Free Website Design Brief Template (Copy or Download)
By MarketingToolsProHub Editorial Team | Last updated: | 5 min read
What should a website design brief include?
A website design brief should cover your business, the one action the site must get visitors to take, the pages and features you need, the tools it must connect to, who supplies the content, your budget and timeline, and who owns which accounts. This free template covers all of them, with extra sections for restaurants, hotels, gyms and local businesses.
- Download the template as a plain-text file, or copy it from this page. There's no sign-up.
- Fill in the section for your type of business: menus and reservations, booking engines, timetables, or services and areas.
- Send every designer the same brief, so their quotes can be compared.
- Say what you expect in the quote: fixed price, payment stages, revisions, support and ownership.
- Score your current site with a free website check before you start.
Why write a website design brief?
A brief does three jobs. It makes you decide what the website is for before anyone designs anything. It gives every designer the same information, so their quotes are comparable. And it becomes the checklist you use to judge the finished site. For projects we build, see our custom website development page.
Download the free website design brief template (plain text, opens in any editor), or copy the sections below.
What goes in each section of the template?
| Section | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Your business | What you do, where, for whom, and what makes you different | The designer writes and designs for your real customers |
| 2. What the site must do | The one main action, and how you'll measure it | Every page is built around that action |
| 3. Your current website | What works, what doesn't, and pages that bring in work | Protects what already ranks and converts |
| 4. Pages | The pages you need | Pages are the biggest driver of scope |
| 5. Features for your business | The section for restaurants, hotels, gyms or local businesses | Industry features are where quotes differ most |
| 6. Content | Who writes the words and supplies photos | Content is the most common cause of delays |
| 7. Tools to connect | Booking, payments, email, analytics | Integrations need time to build and test |
| 8. Budget, timeline and terms | Budget range, deadlines, and what you expect in the quote | Lets designers say early what's realistic |
| 9. Access you own | Who holds the domain, hosting and accounts today | Avoids a lock-in surprise later |
| 10. Anything else | Sites you like and don't, and your questions | Gives the designer a feel for your taste |
For technical requirements, it's enough to ask that the site works well on phones, because Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking, and that it meets Google's Core Web Vitals thresholds for speed and stability.
What extra sections do restaurants, hotels, gyms and local businesses need?
- Restaurants: how often the menu changes and who updates it, your reservation platform, online ordering (delivery apps or your own), private dining and events, and number of locations. See our restaurant website checklist.
- Hotels and B&Bs: rooms and room types, your booking engine and channel manager, languages and your direct-booking offer. See our hotel website checklist.
- Gyms and studios: your gym software, whether the timetable should come live from it, how people start (trial, intro offer or consultation), and whether prices are shown. See our gym website checklist.
- Local and service businesses: each service, the areas you cover, prices you can show, and how customers contact you (quote form, call, WhatsApp or photo upload). See our local business website checklist.
What does a filled-in website brief look like?
Here's an example for a fictional plumber, invented to show the level of detail that helps; it's not a client.
- Business: a two-van plumbing business covering three neighbouring towns; most customers are homeowners with urgent repairs.
- Main action: request a quote; success = more quote requests from phones each month.
- Current site: one page, no prices, phone number as an image; scored low on the free website check.
- Pages: home, one page per service (leaks, boilers, bathrooms), areas covered, prices, reviews, contact.
- Features: quote form with photo upload, tap-to-call, WhatsApp button, starting prices per service.
- Content: owner writes service notes; designer edits; own photos of past jobs.
- Tools: enquiries to email and WhatsApp; analytics recording quote requests and calls.
- Budget and timeline: a fixed written quote; launch before the winter boiler season.
- Access: the domain is in the owner's name; hosting is held by the old designer (to move).
You can see a site built around a brief like this in our local business website demo (a demo we built, not a client project).
What should you ask for in the quote?
Put your expectations in the brief, so every quote answers them: a fixed price for the agreed scope with exclusions listed, the timeline, payment stages (a deposit, then milestones), the number of revision rounds, support after launch, and that you'll own the website, code, domain and content once paid. Our website pricing page shows what every one of our quotes covers.
For reference, our own packages start from $5,000 for a Custom Business Website, $7,500 with a booking system, and $10,000+ for larger systems; a build typically takes around 2 months, depending on scope.
These are approximate figures based on published pricing and industry reports at the time of writing. Your actual cost depends on your scope and will be confirmed after a free discovery call with us.
Our guide to website design cost by country helps you set a realistic budget range.
How do you use the brief once it's written?
- Score your current site with the free website grader and add the score to section 3.
- Send the same brief to two or three designers.
- Compare their questions as well as their quotes: good designers ask about the gaps.
- Use our guide to hiring a web designer to score their answers.
- Keep the brief: it's your checklist when the site is ready for review.
Frequently asked questions
Summary
A good website design brief covers your business, the one action the site must drive, the pages and industry features you need, content, integrations, budget and terms, and who owns which accounts. Download the free template, fill in the section for your business, and send the same brief to every designer you're considering.
Ready to send yours? Ask for a free quote; we reply within 1 business day, usually much sooner.
Sources checked
Information checked on . Prices, fees and policies change, so confirm details with the source before relying on them. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.