A bakery in a town that doesn't exist once asked me for a quote with a one-line email: "how much for a website?" I couldn't answer it. To quote a build I need six things: your goal, your pages, your content status, examples you like, a rough budget, and a real deadline. That's the web design brief.
Why I can't quote from "how much for a website?"
A website isn't one thing. A five-page brochure site for a plumber and a booking system for a yoga studio both get called "a website," and they sit a month and several thousand dollars apart. When the request has no detail, the only honest answer is a range so wide it's useless. Something like $1,500 to $25,000. That range is real. Freelancers tend to run $1,500 to $8,000, and agencies start around $6,000 and climb past $20,000 for complex builds. It also helps nobody plan.
The brief is how we close that range. Every detail you give me removes a worst-case assumption I'd otherwise have to price in.
What is a web design brief?
A web design brief is a short document that tells whoever is building your site what you want, who it's for, and what you already have to work with. It does not need to be long. One page is plenty. Its job is to answer the questions a designer would otherwise drag out of you over three calls, so the quote reflects the real project rather than my safest guess.
The good ones share a few habits. They name a single main goal. They list the actual pages. They're honest about what isn't ready yet.
What do I actually need from you?
Six things. Send me these and I can usually quote within a day.
- The goal. One sentence on what the site is for. Booking appointments, selling 12 products, getting phone calls, looking credible to investors. Pick the one that matters most.
- The pages. A rough list. Home, About, Services, Contact is a different project from a 40-page resource library.
- Content status. Who has the words and photos, and are they written yet? This is the big one. More below.
- Examples you like. Two or three live sites, with a line on what you like about each. "I like how clean this one feels" tells me more than a mood board.
- A rough budget. A range is fine. It tells me whether we're talking template or custom before I waste your time designing the wrong thing.
- A real deadline. "Before our busy season in March" is useful. "ASAP" is not a date.
None of this requires design knowledge. You're describing your business and your constraints. I handle the translation into pixels.
Who has your content, and is it ready?
This is the question that decides whether your project ships on time. Most don't, and content is almost always why.
A designer can build the frame of a site in a couple of weeks. The site does not launch until real words and real photos go into it, and that part lives with you. I've watched a sharp two-week build sit unfinished for three months because the "we'll get you the copy next week" email never came.
The fastest project I ever ran was a dog groomer who showed up to our first call with every page already written in a Google Doc. We launched in nine days. The slowest had a bigger budget, a better brand, and no copy for eleven weeks. Content readiness beats budget on timeline almost every time.
So in the brief, tell me the truth. If the copy isn't written, say so, and we either build that into the timeline or bring in a copywriter. A blank "content: TBD" is the single most expensive line in any quote.
What does a website actually cost in 2026?
Your budget decides the build approach, and the approach decides almost everything else. Here's the rough shape of it for a small business site.
| Approach | Typical cost | Timeline | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template setup | $1,500 to $3,500 | 1 to 3 weeks | A clean, credible presence on a small budget |
| Semi-custom | $3,500 to $8,000 | 3 to 6 weeks | A distinct brand with a few specific features |
| Full custom | $8,000 to $20,000+ | 6 to 12 weeks | Bespoke design, integrations, or unusual functionality |
These overlap, and the tool matters too. A Squarespace or Webflow template lands at the lower end. A custom WordPress or hand-coded build with a booking system or e-commerce sits higher. The brief is what tells me which row you're actually in, before either of us commits to a number.
What happens after you send the brief?
I read it, then I come back with questions, because no first brief is complete. Usually they're small. "When you say online store, is that 5 products or 500?" The gaps get filled, and then you get a fixed quote with a scope attached. The scope matters as much as the price. It's the line that says what's included so neither of us is surprised in week four.
If a quote ever lands in your inbox with no questions asked first, be a little suspicious. Either the project is genuinely tiny, or someone is about to find out halfway through that it was bigger than they priced.
How long does it take to get a quote after I send the brief?
For a standard small business site with a complete brief, usually one to two business days. If the project has e-commerce, custom integrations, or a lot of unknowns, I may ask for a short call first, and the quote follows a day or two after that.
What if I don't know my budget?
Give me a ceiling instead. "I can't go above $5,000" is enough to steer toward a template or semi-custom approach. If you genuinely have no number in mind, tell me the goal and the deadline and I'll quote two or three options at different price points so you can see the tradeoffs.
Do I need to write all my content before you start?
No, but you need a plan for it. Either the copy is written, it's on a dated schedule, or you're hiring someone to write it. Any of those works. The only thing that doesn't is leaving it undecided, because that's the gap that quietly turns a one-month project into a four-month one.
Next step: write your goal, your pages, and your content status in a plain email and send it over. Those three lines are enough for me to tell you whether we're a fit and roughly what it'll cost. The rest we can fill in together.
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