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What happens to your content when you move to a headless CMS
Thinking about migrating to a headless CMS? Here's what actually happens to your content during the move, and how to prepare for it.
The Blog
How to write a website brief that gets you accurate quotes
Guide
The quality of your brief determines the quality of your quotes.
If you've ever received wildly different quotes from web agencies, one says $8k, another says $45k, it's probably not because one of them is ripping you off. It's because your brief left too much room for interpretation.
A vague brief forces agencies to guess. And when they guess, they either lowball (and you end up paying for the gaps later) or pad heavily (and you overpay for risk they're pricing in because they don't know what you actually need).
A clear brief fixes both problems. It gives agencies enough information to quote accurately, and it gives you a real basis for comparing their proposals. Here's how to write one.
Start with the problem, not the solution
Most briefs start with "we need a new website" or "we want to redesign our site." That's a solution. What agencies actually need to understand is the problem behind it.
Why do you need a new website? What isn't working about the current one? Are you losing leads? Is the site too slow? Can't your team update it? Has the business changed since the site was built?
Starting with the problem gives the agency context to recommend the right solution — which might be different from what you originally had in mind. A good agency will challenge your assumptions. A great one will do it constructively and back it up with reasoning.
Define What Success Looks Like
"A modern, professional website" isn't a success metric. It's an aesthetic preference.
Think about what the website needs to achieve in business terms. More enquiries? Higher conversion rates? Reduced reliance on paid ads? The ability for your team to publish content without calling a developer?
If you can define success in measurable terms, even roughly, you give the agency something to design toward. "We want 30% of website visitors to submit an enquiry form" is a brief that leads to strategic decisions about layout, content, and user flow. "We want it to look clean and modern" doesn't.
Include what you know (and what you don't)
A good brief doesn't need to have every answer. But it should be honest about what you know and where you need help. Things worth including:
- 01Your business
What you do, who your customers are, and what makes you different. Don't assume the agency knows your industry.
- 02Your current site
What's working, what isn't, and any analytics you can share (traffic, bounce rate, conversion rate). If you don't have analytics, say so.
- 03Your content
Do you have copy ready, or will it need to be written? Do you have photography, or will stock images or a shoot be needed? Content is one of the biggest variables in project cost, and most briefs don't mention it.
- 04Your technical requirements
Do you need a specific CMS? Integrations with a CRM, booking system, or payment gateway? E-commerce functionality? These have a significant impact on cost and timeline.
- 05Your budget
Even a range helps. Saying "we're working with $15–25k" lets agencies scope a solution that fits rather than guessing what you can afford.
- 06Your timeline
When do you need this live, and is there a hard deadline (like a product launch or event)?
For more detail on how a good web project runs from start to finish, see our project delivery guide.
What to leave out
You don't need to specify fonts, colour palettes, or page layouts, that's the agency's job. Over-specifying the design in the brief constrains the creative process and often leads to worse outcomes.
You also don't need to write a 30-page document. A clear, honest brief can be one to two pages. Agencies would rather have a short brief that answers the right questions than a long one that buries the important information.
Compare
How to compare the quotes you get back
Once you've sent your brief to a few agencies, you'll get proposals back. Here's how to compare them meaningfully:
- 01Do they reference your brief specifically?
A good proposal responds to what you asked for. A generic one has been copy-pasted from their last pitch.
- 02Have they asked you questions?
An agency that comes back with clarifying questions before quoting is a good sign. It means they're trying to understand the problem rather than just pricing a task list.
- 03Is the scope clearly defined?
You should be able to see exactly what's included and what isn't. If the proposal is vague about scope, the final invoice will be too.
- 04Is there a timeline with milestones?
A quote without a timeline is just a number. You need to know when things will happen and when you'll be involved.
Foundatiom
The brief is the foundation
A strong brief isn't extra work, it's the foundation of a good project. It protects you from scope creep, gives you leverage if things go sideways, and ensures every agency is quoting on the same thing.
Spend an hour writing a clear brief, and you'll save weeks of confusion later.