When taking the first steps to work alongside a website development team, many underestimate how much detail they need to provide with their initial brief in order to get the very best from their investment, as well as the project timeline.

Overlooking how important a brief is will start your collaboration with a web development agency in London off on the wrong foot. A brief not only communicates what you’re looking to build, but it also aligns everyone’s expectations, mitigates delays and limits the amount of revisions required. Whether it’s an e-commerce site launch, a branding overhaul or tweaking a few pain points, the guidance you provide will directly influence your website from day one.

Now, speedy project timelines aren’t just about getting things done quickly; what affects them most is the communication between teams and precision planning. The perfect brief will help a web developer avert scope creep, establish a practical schedule and minimise ambiguity. So how do you ensure yours is up to standard?

We explain the essential features of a strong web development direction below, offering practical tips and tricks to ensure you collaborate with your team efficiently for a successful outcome.

​What Are Your Business Objectives?

Let’s start with the basics. Why are you updating your current website (or building a new one entirely)? Business owners often go wrong when they place their sole focus on the features and appearance of their web design rather than what they are doing it for.

It’s important to ask yourself:

●      What are the most important outcomes you hope to achieve with this project?

●      Should this project generate new leads, boost brand awareness, improve credibility, reduce customer pain points or increase your online bookings/sales?

●      When the launch has taken place, how are you looking to measure its success?

These clear objectives will provide website developers with the insight and expectations to prioritise what’s right for you. They will also offer you the most suitable technical solutions.

Who’s Your Target Audience?

The users navigating your site will have their own set of expectations. These are the people we are trying to impress, not only with the product you offer, but with the website experience too. Understanding your audience and providing this information to the web agency aids in creating a site that delivers the right messaging, design and functionality, ultimately leading to happier, paying customers.

Include audience details within your brief; these could be:

●      The demographic of people browsing, including their age, locations, jobs, interests, etc.

●      Their behaviours, from how they use your new website to the actions you hope they take.

●      Current challenges these potential clients may be experiencing and how you plan to solve them.

Providing this context early reduces guesswork for developers and designers, which in turn accelerates decision-making and improves the final outcome.

The Scope and Features

Can you guess a website developer’s worst nightmare? An unclear, evolving scope of work. This happens to be one of the biggest reasons many projects like this overrun, causing friction between teams. Your brief needs to be specific, think of:

●      The core functionality of your new and improved site from membership logins and e-commerce features, to search capabilities.

●      Always reference how many pages you think you will require alongside any templates.

●      Your design requirements, including layouts, features to avoid and most importantly, the business’s branding guidelines.

●      Alongside the brief, send your website designer any copywriting, third-party integrations and existing content that must be added to your pages.

You can always explain these projections in business terms if this is easier for you. The agency you are working with can then translate this into the technical approach for the project.

​Branding & Style Guidelines

Providing assets is a large advantage, as the designer and developer will waste less time on guesswork. Offering clear direction when it comes to branding and styling allows for more time creating mock-ups that meet your expectations and guidelines.

Your branding and styling assets could feature:

●      Examples of competitor websites you like and why you like them

●      Your logos and other relevant imagery

●      Colour palettes and typography preferences

●      Messaging and tone of voice

●      Any other branding elements you deem to be essential

Visual direction doesn’t have to be complex, but developers and designers need a sense of your brand identity before they begin.

What’s Your Ideal Timeline?

Timelines not only keep things on track, but they also keep everyone on the same page. Rather than the final deadline for the entire project, ask your agency to provide a clear tracker for all stages of the website development process.

These stages may be:

Discovery calls and briefing deadlines
Design mock-ups and first stage approvals
Front-end development
Back-end development
Quality assurance
Testing and refining
Launch day
Post-launch support, if pre-agreed

For accountability, reference points and seamless project management, these clear phases will allow everyone to monitor the progress without the team feeling micromanaged or pressured to reassure you that the process is on track.

​Other factors to take into consideration when briefing a website development agency:

●      Technical access to hosting, CMS and third-party tools to avoid delays

●      Clear communication roles and response expectations to prevent bottlenecks

●      Defined testing standards to ensure quality before launch

●      Post-launch support expectations to maintain continuity and success

So what have we learnt?

A polished brief is far more than a basic document to pass over to someone working for you. It can be a strategic tool that defines your business objectives, the scope of work, relevant brand assets, technical access required and alignment on timelines. Briefing your future web development agency before beginning a project will ensure quicker turnaround alongside a higher quality of work produced. Align your expectations with your website developer, and watch the success of your partnership flourish.

Read more:
How to brief a web development agency for faster project delivery