Write a one-page brief this month: the site's job, this year's evidence, the dates already fixed for next year, a budget range and a deadline with its reason. Then book a start date before January fills up.

January projects start in November

Many owners decide in the first week of January that this is the year the website gets sorted out. So do many other owners, in the same week.

The web companies they call are already working through January's schedule, filled with whatever was agreed in November and December.

A project decided on January 3 often starts in February and launches in spring, which for many businesses is the start of the busy season.

The planning that makes a January start possible happens now, in the last weeks of the year.

Why the new year fills up

December loses most of two weeks to holidays, on both sides of a project. The business is busy or closed, and so is the web company.

Work is booked roughly in the order clear briefs arrive. A brief received in early December gets a quote before the holidays and a slot in January; a phone call on January 3 gets a first meeting.

And January is when many businesses set their budgets, so projects that were waiting for approval all arrive at once.

Dates already fixed for next year

Some of next year's website work has been decided already, by dates nobody can move.

The last is the one most plans leave out. A site meant to win spring work has to be live before spring, and every other date in the plan follows from that one.

Choosing what matters most

Start with what the site is for, then look at what this year showed: how many enquiries came through it, which services they asked about, and which questions the phone still gets.

Add what is broken or awkward: the page nobody can edit, the form that sends to an old address, the gallery that takes an age to load.

Then choose three priorities at most. A brief that asks for everything gets a quote for everything, and a project that never quite finishes.

A brief on one page

The brief does not need to be technical. It needs to say what the site must do, for whom, and by when.

Cover the site's job in a sentence, the evidence behind the priorities, the pages you expect, who supplies the words and photographs, the deadline and its reason, the budget range, and who makes decisions.

One page is enough for a web company to quote properly, and short enough that it actually gets written.

Write it for someone who has never seen the business. If a stranger could not quote from it, the web company cannot either.

A worked example

An excavation company with three machines and a dump truck digs foundations, driveways and drainage for builders and homeowners. Its busy season runs from March to November.

Last winter the owner decided in January to replace the website and called around in the middle of the month. The earliest start on offer was late February.

By then the machines were back at work. The photographs and job descriptions the new site needed arrived slowly, between jobs, and it launched in May, after most spring projects had been booked.

This month the owner wrote a one-page brief, using the enquiry counts kept through October and a folder of job photographs from the summer.

It goes out next week, with a deadline of March 1 and the reason for it. The aim is a start in the second week of January, with the rainy weeks between set aside for writing.

Setting a budget

Give a range in the brief rather than waiting to see what the quotes say. A range lets a web company propose what fits, instead of guessing at the size of the project.

Separate the one-off cost of the work from what continues afterwards: hosting, maintenance, updates and the time to keep pages current.

Leave room for content. Writing and photography are often where projects run over, and they shape how well the finished site works as much as anything in the budget.

If the range feels tight, say which of the three priorities matters most, so the quote can be shaped around it.

Booking the start

Ask for a start date along with the quote, not just a price. A good quote with no start until April solves nothing for a March deadline.

Confirm what has to be ready before work begins: logins for the domain, hosting and analytics, the current site's files, the photographs.

Then book the business's own time as firmly as the web company's: the hours for interviews, writing and reviews, in the weeks they will be needed.

What can wait

Not everything belongs in the first project. A new site can launch with its core pages and add a blog, a gallery or a second language in the quieter months that follow.

Phasing keeps the deadline realistic, and lets the second phase be shaped by what the first one teaches.

List the later items in the brief anyway, marked as later. A web company that knows what is coming can build the first phase so the second fits in without rework.

The counter-case

Some businesses run on a different calendar. A company whose busy season is winter should plan in summer, and one whose financial year ends in spring may budget later.

Small jobs, such as a new page or two, rarely need a formal brief or a booked slot.

And a project waiting on a bigger decision, such as a move or a new name, can wait with it. A brief written now still saves time when it starts.

For anyone hoping to start in January, though, the brief belongs in November.

Before December

  1. Write the site's job in one sentence.
  2. Gather this year's enquiry figures.
  3. List next year's fixed dates.
  4. Choose three priorities at most.
  5. Set a budget range, one-off and ongoing.
  6. Send the brief in early December.
  7. Book a start date and your own time.

Step six is the one with the calendar behind it. A brief that leaves in early December arrives before the holidays; one that leaves in January joins everybody else's.

The figures that should shape the brief are covered in counting enquiries during Small Business Week.

Frequently asked questions

Why write a website brief in November?

Because web companies fill January with work agreed in November and December, and December loses two weeks to holidays. A brief sent early can secure a January start.

What should a website brief include?

The site's job in a sentence, this year's evidence, the pages expected, who supplies words and photographs, the deadline and its reason, a budget range, and who decides.

Which dates affect next year's website work?

PHP 5.6 loses security fixes on December 31, with PHP 7.0's support ending around then too, consent guidelines apply from January 1, and WordPress 5.0 is due soon.

Should I put a budget in the brief?

Yes, as a range. It lets a web company propose what fits instead of guessing, and it should separate one-off work from ongoing costs.

How many priorities should one project have?

Three at most. A brief asking for everything produces a quote for everything and a project that struggles to finish on time.

What if my busy season is winter?

Plan on your own calendar instead. Write the brief several months before the season starts, so the site is finished before the work arrives.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Hoping for a new website in January?

Send us your one-page brief before mid-December. We will reply with a quote and a start date.

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