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Website Design Brief Template

Use this template
Website Design Brief Template, within the Milanote app

Set the goals & direction for your website

Ensure everyone is on the same page with a detailed website design brief. It's an effective way to help your team understand the vision, quote accurately, and ensure everyone's on the same page before writing a line of code.

An effective brief includes an overview of the business and details on typical website visitors, customer personas, competitors, visual references, deliverables, budget, and finally, guidance on what to avoid. Milanote helps you share the brief with a client or team and create a point of reference for everyone involved in the project.

This template is part of the Website Design collection.

  • Explore ideas
  • Organize visually
  • Share with your team & clients
  • Gather feedback
  • Export to PDF

How to use this template

Whether you’re a motion designer, creative director or a client, follow this step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of writing a inspiring brief in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives.

1. Start with an empty template

The Website Design Brief template is filled with questions, thought starters and image placeholders to help you write your brief in minutes.

How to do this in Milanote

  1. Create a new board for your brief.

    Create a new board

    Drag a board out from the toolbar. Give it a name, then double click to open it.

  2. Choose the Website Design Brief template.

    Choose a template

    Each new board gives you the option to start with a beautiful template.

2. Define the background of the project

The first thing to define is why the project is happening. Spend time with your client, have them lead you through the vision in their own words and ask questions like... What problem is this project trying to solve? What lead up to it? What will change if this project is successful?

John C. Jay of Wieden+Kennedy described the importance of understanding the problem perfectly when he said "The clearer the problem is defined, the better the work will be."

How to do this in Milanote

  1. Add a note to describe the purpose of the project.

    Drag a note card onto your board

    Start typing then use the formatting tools in the left hand toolbar.

3. Write clear goals & deliverables

How will you know if the project is a success? Having a clear, realistic and measurable goal will help keep your team on the same page. For example, are you trying to increase inbound leads, or double the number of sales enquiries in 1 year? Alongside this, list any specific deliverables that will help you achieve your goal.

How to do this in Milanote

  1. Add a note to describe the goal of the project.

    Drag a note card onto your board

    Start typing then use the formatting tools in the left hand toolbar.

  2. Create a new to-do list for the specific deliverables.

    Drag a to-do list onto your board

    Start typing then press "Enter" to create a new item. Add a title to your to-do list using the left hand toolbar.

4. Define the target audience

This is where you describe a specific type of audience and detail what’s important to them. It will help you create a website that speaks their language and inspires them to take action. Who are they?

What problem or pain point do they have? What is their current relationship with the product or service? How will this project affect them? Answering these questions will enable your team to think about the problem from the perspective of your audience.

How to do this in Milanote

  1. Add a note to describe the audience.

    Drag a note card onto your board

    Start typing then use the formatting tools in the left hand toolbar.

  2. Choose a photo to represent your audience.

    Use the built-in image library

    Search over 3 million beautiful, free photos then drag images straight onto your board. Powered by Pexels.

5. Include brand references

Add any additional materials that will help your team get to know the brand. Describe the tone of voice, brand values, color, font, logo specs, and other related guidelines. This gives everyone easy access to important assets throughout the project and saves time hunting through emails and folders.

How to do this in Milanote

  1. Add brand files and documents to the board

    Upload a file or document

    Click the "Upload" button or just drag a file onto your board. You can add images, logos, documents, videos, audio and much more.

6. Share the brief with your team

Once you’ve made any final tweaks, it’s time to share the completed brief with the your team, organize a kickoff meeting and start the project.

How to do this in Milanote

  1. Share a read-only link to the brief.

    Share a read-only link with others.

    Click Share in the top right of your board. You can add a Welcome message for viewers, allow comments, set a password or embed the board in another app or website.

Start Your Brief

Set the goals & direction for your website

Start Your Brief

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— Bryan Clark, The Next Web

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