You’ll need a short brief, so that they’re all quoting for the same thing
I’m often asked if I can help find a website design agency who can take on a new website project, and I always suggest that whoever is asking finds someone locally who they feel comfortable working with. The key to getting a good website designed is to have a comprehensive brief, because most agencies can do anything you want – they just need to know what that is. This can be worked out in conjunction with the agency, once chosen.
However, before that, you’ll need a much shorter brief to send to prospective suppliers, so that they’re all quoting for the same thing. What should go in that initial document?
I’d keep it to a page. If it’s taking over from an existing site, link to that and explain why you want a new site. Give some background to your business.
If you’re simply transferring over the content from an existing site, you’ll need to describe the current site’s content management system (if any) and whether or not you’ll expect the design team to work out how to transfer over the content. If the new site will have all-new content, will the designers be expected to contribute, or will you be providing everything?
Define the goals for the website, which for most industrial businesses will be to increase the number of enquiries coming in. Do you want to focus on online enquiries, or is it just as desirable to promote those by telephone? Other goals could be to provide better support for existing customers, to make online sales, promote your authority by hosting easily-found technology background articles, etc. This will also help you list your key audiences and their relative priority.
What will the site contain? Is it just brochureware? How often will you want to add new material (new products, articles, blog posts, landing pages, etc). If these have specific requirements, such as the ability to easily embed forms, now’s the time to say so.
Do you have any preferences as to the technology behind the site? For example, you might prefer a WordPress-based site, as that’s the most commonly-used content management system and therefore the easiest to find people to update in the future. You could say “WordPress (or another system) preferred, but alternatives will be considered.”
It’s not essential to specify what the site should look like at this point, as that should come from discussions with the designers you choose. However, it can help them if you can list three or four websites whose design you like and would be happy if your own site ended up resembling.
Anyone pitching for the business must know the budget and timescales. Too many companies asked to pitch are also expected to propose this critical information too. In many cases, that’ll waste everyone’s time. Too many people think that specifying a budget risks offering too much information, risking paying over the odds. But you’re asking several companies, you’ll be getting a competitive quote. If you only have £1,000 to spend, let them know (good luck with finding anyone for that, by the way). Specifying a very broad range for budget and timescales is fine, but at least commit to something. Maybe your “£5,000 to £10,000” or “4 to 8 weeks” will prove impossible for anyone to meet, but at least find out. Otherwise you’ll be guided by the agency’s guesswork. If someone can meet your specifications, great; if nobody can, you’ll need to revise them.