Taking a web design brief

When heading out to speak to a client about a new web project, always be sure to take along your trusty web brief template.  Here at Way Fresh we never leave home without ours and is a perfect way to get all the information you need from a client, whether you send it to them first and ask them to complete, or take it with you to an initiation meeting.

The brief is generally a short 2 page questionnaire asking lots of probing questions for us, and also the client, to get a good understanding of the project.

So what kind of stuff do we ask?

Name

Let’s give the project a name so we can refer to it, even if it’s just a working title.

Summary

A nice short paragraph giving an overview of the project. If you have quite a few projects on the go then gives your brain a nice refresher!

Audience

Visitors who are going to be using the website and any specific requirements they may have.

Description

A full description of the project including what sections are required, any special features, any sections the client wished to update themselves.

Sitemap

At this point we always try and take what is in the description and draw a sitemap to help us size and scope of the project. Also create one so the client will be able to visualise the site and the amount of pages they need.  We also colour code which pages are going to be updatable and which are not.

Functionality

Based on the sitemap we can then easily see which sections the client wants to manage themselves and drill down to get some further information.

Colours and brand

Always good to find out if the client already has an established logo and brand and if not, then we can always help!  If they do, then we ask for the logo and colour schemes that would be followed through to the website.

Who is involved?

Always good to find out who is going to be involved in the project and key contacts so we can direct questions and information at the correct people.

Timescales

Get a rough timescale from the client to ensure we can deliver it in time.  Is this just their preferred date of launch or do they have other things tying in with this date?

Budget

Budget is always something that client’s keep close to their chest as they would prefer you just to come back with your best price, which is fair enough.  However sometimes your best price for their enormous wish list is way too big for their budget, so trying to get some sort of inkling will help you reel them in a little and also avoids spending too much time on suggesting features they can’t afford.

In terms of writing the brief we sometimes get the client to write it for us before going to a meeting which helps them think about the project in detail rather than us putting them on the spot during the meeting.  Just depends on the client :)

Hope that helps to give a little insight and comments appreciated.

Thanks
Simon
Way Fresh - Offering web design and development in Newcastle