Your Project Brief is Flawed: 5 Things Your Web Designer Actually Needs

The Problem with the Standard Brief: It’s All About Taste

So, you’re ready for a new website! You spend hours collecting screenshots of sites you love, outlining your services, and maybe even listing your favorite color palettes. You package it all up and send it to your agency, hoping they’ll just get it.

But here’s the secret: most of what you send – the pretty pictures and vague demands for “something modern” – is noise.

At Rocket Web Designer, we believe the quality of the project directly reflects the quality of the project brief. When your project brief is flawed, it guarantees friction, delays, and a final product that doesn’t deliver ROI.

If you want to launch a website that truly moves the needle for your business, you need to change the way you frame the project. Stop focusing on aesthetics and start focusing on measurable strategy.

Here are the 5 essential things your web designer actually needs to start your project right.

 

1. The Single Source of Truth (The Existing Data)

Before we can strategize where you’re going, we need a complete picture of where you are. We don’t need guesses; we need data.

• What We Need: Full access to your current Google Analytics, Search Console, and any other relevant reporting software (e.g., e-commerce data, Hubspot reporting).

• Why It Matters: This allows us to instantly identify traffic leaks, high-converting pages, underperforming content, and where users are dropping off. We can’t fix conversion issues without knowing exactly where they are happening.

Action Item: Don’t just list metrics. Grant the agency “Edit” or “Admin” access to your Google Analytics profile.

 

2. A Crystal-Clear Hierarchy of Goals (The Success Metrics)

Every redesign needs a measurable purpose that goes beyond “getting more sales.” Goals must be prioritized because a single site cannot equally prioritize twenty different objectives.

• What We Need: A prioritized list of 3-5 measurable website redesign goals.

  • Example A: Increase qualified lead submissions by $15\%$.

  • Example B: Reduce shopping cart abandonment rate from $70\%$ to $50\%$.

  • Example C: Increase organic blog traffic by $40\%$ in the first six months.

• Why It Matters: This priority list dictates the entire site structure, the placement of your Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons, and the technical scope of the project. A flawed or vague project brief is one that ignores these priorities.

 

3. The Competitor Analysis (Not Just the Screenshots)

Providing screenshots of sites you like is helpful for color, but it doesn’t give us the competitive intelligence we need.

• What We Need:

  • A list of 3-5 direct competitors.

  • A list of 3 sites you love and a list of 3 sites you absolutely hate.

  • A detailed note explaining why for each (e.g., “I like Site X because their checkout is only 2 steps,” or “I hate Site Y because their text is too small and hard to read”).

• Why It Matters: This tells us about the functionality and user experience you prioritize, which is infinitely more valuable than just aesthetics. We need to know what we need to beat.

 

4. Defined Scope for Content Migration (The Time Killer)

Content is the biggest variable in any web project, and it’s the number one cause of budget and timeline creep.

• What We Need: Clear instructions on what content is moving and who is responsible for writing/editing the new material.

  • Page Count: The exact number of pages to be designed and built (e.g., 8 core pages + 50 blog posts).

  • Migration Plan: Are we moving 1,000 blog posts, or just the top 10? If we are migrating content, is it automated or manual?

  • Who Writes It: If new copy is required, who is delivering it, and by what deadline?

• Why It Matters: Content strategy and preparation can take longer than the design itself. Defining this upfront allows us to accurately resource and schedule the project.

 

5. A Clear Budget and Decision-Maker (The Logistics)

This should be non-negotiable, yet it’s often avoided. Ambiguity here causes the greatest delays.

• What We Need:

  • A clear, realistic budget range.

  • One single primary point of contact and decision-maker for the entire project.

• Why It Matters: A budget helps us scope a solution that you can actually afford, ensuring we don’t design a multi-million-dollar solution for a five-figure budget. A single decision-maker prevents feedback delays caused by “design by committee.”

 

Final Thoughts

If your website blueprint is a flawed one, the rocket won’t launch successfully. Fixing your project brief is the single most important step you can take to ensure a smooth, on-budget, and high-performing website launch.

Ready to stop guessing and start building with precision?