Website Brief Template: What to Send Your Agency Before Kickoff

Vague project emails produce vague quotes. A one-page website brief aligns your team and agency on scope, languages, timeline, and what "done" means—before anyone opens Figma.

Use this template internally; adapt sections to your project.

1. Business context

• Company name, industry, primary markets (UAE, KSA, GCC-wide).
• Primary goal: leads, ecommerce revenue, investor credibility, recruitment.
• Current site URL and what failed (slow, no Arabic, no leads).
• Competitors or reference sites you admire—and what to avoid.

2. Audience and languages

• Primary language for launch; secondary language timeline.
• Audience split: local nationals, expats, B2B procurement, retail consumers.
• Tone reference: link to bilingual brand voice notes if they exist.

Agencies need this to plan RTL, hreflang, and copy budget—not guess at launch week.

3. Scope and page list

List every template:

• Homepage, services (count), about, contact, blog index, article template.
• Landing pages for campaigns.
• Legal: privacy, terms.
• Ecommerce: catalog, product, cart, checkout if applicable.

Mark must-have vs phase two. Scope creep starts when "a few more pages" never ends.

4. Features and integrations

Check all that apply with account ownership noted:

• CMS preference or flexible.
• CRM (HubSpot, Zoho), marketing automation.
• Booking, live chat, WhatsApp Business.
• Analytics: GA4, GTM, ad pixels.
• Payment gateways and currencies.
• SSO or client portals (rare for SME—flag early).

Reference conversion tracking before ads as a launch requirement, not post-launch wish.

5. Content responsibility

Who provides Arabic and English copy, photography, icons, translations? Late content delays Gulf projects more than design approvals. Assign owners and due dates in the brief.

Attach brand guidelines, logo files, and any existing analytics access to your brief so agencies do not quote discovery time you could skip. Note procurement constraints early—some GCC enterprises require data residency or specific hosting regions. If legal must approve Arabic copy, add two weeks to timeline realistically.

List competitors whose site structure you dislike as well as favorites. Specify who signs off Arabic versus English if different stakeholders hold brand authority in each language. Include current pain quotes from sales calls—real phrases prospects use beat abstract goals.

Teams across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and wider Gulf often revisit these topics during redesigns, annual planning, or before Ramadan and national day campaigns. Use this article as a working checklist with your developer, marketer, and sales lead in the same room—even a 45-minute review surfaces gaps no single role catches alone.