how to write a brief in five minutes

A good brief is not long. It is clear. Most of the useful information fits in five answers, and you probably already know all of them.

1. What are you making?

One sentence. "A website for our dental clinic." "A booking app for a yoga studio." "A logo and colours for a new coffee brand."

2. Who is it for?

Describe the person you want to reach, not a demographic. "Busy parents who want a Saturday appointment" is far more useful than "ages 25 to 45".

3. What should it do for you?

Pick the one result that matters most: more enquiries, more bookings, fewer support calls, looking credible for investors. Everything else follows from this.

4. What do you already have?

A logo, photos, written content, an old website, a domain, a payment account. Each thing you already have makes the project faster and cheaper.

5. When do you need it, and is there a budget in mind?

A real date ("before our launch on the 15th") and a rough range help us suggest the right scope. It is fine if you do not have a number yet. That is what the estimate is for.

What you can leave out

• Technical choices. That is our job.
• Long lists of features "for later". Write them down separately; we will plan for them without building them now.
• Perfect wording. Bullet points are great.

Try it

The home page asks you these questions one at a time and gives you an estimate at the end. It only takes a few minutes.