How to Brief a Web Developer So You Get What You Actually Want
Bad briefs waste money and time. Here is exactly what to include when you hire someone to build your website, so the project goes smoothly from day one.
Most website projects go sideways not because the developer was bad, but because the brief was vague.
"I want something clean and modern" is not a brief. It is a starting point for a very long conversation that eats into your budget before a single line of code is written.
Here is what a good brief looks like.
1. Be clear about what the website needs to do
Not what it needs to look like. What it needs to do.
Is the goal to get people to book a call? Buy a product? Send an enquiry? Download something?
Every design decision on a website should serve that goal. If you do not define it upfront, your developer is guessing and guessing costs money.
2. List every page you need
Write it out. Not "a few pages." Literally:
- Home
- About
- Services (with a sub-page for each service)
- Portfolio or Case Studies
- Blog
- Contact
The number of pages directly affects the timeline and price. A 5-page site and a 20-page site are completely different projects.
3. Share examples of sites you like
Find 3 to 5 websites you like and explain specifically what you like about each one. Not just "I like this one" but "I like how this site uses a lot of white space and the navigation is simple."
This saves hours of back-and-forth and gives your developer a real reference point.
4. Provide your brand assets upfront
Before the project starts, gather:
- Your logo (in SVG or high-res PNG)
- Your brand colours (hex codes if you have them)
- Your fonts (if you have them)
- Any photos or images you want to use
If you do not have these things, say so early. It adds time and possibly cost to source or create them.
5. Be specific about your timeline and budget
Developers are not trying to overcharge you. They are trying to scope a project that fits your constraints. If you have a hard deadline and a fixed budget, say both clearly.
"I need this live before the 15th and I have 300,000 naira" is a useful brief.
"What's your price?" is the start of a negotiation that neither side enjoys.
6. Tell them who will maintain the site
If you want to update your own blog and change your own prices, that needs to factor into the tech choice. If you never want to touch it again, that is a different project.
The one-page brief template
Here is a simple structure you can fill in before any developer conversation:
Project: [Name of your business and what you do]
Goal: [What should visitors do after landing on the site?]
Pages: [List every page]
Reference sites: [3 URLs with notes on what you like]
Brand assets: [What you have, what you need]
Budget: [Your range]
Deadline: [Hard date if any]
Maintenance: [Will you update it yourself?]
Fill this in and you will have a better first meeting with any developer, every time.