“We need a website” is a starting point. To prepare a useful website quotation, a developer needs to understand what the business does, who will use the site and what those visitors should be able to do.
A clear website project brief does not require technical language. It explains the job the website needs to perform and the materials you already have. For a Nairobi service business, that might mean presenting services and receiving enquiries. For an organization, it might mean explaining programmes and making documents easy to find.
Use the following checklist to prepare for the first conversation.
1. Describe the business goal and the visitor
Start with the reason for the work. Are you launching a first website, replacing outdated information or addressing a specific problem on an existing site?
Name the audience and the action you want them to take. “Help prospective clients understand our accounting services and request a meeting” gives more direction than “make the website modern”.
If you already have a site, share its address and explain what works as well as what needs changing. A problem on one page does not automatically require a complete rebuild.
2. List the information visitors need
Make a first list of pages and content. This could include service descriptions, an organization profile, relevant work examples, team information and contact details. List downloadable documents or other materials you need visitors to access.
Separate essential launch content from additions that can follow. This helps define a manageable first scope without promising that future work is included.
Useful questions include:
🔳Which services need their own explanation?
🔳What questions do prospective customers ask before contacting you?
🔳Which examples can you share publicly?
🔳What information must remain private?
3. Identify who supplies the content
Writing, photography, editing and uploading are work in their own right. A website quotation should state which of those tasks are included and who is responsible for them.
List the materials you have: logo files, approved descriptions, photographs, product information or company documents. Note what needs updating. Do not assume that everything in an old brochure is current or suitable for public use.
For client stories, photographs of people and third-party material, establish whether you have the necessary permission to use them. Where content is missing, ask for a defined content-preparation scope.
4. Describe functions in plain language
Explain what needs to happen rather than choosing a technical label you are unsure about.
For example, “a visitor selects a service and sends an enquiry” is different from “a visitor chooses an available appointment and pays for it automatically”. These are illustrative requirements, not a promise that either is included in a standard package.
Booking systems, memberships, payment integrations and other specialized functions need technical validation. Ask which features are confirmed, which require third-party services and which remain outside the proposed scope.
5. Clarify access and ongoing responsibilities
If you already have a domain, hosting or an existing website, identify who controls each account. Share the account names or provider details needed for planning; do not send passwords in an initial enquiry.
Ask how access will be granted securely when work begins, what handover will include and which platform or licensing conditions apply. A business website does not automatically mean ownership of every underlying tool or third-party asset.
Separate the build from ongoing costs and services. Domain renewals, hosting, content changes, maintenance and ongoing SEO should each be clear in the agreement. Do not assume that a maintenance fee covers all of them.
6. Set a realistic approval path
Share the date you are working towards and why it matters. The developer can then assess scope, content readiness, technical requirements and review time before confirming a schedule.
Nominate the person who will collect feedback and approve the work. If several people need to review it, include that in the plan. A new feature or a major change of direction may affect both price and timing.
Copy this website enquiry brief
🔳Business or organization:
🔳Main audience and service:
🔳What visitors should be able to do:
🔳Existing website, if any:
🔳Essential pages and functions:
🔳Content and artwork already available:
🔳Content or technical help required:
🔳Intended launch date and approval contact:
🔳Existing domain/hosting provider, if known:
Unknown details can stay open for discussion. The aim is to make the first conversation useful, not to design the whole website before asking for help.
Discuss your website with Jebilton
Jebilton Ventures designs and builds business websites from scratch, within an agreed scope. See our web design services. Send your brief and current website, if any, to or contact Jebilton on WhatsApp.
We will discuss the requirements, content responsibilities and technical feasibility before preparing the scope and quotation.