How to write a brief for a 48-hour website project.
A good brief is the difference between a 48-hour delivery and a four-week negotiation. Here is the five-section template we send every new client at Dalatra.
The single biggest factor in whether a project ships on time is whether the brief is clear. A vague brief produces vague work, regardless of how skilled the team. A specific brief shortens the timeline by removing the back-and-forth that normally consumes the first 60% of a project.
We send every new client a five-section brief template. It takes 30 minutes to fill in. Here is what each section asks for and why.
1. Business context. One paragraph. What does the business do, who pays you, what is your average transaction. This is not for the website copy. It is so we can size design decisions to your real revenue profile.
2. The single goal. One sentence. If the website achieves one thing in the next six months, what is it: more reservations, more leads, more email signups, more retail walk-ins. We design every section around this one number.
3. Content inventory. What pages do you need (home, about, services, contact), what content you already have (logo, photos, copy), and what you will send us within 24 hours of signing.
4. Brand and reference. Two or three websites you like (does not need to be in your industry), one or two you dislike, and any brand assets (logo, colours, fonts) you want us to respect.
5. Practical constraints. Domain you want to use, hosting preference, any analytics or third-party tools (Calendly, Stripe, Mailchimp) that need to integrate.
That is the entire template. If a section is empty, we ask one question to fill it. The work begins the moment the brief is signed.