How to Write a Great Website Design Brief (2025 Edition)

In 2025, your website is more than just your digital storefront—it’s your brand’s first impression, growth engine, and customer experience hub all rolled into one. Whether you’re launching a new site or revamping an old one, a clear, well-structured website design brief remains the cornerstone of a successful web project.

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Why Your Website Brief Still Matters

A website brief helps translate your business objectives into a roadmap your design and development team can follow. Without it, you risk wasting time, money, and creative energy. And in a digital landscape that’s faster and more competitive than ever, clarity is currency.

A great brief saves you from:

Scope creep and blown budgets
Endless revisions and unclear feedback loops
Design choices that don’t align with your goals

So what does a great website design brief look like in 2025?

1. Start with the Basics

Your agency or freelance partner needs to know who you are. Provide a concise overview of your business:

What does your company do?
What are your core products or services?
Who are your customers?
What’s your unique value proposition?

Tip: If your business has gone through a recent rebrand, merger, or pivot—mention it upfront.

2. Define Your Website Goals

Ask yourself: Why are we doing this?

Your objectives should be specific, measurable, and business-driven. Common 2025 website goals include:

Generate qualified leads
Increase online sales or subscriptions
Improve user experience (UX) and accessibility
Integrate with CRM, AI chatbots, or other tools
Launch a new product or service

3. Know Your Audience

Great design is user-centered. Share insights about your customers:

Who are your primary and secondary audiences?
What are their pain points and motivations?
How do they use your current website (if you have one)?
Any personas or demographic data available?

4. Competitor & Industry Insights

In 2025, staying ahead of the competition means staying aware. Include:

3–5 competitor websites you admire or dislike (and why)
Industry benchmarks or UX trends you want to reflect
Sites outside your industry that inspire you

5. Technical Requirements & Functionality

Tech decisions are make-or-break. Be upfront about needs like:

CMS preference (e.g., Webflow, WordPress, headless CMS)
eCommerce capabilities
Multilingual support
Integrations (CRM, analytics, automation, etc.)
Accessibility (WCAG 2.2+) compliance

Also mention if you’ll need hosting, domain setup, or ongoing maintenance.

6. Sitemap & Content Plan

Outline your ideal page structure. At a minimum, include:

Homepage
Product/service pages
About
Contact
Blog or resources

Clarify whether content will be provided by you or created collaboratively.

7. Branding & Visual Direction

If you’ve already established brand guidelines—great, include them. If not, describe your visual preferences:

Brand colours and typography
Logo usage
Imagery or photography style
Overall tone (e.g., friendly, corporate, minimalist)

8. Budget & Timeline

These are essential guardrails. Even a rough range is better than none.

What is your budget range?
What is your ideal launch date?
Are there hard deadlines tied to events, campaigns, or product releases?

9. Key Stakeholders & Communication

Design by committee kills momentum. Identify:

Project owner(s)
Decision-makers
Preferred communication channels (Slack, email, Asana, etc.)
Frequency of check-ins or progress reviews

10. Must-Haves vs Nice-to-Haves

Prioritise your requirements so your team can plan effectively:

What features are essential?
What can wait for Phase 2?

Bonus Tip: Include Analytics & SEO Considerations

In 2025, digital success depends on visibility and data. Let your design partner know if you need:

SEO migration or strategy
GA4 and Google Tag Manager setup
Heatmaps or analytics dashboards
Conversion tracking

Ready to Get Started?

We’ve created a free, downloadable Website Design Brief Template to help you hit the ground running. It includes everything mentioned above—structured, editable, and ready to share with your team or agency.

👉 Download the Website Design Brief Template

Let’s make your next website project your best one yet.