Start with the conversation
Talk to potential customers as well as the people handling sales. What are buyers trying to achieve? How do they solve the problem today, and what do those options leave unresolved? Compare their answers with the questions that return on sales calls. Use their language to decide what the website needs to explain and demonstrate.
Separate the story from its presentation
A confusing website can have a positioning problem, a content problem or an interaction problem. A new typeface cannot clarify who the product is for. More copy cannot repair a journey that hides the next step. Work out whether buyers need a clearer offer, stronger evidence or an easier next step before you scope the redesign.
Put evidence beside the claim
For each important promise, ask what a visitor can inspect. That might be a product screen, a worked example, a clear description of the process or a case study with a defined result. Place that evidence close to the statement it supports. Avoid asking one impressive metric to stand in for the whole story.
Define the buyer’s next step
A useful brief says who needs to understand what, and what they should be able to do next. For example: help an operations leader recognise the workflow problem, see how the product addresses it and decide whether a demonstration is relevant. That gives the copy, design and build a shared job.
Write the brief in four lines.
Choose one important audience. Complete these before choosing a visual direction.
- Who is visiting, and what are they trying to decide?
- What do they need to understand about the offer?
- What could they inspect to believe the promise?
- What should they be able to do next?
If a line is difficult to complete, identify what you need to learn. That uncertainty belongs in the brief.