Ready to create a compelling WordPress development brief? Look no further. Our comprehensive guide walks you through every step, from shaping project objectives and identifying your target audience, to outlining key features, setting realistic timelines, and working within budget constraints.
Are you planning to kick-start a WordPress development project and have already selected a trustworthy company to handle the job? If so, creating a clear and comprehensive brief is your first step towards success.
For more tips on how to collaborate with a WordPress website development company for the best results, check out this guide.
Why is a well-crafted brief so important, you may ask? It serves as the roadmap for your project, outlining your vision, goals, and expectations. It not only ensures that you and your development team are on the same page but also helps avoid misunderstandings that could derail your project.
In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the key components of an effective brief including defining your project scope, setting realistic timelines, outlining your budget, and identifying the necessary functionalities and design elements.
By the end of this article, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to create a perfect brief that paves the way for a successful WordPress development project. Stay tuned!
A WordPress development brief is the blueprint of your project. It is the document that captures your vision and communicates it to your development team. Each component of the brief serves a unique purpose in ensuring the successful completion of your WordPress project. Here are the key ones:
The goals and objectives give direction to your project. They outline what you intend to achieve with your website. Clearly defining these will help your development team understand your vision and deliver a product that meets your expectations.
EXAMPLE
PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Our aim is to create a dynamic and engaging website for our newly established online bookstore, “LimitlessLeaf Books”. The primary goal of this project is to captivate readers, promote our unique collection of books and facilitate seamless online transactions.
OBJECTIVES
Engaging User Interface
The website should have a captivating and user-friendly design that not only attracts visitors but also makes navigation effortless.
Book Catalog
We want to display our wide range of books in an organized manner, allowing users to sort and filter based on genre, author, price, and popularity.
Online Purchase System
An integral part of the website will be a secure, easy-to-use online purchase system that offers multiple payment options.
Customer Reviews and Ratings
A section where customers can rate and review their purchases, enhancing the interactive dimension of our website.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
To reach a wider audience, it’s crucial that our website is SEO-friendly, which includes keyword-optimized content and meta tags.
Mobile Responsiveness
Given the increasing use of smartphones for online shopping, our website must provide a seamless mobile browsing experience.
Analytics Integration
The integration of analytics tools is essential for tracking website performance, customer behavior, and sales conversion rates.
Book Recommendation System
A feature suggesting books based on user preferences and previous purchases would personalize the user experience and boost sales.
By achieving these objectives, we intend to create a thriving online community of book lovers while ensuring a smooth online shopping experience, leading to increased customer loyalty and sales growth.
The scope of work provides a detailed description of the tasks and deliverables for the project. This helps in defining the roles and responsibilities of each team member and ensures everyone is on the same page.
EXAMPLE
SCOPE OF WORK
This project involves the design, development, testing, and launch of an e-commerce website for our online bookstore, “LimitlessLeaf Books”. The following is a detailed breakdown of the tasks involved:
Website Design and User Experience (UX):
1. Creation of wireframes for each webpage
2. Designing an intuitive and visually appealing user interface
3. Ensuring a seamless user experience across all devices and browsers
Website Development:
1. Coding and development of the website based on approved designs
2. Integration of a secure and easy-to-use online purchase system
3. Development of a dynamic book catalog with sorting and filtering options
4. Incorporation of a customer review and rating system
5. Integration of analytics tools for performance tracking
Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
1. Keyword research and implementation
2. SEO-friendly content creation for all webpages
3. Meta tags and description creation for each page
Mobile Responsiveness:
Ensuring the website is fully responsive and provides a seamless mobile browsing experience
Book Recommendation System:
Development of a recommendation algorithm based on user preferences and previous purchases
Testing:
1. Comprehensive testing of the website to ensure all features are working as expected
2. Testing the website across different devices and browsers for compatibility
Launch and Post-Launch Support:
1. Assistance with website launch and handling any issues that arise post-launch
2. Providing ongoing support and maintenance as required
Your website’s design should reflect your brand’s identity. Providing details about the desired look and feel of the site, along with any existing branding guidelines, will help the designers create a website that aligns with your brand image.
EXAMPLE
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Look and Feel
The design of our website should be warm, inviting, and easy on the eyes, much like a cozy bookstore. A mix of modern and traditional elements can help create an atmosphere that appeals to both young readers and seasoned bibliophiles.
The color scheme should be neutral and calming, with occasional pops of vibrant colors to highlight featured books or special promotions.
Branding Elements
Our logo, featuring a stylized ‘L’ should be prominently displayed. Our tagline, “Unleash Your Imagination”, should also be incorporated into the design.
Typography
We prefer a combination of serif and sans-serif fonts that are easy to read and give a friendly, approachable feel. Headings can be in a more decorative or unique font to add a touch of creativity and intrigue.
Imagery
Images used should revolve around books, reading, and the joy of learning. This could include high-quality photographs of books, illustrations related to popular titles, and images representing diverse genres and authors.
Navigation
The site navigation should be simple and user-friendly. Important pages such as ‘Home’, ‘About Us’, ‘Shop by Genre’, ‘Bestsellers’, ‘New Arrivals’, and ‘Contact Us’ should be easily accessible from any page on the site.
Product Display
Each book listing should include a clear image of the book cover, a detailed description, author information, price, and customer reviews. An option to preview a few pages of the book would also enhance the user experience.
Existing branding guidelines will be provided for reference.
Content is a critical component of your website. Whether it’s creating new content or migrating existing one, outlining the content needs will guide the content creation process and ensure the website appeals to your target audience.
EXAMPLE
CONTENT
Our main objective is to create original content that mirrors our bookstore’s ethos, mission, and product offerings. We offer a diverse range of books from various genres such as mystery, romance, science fiction, and non-fiction.
Therefore, the content should effectively articulate these offerings in an approachable and enticing manner, without overwhelming our customers.
In terms of structure, we foresee the following sections:
Home
A brief introduction to our bookstore and offerings.
About Us
Detailed information about our journey, team, and mission.
Book Categories
Detailed descriptions of each genre we offer.
Blog
Regularly updated articles about literary trends, book recommendations, and our events.
Contact Us
Information on how to reach us.
We welcome suggestions on how to better organize and present our content to captivate and engage our target audience
For a seamless development process, provide access to any existing hosting or domain accounts. If you require new ones, outline your requirements so that the team can set them up for you.
EXAMPLE
HOSTING AND DOMAIN
We currently have a domain registered with DomainNameRegistrar – www.limitlessleaf.com. We would like to keep this domain name for the new website.
For hosting, we are currently using a shared hosting plan with HostName. However, we’ve noticed that our site’s speed has been slow lately, so we are open to suggestions for a new hosting provider if you think it would be beneficial. We need a hosting plan that can handle high traffic volumes as our business is growing rapidly.
Here are the login details for both:
DomainNameRegistrar Account:
Username: limitlessleaf
Password: ************
HostName Account:
Username: limitlessleaf
Password: ************
If you require any further information or access, please let us know. We also ask that you ensure all passwords and sensitive data are handled securely throughout the development process.
Setting realistic expectations for the project timeline and budget keeps the project on track. A clear outline of these factors ensures that the team knows when the project should be completed and how many resources are available.
EXAMPLE
TIMELINE AND BUDGET
The project for the development of LimitlessLeaf Bookstore’s website has been scheduled over a six-month period. We’re planning to start the project on September 1, 2023, with an anticipated completion date of February 28, 2024.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the timeline:
1. Project Commencement: September 1, 2023
2. Research and Planning Phase: September 1, 2023 – October 15, 2023
3. Design Phase: October 16, 2023 – December 15, 2023
4. Development Phase: December 16, 2023 – January 31, 2024
5. Testing and Launch Phase: February 1, 2024 – February 28, 2024
Our budget for this project is $50,000, which we believe should cover all aspects of the work from research through to launch. The allocation of the budget is as follows:
1. Research and Planning: $5,000
2. Design: $15,000
3. Development: $20,000
4. Testing and Launch: $10,000
We are aware that unexpected expenses can occur, but we will strive to stay within this budget as much as possible. Any additional costs must be approved before they are incurred.
Please bear in mind that these are estimates, and while we are open to discussion and adjustment if necessary, transparency about any changes to the timeline or budget is crucial.
If there’s an existing website, providing information such as analytics or user data can offer valuable insights. This data can guide the development process and help improve the new website based on user behavior on the old site.
EXAMPLE
EXISTING WEBSITE
LimitlessLeaf Bookstore currently has an existing website that has been operational for the past five years. Over this period, we have gathered a significant amount of user data and analytics which we believe could be instrumental in guiding the development process of the new website.
Here are some key insights from our existing website:
1. Website Traffic: Our website receives an average of 10,000 visitors per month.
2. User Behavior: Most users (around 70%) land on our homepage. The most visited sections after the homepage are the ‘New Arrivals’ and ‘Best Sellers’ pages.
3. Demographics: The majority of our users are aged between 25 and 34, predominantly female.
4. Device Usage: About 60% of our customers use mobile devices to access our site, while 40% use desktops.
5. Bounce Rate: The current bounce rate is around 45%, something we’d like to reduce with the new design.
6. Average Session Duration: Users typically spend about 3 minutes on our site per visit.
We want to leverage this data to improve user experience, engagement, and ultimately, sales conversions on the new site. We believe these insights will help us to better understand our customers’ behavior and preferences, allowing us to create a website that meets their needs more effectively.
Listing any third-party applications or integrations that need to be integrated into the website ensures a smooth user experience. This could include things like social media plugins, payment gateways, or email marketing services.
EXAMPLE
APPLICATIONS AND INTEGRATIONS
In the website we envision, we plan to integrate a variety of third-party applications to enhance user experience and streamline our business operations.
1. Social Media Plugins: We would like to integrate social media plugins for platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. These plugins should allow visitors to share our content on their social network accounts easily.
2. Payment Gateways: To facilitate online transactions, we need to incorporate secure and reliable payment gateways. Our preferred options are PayPal, Stripe, and Square due to their widespread acceptance and robust security measures.
3. Email Marketing Services: We plan to use MailChimp for our email marketing campaigns. The website should be capable of integrating with this service to collect email addresses from subscribers and send automated emails.
4. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Integration with Salesforce CRM is essential for us to manage customer interactions effectively.
5. Live Chat: We want to provide real-time support to our visitors through a live chat option. Therefore, integration with a service like Zendesk Chat or LiveChat is required.
6. Google Analytics: To track and analyze website traffic, we need to integrate Google Analytics.
Please ensure these integrations are seamless and don’t interfere with the overall user experience on our website.
By carefully crafting your WordPress development brief and including these key components, you can ensure a successful project that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations.
Apart from the key components we’ve just discussed, there are some additional (optional) components you might want to include in your brief. Let’s talk about them next.
These are the tangible representations of your website’s design. If you’re using a pre-made WordPress theme, this could be a ZIP file containing the theme files. If you’re opting for a custom design, these would be the design files created by your web designer, such as PSD or Sketch files. Providing these files allows the agency to fully grasp your design vision.
EXAMPLE
DESIGN FILES
For our website, we have chosen a custom design route to ensure it aligns perfectly with our brand’s aesthetic and ethos. We have enlisted the services of a professional web designer who has created comprehensive design files for us.
1. The Primary Design Files: These are in Adobe Photoshop (PSD) format. They provide a detailed visual representation of what each web page should look like, including the layout, color scheme, typography, imagery, and other design elements.
2. Wireframes: We also have wireframe sketches that outline the structure and functionality of each webpage. These are in Sketch format.
3. Logo Files: Our company logo files are available in both PNG and SVG formats. We want this to be prominently displayed on all pages of the website.
4. Style Guide: We’ve put together a style guide that dictates the specific brand colors, fonts, and other visual elements that should be used throughout the website.
5. Prototype: We have a clickable prototype created using InVision. This will give you a better understanding of the user flow and interactive elements.
All these files will be shared via Dropbox. We believe these design files will provide you with a clear understanding of our vision for the website’s design and functionality. Please adhere strictly to these designs to maintain brand consistency.
Every business is unique, and your website should reflect that. Include detailed information about any customization or modifications that you want to be made to the design or theme. This can range from changing the color scheme to altering the layout.
EXAMPLE
CUSTOMIZATION REQUIREMENTS
As LimitlessLeaf Books, we’re looking to customize our current website to better reflect our brand and improve customer experience. Here are the specific modifications we’d like:
1. Color Scheme Modification: Our existing site doesn’t fully utilize our brand colors – maroon (Hex #800000) and cream (Hex #FFFDD0). We’d like these colors to be more prominent throughout the site to create a warm and inviting feel that aligns with our brand identity.
2. Font Change: At present, the font used on our site doesn’t quite capture the classic bookstore vibe we’re known for. We’d like to switch to “Times New Roman” for body text and “Georgia” for headings to create a more nostalgic and comfortable reading experience.
3. Layout Adjustment: We want to modify the homepage layout to include a “Staff Picks” section. This will allow us to showcase our team’s favorite reads and provide personalized recommendations to our customers.
4. Product Page Enhancement: On our product pages, we’d like to add a feature that displays “Customers who bought this also bought…”. This will encourage further exploration and purchases by showing relevant book suggestions.
These customizations are aimed at enhancing our brand representation online and providing a more engaging and user-friendly experience for our customers.
Plugins enhance the functionality of your WordPress site. List any specific plugins that you require to be installed on your website. If there are any custom plugin development requirements, make sure to include those as well.
EXAMPLE
PLUGIN REQUIREMENTS
For our WordPress site, we require the following plugins to be installed and properly configured:
1. Yoast SEO: This plugin is essential for managing our website’s SEO. We want to ensure our content is optimized to reach our target audience effectively.
2. WooCommerce: As an e-commerce business, we need this plugin to manage our online store. It should be set up to handle inventory management, sales tracking, and customer service.
3. Akismet Anti-Spam: To protect our blog and site comments from spam, we need the Akismet Anti-Spam plugin installed and configured.
4. Contact Form 7: For managing customer inquiries, we need Contact Form 7. This plugin should be integrated with our customer service email.
5. WP Super Cache: This plugin is needed to improve our website loading speed and overall performance.
As for custom plugin development, we have a specific requirement: Custom Event Management Plugin.
We host various events throughout the year. We need a custom plugin developed that allows us to create event pages, manage tickets, and track attendance. This plugin should integrate with our existing CRM system. Please provide a quote for this custom development.
If you’re using a pre-made WordPress theme or plugin, it’s crucial to provide the agency with a copy of the license for that theme or plugin. This ensures that everything is above board and legal.
Different themes and plugins come with varying levels of support. If you’re using a pre-made theme or plugin, provide information about the support that is included. This will help the agency know what level of assistance they can expect from the theme or plugin developer.
EXAMPLE
THEME AND PLUGIN SUPPORT
THEME
Astra ProAstra Pro is a premium WordPress theme that we’ve selected for our website. The theme comes with extensive documentation which covers everything from basic setup to advanced customization options.
Support for Astra Pro is provided directly by the developers, Brainstorm Force. As part of our premium subscription, we have access to their dedicated support team. The support includes 24/7 email support and live chat during business hours. They typically respond within a few hours.
Brainstorm Force also offers an extensive knowledge base and community forum where users can ask questions and share tips. We’ve found this to be a valuable resource in the past.
PLUGIN
For SEO, we’re using Yoast SEO Premium. This plugin also comes with premium support, which includes 24/7 email support. They promise a response time of less than a day for premium users.
In addition to direct support, Yoast offers a comprehensive FAQ section and tutorials on their website. They also have a robust user community where we can find solutions to common issues.
We expect you to leverage these support resources as needed when working on our website. However, we would appreciate it if you could handle most issues and only escalate to theme/plugin support when necessary.
With the majority of web browsing now done on mobile devices, having a responsive design is a necessity. If your design isn’t already responsive, outline how you’d like your website to be optimized for mobile devices. This could include everything from how menus function to how images are displayed.
EXAMPLE
RESPONSIVE DESIGN
We would like our website to be fully responsive and optimized for mobile devices. The majority of our target audience accesses our content via smartphones and tablets, thus it is crucial that our site provides an excellent user experience on all devices.
1. Site Layout: The site should automatically adapt to the screen size of the device it’s being viewed on. This means that whether a visitor is viewing the site from a desktop, tablet, or smartphone, the layout should adjust accordingly.
2. Menus: The main navigation menu should be easy to use on all devices. On smaller screens, the menu should become a hamburger style dropdown menu. Each option should be large enough to be easily selectable on touch screens.
3. Images and Videos: Images and videos should resize based on the screen size. They should maintain their aspect ratio and quality regardless of the device used.
4. Text Content: The text should be legible on all screen sizes. It should not be too small on mobile devices or too large on desktop screens.
5. Forms & Calls to Action: Any forms or call-to-action buttons on the site should be easily clickable on all devices. They should be prominent and simple to interact with, even on smaller screens.
6. Load Times: Considering that mobile users often have slower internet connections, it’s important that our site loads quickly on all devices. Please optimize the site to ensure fast load times without compromising on the quality of images or other elements.
7. Testing: Finally, please ensure that the responsive design is thoroughly tested on various devices and browsers for consistency and functionality.
Crafting a clear and concise project brief is the first step towards successful WordPress development. Here are some general tips to help you write a brief that effectively communicates your needs and expectations to your development team:
A good brief should be straightforward and focused. Include only the most crucial information and avoid unnecessary details. An overly complex or lengthy brief can confuse the developers and may lead to misinterpretation of your requirements.
Providing examples of websites with a similar look and feel to what you desire can be incredibly helpful. It allows the developers to understand your aesthetic preferences and functionality requirements better. If you have existing branding guidelines, make sure to include them in the brief.
When it comes to outlining what you want your website to achieve and how it should look and function, the more detail, the better. Specify the desired features, layout, color scheme, typography, and any other elements that are important to you.
Be transparent about your budget right from the start. This will help the developers to plan the project accordingly and suggest solutions that fit within your budget. It’s also useful to discuss the payment schedule and any potential extra costs that might arise during the project.
Setting realistic timelines for your project is crucial. Clearly outline when you expect the project to be completed and how much time will be required for each stage. This will help the developers manage their workload effectively and keep the project on track.
In conclusion, creating a perfect brief for your WordPress development project is not just an administrative task, but a critical foundation for the success of your project. This comprehensive guide has walked you through the key steps involved – from defining your project goals and scope, identifying your target audience, outlining required features and functionalities to establishing timelines and budget constraints.
A well-crafted brief serves as a roadmap for both you and your developer, ensuring that everyone is in sync regarding expectations and deliverables. It reduces miscommunication, prevents scope creep, and ultimately leads to a more efficient development process and a better end product.
We encourage you to use the information provided in this guide to create an effective brief for your next WordPress project. Remember, the time and effort invested in drafting a thorough brief will pay off in the form of a smooth project execution and a website that truly meets your needs and those of your users. Happy briefing!
You might also want to explore these articles for more insights into WordPress development:
From DIY to Pro: Why Use the Services of a WordPress Website Development Company
The Pros and Cons of Using a WordPress Website Development Company
How to Choose the Right WordPress Website Development Company for Your Needs
What Is the WordPress Website Cost in 2022?
The Process of Hiring a WordPress Development Company
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