What to include in a website redesign brief

Start with one customer task

A useful redesign brief explains what is difficult today. “Our site looks dated” describes a feeling. “Customers cannot tell which service they need or how to request a quote” gives a designer a problem to solve.

Name your main audience and the action they should be able to complete. For a service business, that might be checking availability, finding the right service, or sending a qualified enquiry. Choose a primary task for each important page rather than asking every page to do everything.

Write down what happens after that action, too. Who receives the enquiry? What information do they need to respond? A form is only useful if someone can act on its contents.

Collect the material the site will use

Make a small content inventory before asking for a design estimate. Mark each item as ready, needs an update, or needs to be created. This helps separate design work from writing, photography, and content approval.

• Current service descriptions and the questions customers ask before buying.
• Business name, contact details, address, and opening hours.
• Original photos, brand files, and examples you have permission to publish.
• Existing pages or resources that customers still need.
• The person responsible for approving each piece of content.

Make the boundaries explicit

List the systems the new website must work with: booking software, a customer database, payment tools, or a form destination. Note whether access is available and who owns each account. Avoid putting passwords in the brief.

Share your budget range, desired launch date, and any event that makes the date important. Ask the agency to identify what fits that scope and what can wait. A short list of must-haves is easier to price and deliver than a long list where every item has the same priority.

Define how you will review the result

Use real tasks as acceptance checks: find a service on a phone, place a call, send an enquiry, and confirm it reaches the right person. Include the content editor’s tasks as well, such as changing hours or replacing a photo.

Plan to involve people with disabilities in feedback where possible, alongside accessibility standards and checks. W3C recommends involving users during web projects; one person’s experience should not be treated as a complete accessibility evaluation.

Reference: W3C: Involving users in web projects

Use this short brief outline

Bring these answers to your first project conversation. They are a starting point for agreeing on scope, not a requirement to solve the design yourself.

• Our main customer is…
• The task they need to complete is…
• The current obstacle is…
• The content and systems we already have are…
• Our budget, timing, and decision-maker are…
• We will consider the project ready when…