the launch essentials from the next phase.
Agree on the outcome
Before work begins, agree on the pages and features, the approval process and the criteria for completion. This is not about anticipating every detail; it is about sharing an understanding of the project’s boundaries. You can start the conversation without a technical specification: simply tell us about the business and what is not working today.