What a good brief is for
A brief prevents the two most common problems in an ecommerce project: proposals that cannot be compared with each other, and features that show up halfway through development and change the scope. The more specific you are at the start, the more accurate the price and the fewer disagreements later.
It helps you too. Writing it uncovers decisions you had not made yet, such as whether you will sell outside Spain, who will upload the products or which systems need to talk to the store.
The business and the goals
Start by explaining what you sell, to whom and how you sell today. If you already have a store, say which platform it runs on, what works and what holds you back. If you are starting from scratch, explain how orders come in now, for example through social media, a physical store or wholesale.
Then define what you want to achieve with the project. Goals like selling more on mobile, opening a wholesale channel, entering another country or letting your team edit the site without depending on anyone guide the proposal much better than a list of features.
Catalog and operations
The catalog drives much of the technical work. State roughly how many products you have, whether they have variants (size, color, format), what technical information each product page shows and whether there are customizable products, bundles or subscriptions.
Also explain how operations work: where the stock is, who packs orders, which carriers you use and whether there is an ERP, invoicing software or an external warehouse. These answers define the integrations and whether to use metafields, metaobjects or Shopify Flow to automate processes.
- Approximate number of products and variants
- Technical information per product (materials, dimensions, sizes)
- Special products: bundles, customizable items, subscriptions
- Logistics, warehouse and carriers
- ERP, invoicing, CRM or email marketing tools you use
- Wholesale or international sales
Design and references
Share your visual identity: logo, colors, fonts and available photography. If you do not have a defined identity, say so, because it changes the project scope.
References help a lot, as long as you explain what you like about each one. Saying you like how a store shows sizes on the product page or how it organizes its menu is more useful than sending a list of websites. Include what you do not like too: it often clarifies as much as the opposite.
Content, SEO and migration
Make clear who will prepare the copy, the photos and the product upload. If the agency has to do it, it is a significant part of the budget. If your team does it, agree on the format and delivery date so development is not blocked.
If you are coming from another platform, say so and share which data you want to move: products, customers, orders, reviews and blog. Also note whether the current store has significant organic traffic, because the migration will need a redirect map to keep it.
Budget, timeline and team
Give a budget range, even a rough one. It does not work against you: it lets the agency propose the solution that fits your investment instead of guessing. If you have a real deadline, such as a campaign or a season, mention it and explain why.
Also state who will make decisions in your company and who will run the store afterwards. Knowing that the marketing team will edit the homepage every week, for example, shapes how the theme sections are built and what training is needed.
Common mistakes in a brief
The most frequent one is describing the solution instead of the problem. Asking for a specific app or a feature you saw on another store limits the proposal; explaining what you need to solve lets the agency suggest the best approach, which is sometimes a native Shopify feature that needs nothing extra.
Other common mistakes are forgetting integrations until mid-project, assuming content will be ready when it is not, or sending different briefs to each agency. If you send the same document to all of them, the proposals will be comparable and you can decide on merit, not on how each one interpreted what you wanted.
What to ask for in return
A good brief deserves an equally clear proposal. Ask for the scope in detail, what is included and what is not, the work process, who owns the code and the theme, what the training looks like and what support is available after launch.
Pay attention to the questions the agency asks after reading the brief. An agency that asks about your operations, your integrations or who will edit the store is thinking about the real project; one that replies with a price without asking anything is probably offering something generic.
This is how we work at Weblineo: you fill in the form, we talk on a video call, we send you a proposal with a fixed price in writing and we build on a development store until you review the V1. Training is included and the code and theme are yours.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know Shopify to write a brief?
No. What matters is explaining your business, your goals and how you work. Translating that into Shopify pieces, such as metafields, apps or integrations, is the agency's job.
Do I have to give a budget estimate?
It is not required, but it helps a lot. With a range, the agency can propose the right solution for your investment and explain what is included and what would be left for a second phase.
How long should a brief be?
Long enough to answer the key questions: business, goals, catalog, operations, design, content, budget and timeline. One or two well-thought-out pages are usually enough.
What if I am not sure about some answers?
Say so in the brief. A good agency will help you decide on the first call and reflect it in the proposal as an option or a later phase.
Should I send the same brief to several agencies?
Yes, that is the recommended approach. With the same starting information, proposals can be compared on scope, process and price, and you will see clearly what each one includes.