A website redesign is easier to manage when everyone agrees on what the new site needs to do. Before contacting an agency or starting design work, gather the information that will guide decisions: business goals, existing page content, brand materials, and examples of websites you like. You do not need a polished document or every detail resolved. A practical brief helps your team explain priorities, spot missing information, and make better use of project time.
Set Clear Project Goals
Start by describing what is not working on your current website. Be specific: visitors may struggle to find a service, the team may find pages difficult to update, or the site may not explain what happens after someone makes an inquiry. Separate these issues from general preferences, such as wanting a fresher look, so the project can address the problems that matter most.
Choose a few outcomes you want the redesigned site to support. These might include helping visitors understand your services, making key information easier to find, or simplifying routine content updates. Note how you will recognize progress, such as fewer steps to reach a contact page or a clearer path from a service page to an inquiry. Avoid promising results you cannot measure or control.
Map Pages and Content
List the pages on your current site and mark each one as keep, revise, combine, or remove. Include important material that sits outside the main navigation, such as forms, downloadable guides, or campaign pages. This inventory gives the project team a clearer view of the site's scope and helps prevent useful information from being overlooked during the redesign.
For each page you plan to keep, note its audience, purpose, and next step for the visitor. Identify content that needs a factual update, a full rewrite, or new approval. Also flag material that is missing, such as service details, staff information, or answers to common customer questions. You can refine the wording later; the brief mainly needs to show what content is required and who can provide it.
Gather Brand Assets
Collect the current logo files, brand colors, fonts, photography, illustrations, and any guidelines your organization uses. Prefer original, high-quality files over images copied from the website. Include notes about usage restrictions or image credits, and identify assets that are outdated or no longer approved. A simple shared folder with clear file names is enough to help the design team find what it needs.
Add practical brand guidance that may not appear in a formal style guide. Describe the tone you want visitors to experience, words or claims the site should avoid, and any accessibility requirements your team follows. If several people approve public-facing content, list them and explain who has final say. Clear ownership helps prevent late changes and conflicting feedback.
Choose Useful Examples
Find a small set of websites that illustrate what you want to achieve. They do not need to be in your industry. For each example, point to a specific feature, such as a clear menu, readable service page, useful search function, or well-organized contact process. Add the link and explain what works for your audience rather than simply saying you like the overall design.
Include examples of what you want to avoid, too, and explain why. A crowded homepage, unclear button labels, or hard-to-read text can help define project boundaries. Treat references as discussion tools, not requests to copy another site's layout or branding. Share your goals, content inventory, assets, and examples together as a concise brief, then invite questions before design begins.
A useful redesign brief does not need to answer every question. It should make your priorities, content needs, brand resources, and design preferences easy to understand. Gather what you have, flag what is missing, and assign someone to fill the gaps. When you are ready to plan the next steps, Wellington CMS Studio can help you shape the brief into a practical project.