Create a website: prepare a clear and useful brief
Objectives, content, functionalities and validation: the elements to bring together to explain your site project without ambiguity.
Quick answer
A useful brief describes what the visitor should be able to do, the necessary content and the validation criteria. Write sample routes and assign responsibilities before discussing graphic details.
- Specify the need before selecting features.
- Designate who provides, validates and updates each content.
- Define concrete checks for delivery.
What objective should be given to the site?
Write a sentence starting with “The visitor must be able to…”. For example: understand a service and request a quote, or find an item by category. Then identify the audience and their main questions. This choice helps prioritize the home page. You should not confuse an objective, such as making it easier to make contact, with a graphic element, such as adding a large button.
What pages and content should you plan?
Make a list of pages with, for each, an intention, a working title, expected content and a useful action. For a magazine: reception, categories, articles, presentation of the editorial staff and editorial policy. List the available texts, images and documents, their owner and their validation status. The rights to use images must also be clarified.
How to describe functions without ambiguity?
Write a usage example for each function. For a search: “When I enter a word in the title, I find the corresponding articles and I see a message if no results exist”. For publishing: “I can choose a category, save a draft, preview then publish”. This approach makes the request more specific than a simple list of feature names.
A brief template to adapt
Complete these sections: context; audience ; priority objective; tree; existing and missing content; expected functions; visual identity to maintain; person responsible for updates; calendar ; validation criteria. France Num recommends in particular clarifying the scope, responsibilities and constraints of the project. Adapt this framework to your activity rather than copying a model without rereading it.
What to check before confirming the delivery?
Test the expected paths on computer and mobile: read, search, navigate, contact or publish depending on the project. Check titles, links, images, and behavior for errors. Ask where the sources are, how to restore content, and how to deploy a change. Access required for maintenance must be given to the correct person.
What information does a traveler expect on a hotel website?
A next concrete action
Describe each type of room without mixing its equipment with those of the common areas. Give the address, arrival arrangements and reservation procedure. The photos must represent the advertised location and their rights must be available. To prepare for navigation, try to answer in this order: is it suitable for my stay, what is the price of my offer, what are the conditions and how to confirm? Ask a reader outside the project to follow this journey before delivery.
Sources and checks
- France Num — The key points of a website specification ↗Accessed October 15, 2026
.jpg){kind=link}