Planning a business website: what to include in your brief

Start with one customer journey

Choose a real example: a customer comparing your services, requesting a quote, booking a visit or configuring a product. Write down what they need to know before taking the next step. That usually includes suitability, location, availability, how pricing works and what happens after they contact you.

Then map the next step inside your business. Who receives the enquiry? Which information is needed to quote? Does it go into a CRM, a spreadsheet or an inbox? A form that creates more manual copying may solve the website problem while leaving the operational problem intact.

Separate the essentials from the next release

For a service business, the first release may need clear service pages, genuine project evidence, contact options and a reliable enquiry workflow. A product business may also need stock, payments, shipping and returns journeys. Only include features that support an identified user need.

Mark each requirement as essential for launch, useful later or still undecided. Include who will write the copy, provide photographs, approve work and keep information up to date. These dependencies affect the plan just as much as the number of pages.

What determines the website cost?

A small information site and a configurator connected to a CRM are different products. Cost depends on the customer journeys, bespoke design, content preparation, data migration, integrations, user roles and testing required. Counting pages alone will not produce a useful comparison.

Ask each supplier to separate the build fee from hosting, domain renewal, software subscriptions, payment-provider charges, ongoing support and future changes. Confirm whether VAT is included, who owns the domain and code, and what access you receive at handover. GAJO confirms scope and costs in a project proposal rather than applying one price to every business.

A connected website in practice

For Mobile Tyre Van City, GAJO built the customer website and vehicle configurator alongside connected CRM and operational workflows. The project illustrates why a website brief should include what happens after a customer submits their requirements.

That is a specific client system, not a template every business needs. Your first release may be smaller. Identify the information and handovers that matter to your operation before deciding which features to build.

Copy this brief into your project enquiry

• Our business and the customers we want to reach.
• The main action a visitor should take, and what currently gets in their way.
• The services, products and locations the site must explain.
• Existing website, domain, content and brand assets.
• Systems to connect, including who manages access to each one.
• Essential launch features and ideas that can wait.
• Budget range, preferred timing and the person approving the work.
• How we will measure visits, enquiries and qualified opportunities.

Agree launch checks before launch day

Test the full enquiry journey on a phone, including validation, confirmation and delivery to the team. Check redirects from old pages, the sitemap, indexability and accessibility of key actions. Establish who will monitor failures and how fixes will be handled.

A live website still needs promotion. Agree how customers will discover it through search, existing customers, partners, social channels or paid campaigns. Record the starting traffic figures and review qualified enquiries separately from page views and test submissions.