What to have ready before you brief a web studio

A good first conversation with a studio isn't a pitch. It's both sides working out whether the project makes sense. You can make that conversation far more useful by thinking through a few things beforehand.

1. What should the site do?

Not what it should look like — what it should do. Bring in enquiries? Sell products? Let customers log in and manage something? One clear goal beats a list of twelve.

2. Who is it for?

Describe the person who lands on it. What do they already know about you, and what do they need to find in the first ten seconds?

3. What exists already?

Share the current site, brand guidelines, logo files, copy, photography and any analytics you have. Even a messy folder helps. It's much easier to plan around what's there than to discover it halfway through.

4. Sites you like, and why

Send three or four links. The why matters more than the link: "this feels calm" or "I can find the pricing straight away" tells a designer far more than a screenshot does.

5. Budget and timing

This is the one people hold back, and it's the one that matters most. A range is fine. It lets the studio suggest what's realistic — maybe a smaller first version now and the rest later — instead of guessing and quoting something that doesn't fit.

What you don't need

A detailed spec, a sitemap or a list of technical requirements. Working those out together is part of the job. Come with the goal and the constraints, and leave the how for the conversation.