How to brief an agency

Is design just subjective?

Yes and no. And by establishing the objective aspects of the brief, you can cut down on the work needed to settle on something that you like. These include:

• Clear brand guidelines if you have them
• Preferences for colour and photography
• Competitor and reference sites
• Your audiences and the tone you want to project
• The content and services you intend to provide

Be more than a pretty face

Website design is more than a look - it is a means by which you help users to achieve goals. Web design encompasses information architecture, user journeys and the appropriate use of limited ‘real estate' such as a home page.

And web design has to reflect your business objectives, deliver information and make services easy to use.

Never ‘settle' on a design

Good design should be completely convincing - something that projects exactly what you want and that you know your customers will find enjoyable to use.

Read the next section to learn where your budget goes on a typical web project...