How to use AI to prepare a simple brief before you hire a web designer or agency so you don't waste money on a site that misses the mark

You hired a designer, paid the deposit, and three weeks later they showed you something that looked like it was built for a completely different company — nice enough, technically, but nothing like what you had in your head. This post walks you through using AI to build a clear, complete brief before you hand over a dollar, so the designer builds what you actually want. It's a 20–40 minute conversation with an AI tool, and it does most of the heavy lifting for you.

What you need before you start

ChatGPT{:target="_blank"} — a free AI tool you type questions and instructions to, and it responds in plain English. The free version works fine for this; if you're already on the paid Plus plan (about $20/month), even better — you'll get slightly faster responses with GPT-4o.

Time required: 30–45 minutes, start to finished document.

Skill level: If you can send an email, you can do this.

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Why most small business web projects go sideways before they start

Here's an uncomfortable stat: 42% of small businesses cite unclear project requirements{:target="_blank"} as the main reason their web project went over budget or missed the mark entirely. And a survey by Upwork{:target="_blank"} found that freelance designers rank vague or missing briefs as the number one cause of scope creep — that fun situation where the project keeps expanding and your bill keeps growing.

A web project going sideways doesn't mean your designer was bad. It usually means neither of you had a shared picture of what "done" looked like. Without that picture, designers default to their own taste. The result is a site that's technically built but doesn't feel like yours.

The fix isn't complicated. It's a brief.

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What to tell a web designer: what a brief actually covers

A brief is a short document — usually one to three pages — that tells a designer what your business does, who it's for, what you want the site to accomplish, and what you like and don't like visually. That's it.

It's not a technical specification (that's something you'd write after hiring someone, once the technical details are being planned). It's not a contract. It's a pre-hire communication tool: a way to say "here's exactly what I need" before anyone starts building anything.

Think of it like a floor plan before construction. You wouldn't let a builder start framing walls without one.

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What to tell a web designer before they start: the 8 essentials

Smashing Magazine's guide to web project planning{:target="_blank"} and Toptal's brief framework{:target="_blank"} both land on roughly the same list. Here's what your brief needs to cover:

1. Your business background — what you do, who you serve, and how long you've been doing it
2. The goal of the site — is it to get leads, sell products, book appointments, build credibility?
3. Your target audience — who is actually going to land on this site and what do they need from it?
4. Competitor sites — two or three examples, with notes on what you like or dislike about each
5. Inspiration sites — sites outside your industry that you like the feel of, with specific notes
6. Pages and features needed — home, about, services, contact, booking, shop, etc.
7. Timeline and budget range — even a rough range helps designers self-select appropriately
8. SEO basics — two or three keywords you want the site to show up for in search

Most owners know most of this already — it's just scattered in their heads. The hard part is pulling it out in a useful format. That's exactly where AI helps.

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How to use AI to write a web design brief for a freelance designer in under an hour

The trick here is to let the AI ask you the questions rather than staring at a blank template. You paste in one prompt, then answer its follow-up questions conversationally, and it assembles the brief for you at the end. Much easier than starting from scratch.

Here's the step-by-step:

1. Open ChatGPT{:target="_blank"} in your browser. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free in about two minutes.

2. Start a new chat. Click the pencil icon or "New Chat" button — you want a fresh conversation with no prior context.

3. Paste in the setup prompt below. This tells the AI exactly what role to play and what to produce at the end.

This prompt positions the AI as your project partner, not a blank text box. It knows what a designer needs, so it'll pull that information out of you through conversation.

You are helping me prepare a web design brief to send to freelance designers or agencies before I hire anyone. Your job is to interview me — ask me one question at a time, wait for my answer, then ask the next. Cover these areas in order: (1) my business background and what I do, (2) the goal of the new or redesigned website, (3) my target audience, (4) competitor websites I know of and what I think of them, (5) websites I like the look or feel of and why, (6) pages and features I need on the site, (7) my rough timeline and budget range, (8) any keywords or phrases I want the site to show up for in search. After you've asked all the questions and I've answered them, write a clean, professional 1–2 page web design brief I can send directly to a designer. Format it clearly with section headings. Start with your first question now.

After you paste this, hit send. ChatGPT will ask you its first question — probably something like "Tell me about your business."

4. Answer each question in plain, natural language. Don't overthink it. You're not writing anything formal yet — just talking. "We're a two-person landscaping company in Austin, we mostly do residential lawn care and some commercial contracts" is a perfect answer.

5. For the inspiration sites question, give specific notes. This is worth slowing down for. Don't just name a website — say what you like about it. "I love the way [Site X] uses big photos and keeps the menu simple" is far more useful to a designer than "I like [Site X]." If you can name something you dislike about a site too — "I like the layout but not that dark color palette" — even better.

6. Once you've answered all eight questions, type: "Please write my web design brief now." ChatGPT will produce a formatted 1–2 page document. Read through it. If anything's missing or off, just say so in plain English — "Can you add a section about our social media links?" — and it'll revise.

7. Copy the final brief into a Google Doc or Word document. This is your deliverable. You'll send it to every designer you're considering.

The whole conversation usually takes 20–30 minutes. What you end up with is a real, professional-looking brief that took you a fraction of the time it would have taken to write from scratch — and it covers everything a good designer actually needs.

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How to use your brief to compare quotes and spot red flags

Once you've got your brief, send it to every designer or agency you're considering — before you get on a call, before you look at pricing. Platforms like Contra{:target="_blank"}, Fiverr Pro{:target="_blank"}, and Toptal{:target="_blank"} all recommend submitting a written brief when posting a project, because it consistently attracts better proposals and cuts down on back-and-forth.

Here's what to watch for when proposals come back:

A good sign: The designer references specific things from your brief — your audience, your goal, your inspiration sites. That means they read it.

A red flag: The proposal is completely generic. If it could have been sent to any small business, they didn't engage with your brief at all. That pattern tends to continue through the whole project.

Another red flag: They jump straight to a portfolio presentation without addressing your goals. Pretty work is nice, but you need someone solving your problem, not showcasing their aesthetic.

Your brief also makes it much easier to compare quotes fairly. When everyone's working from the same document, the differences in approach and price become about the work — not about who asked better questions upfront.

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When something goes wrong

The brief comes out sounding stiff and corporate. This happens when your answers were short or formal. Go back into the chat and say "This sounds too stiff — can you rewrite it in a warmer, more approachable tone that matches a small local business?" It'll revise it immediately.

ChatGPT asks a question you don't know how to answer. Totally normal — especially for the SEO keywords section. Just say "I'm not sure — what would be typical for a business like mine?" and it'll offer suggestions you can accept, tweak, or ignore.

The finished brief is missing something important. Just tell it. "I forgot to mention that we need an online booking system — can you add that under features?" It'll update the document in seconds. This isn't a one-shot process — it's a conversation.

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What to do next

Send your brief to two or three designers and pay attention to how they respond to it — that response tells you a lot about how they'll communicate through the whole project. If you want to go deeper on evaluating freelance proposals, check out our walkthrough on hiring a freelancer for the first time.

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FAQ

What should I tell a web designer before they start? The essentials are: what your business does, who the site is for, what you want visitors to do on the site, pages and features you need, two or three competitor or inspiration sites with specific notes, your timeline, and a rough budget range. A one-to-two page brief covering these points is enough to get a meaningful proposal from any designer.

How do I write a website brief for a designer if I don't know anything technical? You don't need to. A good brief is about your business and your goals, not technical requirements. You don't need to know what a CMS is or how hosting works — that's the designer's job. Your job is to explain what you need the site to accomplish. The AI prompt in this post walks you through it one question at a time.

Is ChatGPT actually free to use for this? Yes, the free version of ChatGPT{:target="_blank"} works perfectly well for this workflow. You don't need the paid plan. Create a free account, start a new chat, and paste in the prompt above — that's all it takes.

How is a brief different from a contract? A brief is a communication tool, not a legal document. It tells the designer what you need before the project starts. A contract covers payment terms, revision rounds, ownership of files, and timelines — that comes after you've agreed to work together. The brief helps you get there.

Can I reuse this brief for future web projects? Absolutely. The background sections — your business description, target audience, brand notes — stay mostly the same. Keep a copy and update the goal and features sections for each new project. If you're on ChatGPT Plus, you can also save your brand context in custom instructions so it pre-fills that information automatically next time.