A website brief template that gets you accurate quotes
Five agencies will quote five different prices for 'a website' because you've asked five different questions. This template makes them price one thing.
The short answer
A website brief that produces comparable quotes states the goal as something you can count, lists every page and its job, says which languages launch on day one, names each integration, says who supplies content and by when, sets mobile speed targets, and requires line-item prices with VAT shown separately. Send the same brief to three companies on the same day.
Ask five companies to quote 'a bilingual website for our company' and you'll get five prices that can't be compared, because each company has quietly decided what 'a website' means. Take two hypothetical quotes: one assumes ten pages, machine-translated Arabic and no tracking, while the other assumes designed Arabic, a CRM connection and a redirect map. The gap between the prices is mostly the gap between those assumptions.
A brief removes the assumptions. Two to four pages is enough, and the template below does it in fourteen fields, each with the reason it moves the price.
What goes in a website brief?
A website brief needs fourteen fields, and the right-hand column of the table says why each one changes the quote. Complete every row, even if the answer is "don't know yet", because an honest gap is better than a silent assumption.
| Field | What to write | Why it changes the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | One sentence with something you can count. A made-up example: 30 qualified enquiries a month by form or WhatsApp by month six. | Without a goal, vendors pad the scope to be safe or cut it to win the job. |
| Audience | Who visits, which language they read first, and which devices they use. | Decides the design priorities and the Arabic scope. |
| Pages | Every page with one line on its job, plus the page types: service, project, article. The pages a UAE business needs helps you draft the list. | Pages are the unit vendors count, and a list stops them guessing. It's also the start of your information architecture. |
| Languages | Which languages launch on day one, who writes the Arabic and who checks it, and whether Arabic gets its own URLs with hreflang tags. | A full Arabic version adds right-to-left design, content and testing for every page. |
| Content | Who writes, who photographs, who translates, what already exists, and the dates you'll deliver it. | Vendors either price content work or assume you'll supply it. The brief should decide which. |
| Features and integrations | Each one by name: contact form, WhatsApp button, CRM, booking, live chat, maps, newsletter. | Every integration is separate work and a separate thing that can break. |
| Shop, if any | Number of products and variants, payment methods including cash on delivery and buy now, pay later, delivery zones, and how VAT is shown. | Payment and delivery rules are where most of a shop's cost sits. |
| Platform and ownership | A platform you prefer, or "recommend and justify". Domain, hosting and CMS in your company's name, and source files delivered. Who owns your website explains each one. | Decides lock-in, running costs and whether you can leave. |
| Speed and quality targets | Mobile targets for the main page types, at the levels web.dev calls good: Largest Contentful Paint 2.5 seconds or less, Interaction to Next Paint 200 milliseconds or less, Cumulative Layout Shift 0.1 or less. Name the phones and browsers to test on. See Core Web Vitals. | Vendors who know they'll be measured build differently. Ask for the results again once real visitors have used the site for a few weeks. |
| SEO and migration | Current domain, a list of current URLs, a redirect map as a deliverable, and Search Console access. The SEO migration guide has the method. | A replacement site with no redirects can lose pages that rank. |
| Tracking | Which actions count as results: form sent, WhatsApp tap, call. Analytics and Tag Manager in your company's account. See conversion tracking in the UAE. | Tracking is a block of work, and the quote should say it's included. |
| Timeline and decisions | Launch date and what drives it, your working week, review turnaround, and who signs off by when. | Vendors plan teams around dates, and your review speed decides whether a date is realistic. |
| Budget | A range, or two or three priced options: lean, standard and extended. | A range lets a vendor tell you what fits instead of guessing. |
| After launch | Training, a fault-fixing window, hosting, security updates, and the price of changes. | These are the costs that arrive after the first invoice. |
Send one brief to three companies, then compare line by line
Send one brief to three companies on the same day, then compare the quotes line by line.
- Complete the table in one sitting, with the person who approves the money in the room. If you can't write the goal, the project isn't ready for quotes, and every vendor will guess a different goal for you.
- Send the same brief to three companies on the same day, with the same deadline. If you change something for one, send the change to all three. Choosing a web design company helps you pick who gets it.
- Offer each company a 30-minute call and give the same answers to all of them. A vendor's questions show how it works, and one that asks nothing has already decided what you're buying.
- Ask for line-item prices: design, build, Arabic, content, integrations, redirects and SEO, tracking, training, and yearly hosting and maintenance. Require exclusions to be listed, VAT shown separately and payments tied to milestones. Our Conversion Site Build package, from AED 48,000 excluding VAT, lists what it includes and what it leaves out, which is the format to ask every vendor for.
- Compare line by line. Where a line is empty or says "included", ask what exactly is included. The biggest gap between two quotes is the first place to ask.
- If the quotes still can't be compared, ask which field of the brief each company read differently, tighten that field and re-ask, rather than choosing the lowest price.
How do the UAE working week, Ramadan and VAT change a quote?
The working week, Ramadan and VAT each change either the timeline or the final price, so put all three into the brief.
The UAE federal government has worked a Saturday and Sunday weekend with a half day on Friday since 1 January 2022, while private companies can set their own working week, according to The National. A quoted "eight weeks" can therefore be counted on different calendars. Ask each company which days it works, state the days your approver is reachable, and agree a turnaround for feedback. A vendor waiting a week for your sign-off isn't the one running late.
Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin on 8 February 2027, subject to moon sighting, according to The National. If your launch date sits near it, ask each company how it will schedule approvals and write the answer into the timeline.
The Ministry of Finance says UAE VAT was introduced on 1 January 2018 at a standard rate of 5%. Ask every company whether it's VAT-registered and to show VAT as a separate line. Say one company quotes AED 40,000 plus VAT and another quotes AED 41,500 with VAT included. At 5%, the second works out at about AED 39,524 before VAT, so it's the cheaper offer. Check your own VAT position with your accountant.
Start with the first row. If you can't write the goal as something you can count, no quote will be accurate, because there's nothing for it to be accurate about.
Questions people ask
What should a website brief include?
The goal, the audience, every page and its job, the languages at launch, who supplies content, the integrations, the platform and ownership terms, mobile speed targets, redirect and SEO needs, tracking, the timeline, a budget range, and support after launch. Ask for prices by line item with exclusions listed.
How long should a website brief be?
Two to four pages. That's long enough to list every page, integration and requirement, and short enough that every vendor reads it. A one-paragraph brief invites guesswork, while a 30-page document tends to bury the few things that decide the price. Put the goal first and the page list second.
Should I put my budget in the website brief?
Give a range, or ask for priced options at a lean and an extended level. A stated budget lets a vendor tell you what fits instead of guessing. If you don't know your budget yet, say so and ask each company to price the same two or three options.
How many companies should I send a website brief to?
Three is enough. Fewer leaves you with no comparison, and more gives you quotes you'll never accept and reading you won't do. Send the same brief on the same day with the same deadline, and copy every company on any change you make to it.