Free client website brief template
A clear brief makes the next conversation easier.
Use this client website brief template to agree what you are building before you build it. Copy the questions, fill them in with your client, and turn the answers into a useful starting prompt.
Use the brief to settle the important decisions.
Complete it in a call or send it ahead of your first meeting. Keep unknowns visible, ask the client to approve the facts and assets, and agree who will review the result.
Copy into your own document
The client website brief.
Use all seven sections or adapt them to the project. Keep login details and passwords in your usual secure sharing process.
Business and audience
- Business name and existing website:
- What does the business do, and where?
- Who is the website for?
- What brings someone to this business rather than another?
The website's main job
- What should a visitor do next?
- What does that visitor need to know before acting?
- Which services or offers take priority?
- How will the business handle an inquiry?
Pages and content
- Which pages are needed, and what is each for?
- What services, prices, hours, and coverage are confirmed?
- Which contact details should be public?
- Which claims or credentials has the client verified?
Photos, logo, and design
- Which photos, logo files, and text are approved for use?
- Who owns or has permission to use those assets?
- What should the site feel like?
- Which reference sites are useful, and what do you like about each?
Inquiries and other services
- What fields should a contact or request form collect?
- Who will receive and respond to submissions?
- Which existing booking, shop, or other service should the site link to?
- Which details need to be confirmed before building?
Review and approval
- Who is the client's decision-maker?
- How and when will they send one consolidated list of feedback?
- Which pages and facts need their approval?
- Who will check the website on phone and desktop?
Domain and ongoing updates
- Which domain will the site use, and who manages it?
- Who will make the DNS changes when the site is ready?
- Does the domain also handle email?
- Who maintains the site after launch, and how will changes be requested?
- What launch date are you working toward?
A worked example
A plumbing website, with a clear job to do.
This completed example draws on the brief for Kettleworth Plumbing & Heating. Notice how the audience and main action lead to practical decisions about pages, prices, and contact routes.
- Business
- Kettleworth Plumbing & Heating, serving households and landlords in south Birmingham.
- Main action
- Request a call-out. Give emergencies a clear phone route and routine jobs a request form.
- Pages
- Home, Services and prices, Emergencies, and Contact.
- Key details
- Coverage includes Kings Heath, Moseley, Stirchley, Bournville, Hall Green, and Selly Oak. A £60 call-out includes the first half hour; boiler servicing is £85.
- Style and imagery
- Plain, practical language and photographs of work, tools, and the van. Make services and prices easy to find.
- Request form
- Name, phone number, postcode, the problem, and whether it is urgent.
Kettleworth Plumbing & Heating
Compare these planning decisions with the original brief and the resulting website.
Explore the brief and websiteFrom answers to a starting point
Turn the brief into the first message.
You do not need to compress every detail into one sentence. Start with the purpose and page plan, then bring the confirmed facts and files into the conversation.
Example starting prompt
Build a website for Kettleworth Plumbing & Heating, serving households and landlords in south Birmingham. The main action is to request a call-out. Include Home, Services and prices, Emergencies, and Contact. Make the phone route clear for emergencies and include a request form for routine jobs. Use plain language and a practical design with room for photos of the work. I will provide the confirmed prices, service areas, hours, contact details, and approved images for the brief.
Replace the example with your client's details. Designhouse helps you develop the brief before you confirm the build. Use approved content: the first successful build publishes at a Designhouse address.
Putting the brief to work.
Updated September 2026
Have a brief ready to build?
Bring the agreed details into Designhouse and plan the website with the chat.
See example sites