The Small Business Website Brief: What to Prepare Before Hiring a Designer

• Every provider answers the same question, so quotes become comparable.
• It forces decisions early, when changes are cheap.
• It surfaces the slow parts (content, integrations) before they hold up the project.
• It shows providers you're organized, which usually makes for a smoother project.

Copy these headings into a document and answer each in a few lines. "Not sure yet" is a fine answer; it tells the designer what to help you decide.

1. About the business

• What you do, in one or two sentences.
• Where you operate (cities, states, nationwide, online).
• What makes you different from competitors, specifically.

2. Who the website is for

• Your main type of customer, and what they're looking for when they find you.
• Questions they usually ask before buying.

3. Goals

• The one main action you want visitors to take (call, book, request a quote, buy).
• How you'll judge whether the site worked, such as more enquiries or fewer repetitive phone questions.

4. Current website (if you have one)

• The address, what works and what doesn't.
• What must be kept (content, page addresses, features).

5. Pages you think you need

• A simple list (Home, Services, About, Contact, FAQ, Blog...).
• Mark which are essential for launch and which can wait.

6. Features and integrations

• Forms, booking, payments, newsletter signup, CRM, maps, reviews.
• The tools you already use, by name.

7. Content

• Who will write the words: you, the provider, or a mix? Our guide to planning your website content helps if it's you.
• Do you have photos, a logo and brand colors?

8. Look and feel

• Three to five websites you like, and why (layout, tone, simplicity).
• Anything you dislike.

9. Editing after launch

• What you'll want to update yourself (services, prices, team, blog posts), and who will do it.

10. Timeline

• Any hard deadline, and why (season, event, launch).

11. Budget approach

• A range you're comfortable with, or "please advise." Sharing a range helps providers suggest the right scope.

12. Decision-making

• Who gives feedback and who has the final say.

Hypothetical example for illustration only.

Business: a two-person bookkeeping firm in Ohio serving local restaurants and retailers.

Audience: owners of small food and retail businesses who are behind on their books.

Goal: more requests for a free consultation; fewer phone calls asking what we do.

Pages: Home, Services (bookkeeping, payroll, catch-up), About, Pricing approach, Contact. Blog later.

Features: consultation booking linked to our calendar; contact form to our inbox.

Content: we'll supply facts; we'd like help writing.

Look: calm, simple, professional; we like sites that explain services clearly.

Editing: we want to update team photos and service details ourselves.

Timeline: live before tax season.

Decision-maker: both owners; one sends consolidated feedback.

• Listing features without the reason. "We need a blog" is less useful than "we want to answer common client questions."
• Leaving content until later. It's usually the biggest delay. See how long a website takes.
• Only showing designs you like. Say what you like about them.
• Not naming who decides. Feedback from five people with no final say slows everything.

A brief should start a conversation, not end one. Expect a good provider to reply with questions about anything vague, push back where your plan and budget don't match, and then send a written scope that names the pages, features, content responsibility, review rounds, timeline and price. If a reply skips straight to a price with no questions, treat that as a warning sign.

Send the same brief to two or three providers and compare their responses: the questions they ask back are often as revealing as the quote. Our guide to choosing a web designer has a scorecard for comparing them.

If you've written a brief, you're ready for a scoped estimate. Send it to us and we'll reply within 24 hours with next steps, then a written scope, price and timeline.

How we made this guide: drafted with AI assistance.