“Please quote for a modern website” can start a conversation. It cannot reliably produce comparable prices. Each supplier has to invent the missing definition of the website before putting a number on it.
A useful brief can be short. Its job is to separate what you know from what still needs investigation, so uncertainty becomes part of the conversation rather than disappearing inside a price.
Start with a user task
Instead of “we need an intuitive portal”, write: “Residents need to find the right service, check the required documents and submit a request.” Explain what prevents them from doing that today. This gives suppliers a problem they can understand and discuss.
Fill in seven fields
- Purpose: what should improve when the project is finished?
- Users: who will use the service, and who will manage it?
- First release: which tasks must users be able to complete?
- Materials: what content, data and designs already exist?
- Connections: which other systems need to work with it?
- Deadline: what sets the date, and what must be ready by then?
- Budget: what range are you considering, and what should it cover?
Write “to be confirmed” when you do not know. That is more useful than false precision. Include references, but explain what you like about them: the search, the form flow or the organisation of information.
Specify the response you need
Ask suppliers to separate delivery costs, recurring costs, optional work and assumptions. Ask what they would need before committing to a firm price. An initial estimate should help you plan the next step, rather than pretend that an undefined scope is ready to buy.
Before sending the brief, review it with the person who will accept the finished work. If you disagree about what “finished” means, resolve that now. When replies arrive, use the guide to comparing quotes to put them on a common footing.
Every number in this article, plus thousands of other contracts, is in the database.
Open the database