Your designer just delivered their third revision. It’s still wrong. You’ve burned through half your budget, and you’re nowhere closer to a homepage that actually converts.
This isn’t a designer problem. It’s a brief problem.
After managing hundreds of homepage projects, we’ve seen the pattern: vague briefs create expensive disasters. Clear briefs create profitable homepages.
Why most creative briefs waste everyone’s time
Here’s what nobody talks about: designers aren’t mind readers.
When you send them a brief that says “make it modern” or “we want something that pops,” you’re guaranteeing disappointment. They’ll design what they think you mean. You’ll hate it. They’ll revise. You’ll hate that too.
The cycle continues until someone gives up.
We’ve refined our creative brief process over hundreds of projects. Not because we love documentation, but because we hate wasted budgets and missed deadlines.
The seven sections that actually matter
Forget the 20-page brief templates floating around. You need seven specific sections that answer the questions designers actually have.
1. Project details: The logistics that prevent chaos
Start with deliverables. Not goals or vision. Deliverables.
Your designer needs to know:
- Desktop homepage design (1920×1080)
- Mobile homepage design (375×812)
- File formats (Figma, Adobe XD, exported PNGs)
- Where files live (specific Google Drive folder with edit permissions)
- File naming convention (client-homepage-v1-desktop.fig)
Include links to everything:
- Approved wireframe (non-negotiable starting point)
- Brand guidelines document
- Meeting recordings from discovery calls
- That questionnaire your team filled out three weeks ago
Done looks like: All assets in one folder, properly named. Designer can start without asking a single question.
We learned this the hard way. One missing link means three Slack threads and two unnecessary meetings.
2. Organization context: Why this homepage exists
Your designer needs to understand your business reality, not your marketing speak.
Skip the mission statement. Tell them:
- What you actually sell
- Who actually buys it
- What problem you solve that competitors don’t
- One quantified outcome you can prove
Example that works: “We’re a SaaS company that helps healthcare practices manage patient communications. Our competitors focus on features. We focus on dramatically reducing no-shows.”
Example that doesn’t: “We’re a innovative solution provider dedicated to transforming the healthcare communication paradigm.”
Done looks like: Designer can explain your value prop to someone else in 15 seconds.
3. Target audience: Beyond demographics
“35-55 year old professionals” tells your designer nothing.
What actually helps:
- They’re checking your site at 11pm after the kids are asleep
- They’ve already tried three competitors and got burned
- They care more about implementation support than features
- They’ll show this to their CFO who will ask about ROI within 10 seconds
- They need one specific proof point above the fold
Link to your actual persona documents if you have them. If you don’t, that’s your first problem to fix.
Done looks like: Designer knows exactly what proof points matter and where decision-makers get stuck.
4. Competitor analysis: What’s already winning (and losing)
Your designer needs reconnaissance, not opinions.
Provide three competitors with:
- Screenshot of their homepage
- One thing they do well (“Their value prop is instantly clear”)
- One thing they do poorly (“Can’t find pricing without clicking four times”)
- One opportunity to beat them (“They don’t show social proof above the fold”)
This isn’t about copying. It’s about understanding the visual language your audience already recognizes.
Done looks like: Designer can articulate exactly how your homepage will differentiate from each competitor.
5. Key features: The hierarchy that drives action
Your wireframe shows structure. This section explains priority.
Be specific about:
Navigation:
- Sticky header that follows scroll
- Services dropdown with icons for each service
- CTA button that changes from “Get Started” to “Book a Call” on scroll
Hero section:
- Headline formula: “[Specific outcome] without [current pain point]”
- Example: “Cut patient no-shows in half without adding staff”
- Video thumbnail that shows real client results
- Two CTAs: primary (book call) and secondary (see pricing)
Trust elements:
- Three client logos immediately visible
- Testimonial format: “[Specific result] in [timeframe]” – Name, Title, Company
- Example: “Reduced no-shows by 40% in 60 days” – Dr. Sarah Chen, Practice Owner
- Security badges if you handle sensitive data
Priority rule: If design elements conflict, outcome proof beats feature lists every time.
Stop describing what you want. Show examples. “Like Stripe’s hero but with Slack’s color confidence.”
Done looks like: Designer has exact formulas and hierarchy rules. No guessing about what matters most.
6. Visual direction: The look that converts
“Modern and professional” means nothing. Every business wants that.
Instead, provide:
- Three websites you’d be proud to look like
- Two websites you’d be embarrassed to look like
- Your actual brand colors (hex codes, not “blue”)
- Font preferences with fallbacks
- Accessibility requirements (WCAG 2.1 AA compliance isn’t optional anymore)
Include your mood board if you have one. Create one if you don’t. Pinterest boards work better than paragraphs.
Done looks like: Designer can create three different concepts that all feel right for your brand.
7. Timeline and budget: The reality check
Hope isn’t a timeline. Be realistic:
- Day 1-3: Initial design concepts
- Day 4: Internal review and feedback compilation (24-hour max feedback window)
- Day 5-7: Design revisions
- Day 8: Final review (one person consolidates all feedback)
- Day 9-10: Final adjustments and handoff
Include revision rounds in your timeline. Two rounds is realistic. Unlimited revisions is a lie that helps nobody.
Budget by phase:
- Initial design: majority of hours
- Revisions: roughly half of design time
- Final production: smallest allocation
Done looks like: Everyone knows their deadline, who’s consolidating feedback, and when the project actually ends.
The foundation principle nobody wants to hear
Here’s the thing: you can’t skip the homework.
That perfect creative brief requires you to actually know:
- Your real value proposition (not what you wish it was)
- Your actual audience (not who you want it to be)
- Your competitive advantage (not what sounds good)
We invest significant time in discovery before touching design tools. Clients sometimes balk at this investment. Then they see competitors spending months on endless revisions because they skipped the foundation.
Garbage in, garbage out. This applies to creative briefs more than anywhere else.
What this actually looks like in practice
We recently worked with a healthcare SaaS startup. Their first brief was two sentences: “We need a modern homepage that converts better.”
After our brief process:
- Designer delivered first draft that only needed minor tweaks
- One round of minor revisions
- Homepage went live in 10 days
- Conversion improvements were noticeable within the first month
Same process, different industry: A B2B consulting firm came to us after three failed redesigns. We spent two days building their brief using this framework. The designer nailed it on the first concept. No drama, no endless revisions, just a homepage that worked.
Not because we’re design geniuses. Because we gave our designer what they actually needed to succeed.
Your next 48 hours
Stop reading about creative briefs. Start building yours.
Today (2 hours): Document your actual business reality using our seven sections.
Tomorrow (1 hour): Gather all assets and links your designer will need.
Day 2 (30 minutes): Review with your team and fill the gaps.
If you’re thinking “I’ll do this next quarter,” your competitors are already briefing their designers with clarity you don’t have.
Want to see this in practice?
Let’s walk through your specific homepage challenge and show you exactly how we use this brief process to deliver homepages that convert.
The choice is yours
Your next homepage project has two possible outcomes.
Option one: Another three-month disaster that ends with something you tolerate but don’t love.
Option two: A focused two-week sprint that delivers a homepage that actually drives business.
The difference isn’t the designer you choose. It’s the brief you give them.
While your competitors debate color schemes without context, you’ll be launching with confidence.
Because you did the work upfront that nobody wants to do.
P.S. That homepage that’s “good enough” right now? It’s costing you conversions every single day. A proper brief isn’t just about avoiding bad design. It’s about finally getting the homepage your business deserves.
