A Website Brief Checklist for Solar and Environmental Businesses

Start with a sector-specific website brief checklist

A useful website brief tells a supplier what your business needs the website to achieve, who it serves, what services it offers and how customers should move from a first visit to an enquiry or booking. Include the content, evidence, forms, system connections and ongoing support you need, then ask the supplier to recommend a suitable solution. Use the prompts below to capture the requirements before requesting proposals.

• Business: What does your business do, and what should the website help it achieve?
• Audiences: Who needs to use the site, such as homeowners, commercial customers, landlords, trade partners or public-sector organisations?
• Coverage: Where do you operate, and are there locations or service areas you cannot cover?
• Services: Which services should the site explain? Note any important differences in what you offer to different customers.
• Visitor action: What should each visitor be able to do, such as request a quote, arrange a collection, book an assessment or make a general enquiry?
• Customer journey: What information should a visitor provide, who receives it, and what should happen next? Include any follow-up by phone, email or another process.
• Content: What service descriptions, locations, process explanations, frequently asked questions, images or documents will help customers decide what to do?
• Evidence: What supporting information can you provide for statements about your services or how work is carried out?
• Systems: Does an enquiry need to reach existing business software, or can staff handle it through a straightforward website form? Describe the outcome you need rather than specifying a technical solution too early.
• Proposal: What should suppliers explain in their proposals, including what is included, what they need from you, how the site will be handed over and what ongoing support is available?

Add the prompts that fit your sector:

• Solar installers: What should someone provide to request a survey or quote, and how will you establish whether the property or enquiry is eligible for your service?
• Energy consultancies and assessors: Which assessment types do you offer? Should people book a slot or send an enquiry, and what information do you need before following up?
• Recycling businesses: Which materials do you accept, and what do customers need to know about drop-off or collection arrangements?
• Waste and skip firms: What collection or skip services do you offer, where are they available, and how should customers or trade partners enquire?

Set goals, audiences and service boundaries

Before listing pages or features, give the supplier the business context behind the website. A clear brief explains what the business needs the site to do, who it serves and which enquiries it can handle. Use these prompts to set that direction:

• State the business goals. Separate outcomes from features. For example, you may need to explain a new service clearly, help suitable customers make an enquiry, or direct existing customers to the right contact route. Note which goals matter most so the proposal can prioritise them.
• Name each audience. List the people or organisations the website must serve: homeowners, landlords, commercial customers, trade partners, or organisations commissioning energy assessments. For each, describe who usually makes the decision, what they are trying to arrange and what information they need before getting in touch.
• Set service boundaries. List the services you provide and those you do not. A solar installer might distinguish installation enquiries from maintenance requests; a recycling business might identify the materials it accepts; a waste firm might clarify which collection requests it handles. Flag any eligibility conditions or cases that need staff review rather than an automatic response.
• Describe where you operate. Give the areas you serve and explain any relevant limits, such as a service available only in selected locations or a collection subject to checking the site and material. Tell the supplier how visitors should find out whether their address or requirement is covered.
• Prioritise the questions the site must answer. For each audience, note what they need to know before taking action. This could include what happens after requesting a survey, what details help assess a collection enquiry, or what to prepare before arranging an assessment. Mark which answers are essential to the decision and which can sit in supporting content.
• Choose practical measures of usefulness. Decide how you will judge whether the website is serving the business: for example, whether enquiries contain enough information to assess, whether they come from serviceable locations, or whether visitors reach the intended contact route. Identify who will review this information and what they could change if enquiries are unsuitable.
• Record assumptions and unresolved decisions. If your service areas, audience priorities or enquiry process are still being agreed, say so. Ask the supplier to identify where those decisions affect the proposed structure or functionality, rather than treating an unconfirmed assumption as a requirement.

These notes help suppliers recommend an appropriate site structure and enquiry route. They also make it easier to separate information the website needs to present from features that would only be useful if they support a defined business goal.

Map the customer journey from first visit to follow-up

Map each important journey from the service page to the next action and the person or process that follows up. A clear enquiry route may be all that is needed; visitors do not always need to book or complete a transaction online.

• Starting point: Which service page or information will the visitor arrive at, and what do they need to know before acting?
• Visitor’s task: Are they asking for a solar survey, arranging an assessment, requesting a collection or making a trade enquiry? Use these tasks to shape navigation and calls to action, rather than relying only on internal department names.
• Information and action: What details must the visitor provide, and should they submit an enquiry, request a call or choose a booking option?
• Handoff and follow-up: Who receives the request, what do they do next, and how will the visitor know it has been received?
• Exceptions: Note what should happen when a request is incomplete, outside the service area or needs a response from another team.

Specify survey, quote and assessment journeys

In your brief, describe what a visitor should be able to request and what your team needs to decide how to handle it. Use these prompts to make the survey, quote or assessment journey clear to a supplier:

• Choose the first action. Should a solar visitor request a survey, ask for a quote or send a general enquiry? For an energy consultancy or assessor, name the service or assessment they can enquire about and say whether they should request information or arrange an appointment.
• List the useful initial details. Explain what helps your team route and review an enquiry, such as the service requested, the site or property, the visitor’s location and their preferred way to be contacted. Separate essential details from information you can gather later.
• Describe the hand-off. State which role or team reviews each type of submission, where it should be sent and what the reviewer needs to do next. Note how enquiries should be handled if they are incomplete or relate to a service you do not provide.
• Set expectations for follow-up. Say what the visitor should see after submitting and what your business intends to do next, without promising a response time you have not agreed.
• Draw the boundary. Clarify whether the website is collecting an initial enquiry only, or whether it should support a further step such as arranging an appointment. Identify any conversation or separate process needed before you can assess the property, confirm scope or prepare a quote.

Describe material, collection and trade enquiries

For recycling and waste services, make the enquiry route fit the material and job rather than asking every visitor to use the same form. Add these prompts to the brief:

• Material: What does the visitor need to identify, such as the material type, condition or approximate quantity? Which details help your team decide whether it is relevant?
• Service needed: Should the visitor request a collection, ask whether a material is accepted, enquire about a skip or another service, or contact you about a trade requirement? Specify the action and the information needed to start it.
• Location and arrangements: Where should visitors give the relevant location, and what collection or access details does your team need to review? Include only fields that help decide the next step.
• Trade enquiries: What should a business or regular supplier provide so the right person can assess the request? Explain whether this route differs from an individual collection enquiry.
• Hand-off: Name the role or process that receives each enquiry and what it needs to decide whether to respond, request more information or arrange a follow-up.
• Limits and next steps: Ask the supplier to make relevant service limits, accepted materials and what happens after submission easy to find. The website should help visitors make an enquiry; it should not imply that an operational assessment has already taken place.

These details help a supplier shape appropriate pages and forms without assuming that every request can be confirmed online.

Specify services, locations and the content customers need

Give the supplier enough detail to organise pages around what customers need to know, while making clear where each service is and is not available. Use this checklist to capture the information before the supplier proposes a site structure.

• Describe each service in plain language. For every service, note who it is for, what the customer can expect when they enquire and what happens next. Use the terms customers recognise, and explain any internal or technical terms that need to appear.
• Separate customer groups where their needs differ. Note whether residential, commercial and trade customers need different services, information or routes to enquire. For example, a business customer may need to describe a site or ongoing requirement, while a household customer may need to explain a specific job.
• List locations and boundaries. Record the areas you serve for each service, including any differences between services. Note relevant limits or conditions, such as work that depends on a site assessment, material checks or local availability. Ask the supplier to present these clearly rather than imply wider coverage.
• Write down the questions customers ask. Include questions about how a service works, what an assessment involves, which materials you accept, how a collection is arranged and what information is needed before you can respond. These can inform page content and navigation.
• Inventory your content. List existing service descriptions, process explanations, location information, photographs, diagrams and supporting documents. Mark what is ready to use, what needs checking or updating, and what must be created. State which content tasks you expect the supplier to include in the proposal.
• Note content owners and reviewers. Identify who can supply accurate service details and who must review them before publication. This helps avoid a site structure being filled with incomplete or out-of-date information.
• Plan for genuine changes. If you expect to add services or locations, explain what may change and who will maintain those pages. Ask for a structure that can accommodate that need, but leave out speculative features that do not support a known business requirement.

Attach the checklist to your brief and ask suppliers to show how their proposed page structure covers the services, audiences and boundaries you have listed. If a detail is unknown, mark it for a decision rather than letting the site imply an answer.

Identify environmental claims and the evidence behind them

List the environmental and service claims you want the website to make, then note what evidence you can give the supplier for each one. This lets the supplier plan where claims appear and how supporting material can be presented, while leaving review of the claims themselves to the right person in your business.

• Write down each proposed claim. Include wording about materials handled, collection or recycling services, energy assessments, or the outcomes of an installation. Note which service or page it relates to.
• Record the evidence available. For each claim, identify the documents, records or other material you can provide, who holds it and whether it is current. For example, note what information supports a statement about how a particular material is handled.
• Flag claims that need checking. If wording is still being developed or the evidence is incomplete, mark that clearly in the brief. Do not ask the supplier to create or verify the substantiation.
• Name the reviewer. Specify who in the business will review both the wording and its supporting evidence before publication, and who can approve changes later.
• Explain how evidence should appear on the site. Say whether the supplier should allow space for supporting documents, explanations or links between a claim and its evidence. Identify any material that should not be published, such as internal records.
• Set a review process. Describe how the business will tell the supplier when a claim or its evidence changes, and who will decide whether the website needs updating.

Keep the brief focused on the claims, evidence and review process the website needs to accommodate. If you need advice about whether a particular claim is appropriate, take that question to an appropriate adviser rather than asking the website supplier to resolve it.

Define enquiry forms, hand-offs and system connections

For each enquiry route, brief the supplier on what the visitor needs to do, what information your team needs to respond, and what should happen after submission. A website form can collect and pass on an enquiry; it does not, by itself, manage the wider work that may follow.

• Define each form’s purpose and user. Name the service or task, such as requesting a solar survey, asking about a collection, arranging an assessment or making a trade enquiry. Say who is expected to use the form and what action you want them to take.
• List the minimum useful information. Specify what your team needs to decide who should handle the enquiry and what the next step is. Depending on the route, this might include contact details, a site or service location, the type of work or material, and a short description. Separate required details from optional ones, and say what visitors should do if they cannot provide them.
• Map the hand-off. State who should receive each submission, how it should be identified or routed, and who reviews it. Describe the next business step: for example, checking whether the service is suitable, contacting the enquirer for more information, arranging a visit or passing the request to an operations colleague.
• Specify notifications and follow-up. Tell the supplier what your team needs to be alerted to, who is responsible for responding, and how staff will keep track of an enquiry until it is dealt with. If different services, locations or customer types need different recipients or follow-up, record the distinction.
• Describe any system connection by its intended outcome. Name existing booking, CRM, quoting or operational systems that may be involved. Explain what should happen to the enquiry, such as making it available to the person preparing a quote or adding it to an existing follow-up process. Ask the supplier to explain how the proposed connection would work and what it includes; do not prescribe a technical method unless you have a specific reason.
• Say when a connection is not needed. If a notification to a shared inbox and a clear staff follow-up process are enough, include that in the brief. This helps suppliers avoid proposing extra functionality that does not solve a business problem.
• Separate website scope from operational scope. A form can collect a request, but coordinating crews, managing collection schedules, tracking jobs or supporting a multi-step quoting process may require broader operational software. If your workflow appears to need those capabilities, ask the supplier to identify them as a separate scope question, explain the options and show what is included in each proposal.
• Ask for the hand-off to be demonstrated in the proposal. Request a description of what the visitor submits, where the information goes, who acts on it and what happens if it cannot be handled through the proposed route. That gives you a practical basis for comparing suppliers and checking that the website supports your real follow-up process.

Record accessibility, ownership and ongoing requirements

Include the practical requirements that will affect the supplier’s proposal and your ability to manage the website after launch. Use this checklist to agree who will do what, what access you need and what ongoing support you expect.

• Accessibility: State your accessibility expectations and ask the supplier how they will address them and check the finished site. Ask what evidence of checks or findings will be provided, and who will resolve any issues identified.
• Content responsibilities: Record who will write and supply text, photographs, service details and supporting evidence; who approves each item before publication; and who will keep it accurate when services, locations or processes change. If several people are involved, name the role responsible for coordinating approvals.
• Website access: Describe what your staff need to edit themselves, such as service pages, location information or routine updates. Ask what content management access and guidance the supplier proposes, and whether different staff need different permissions.
• Search visibility: List the services and locations customers should be able to find through search. Ask how the proposed site structure and page content will support that aim, without treating rankings or visitor numbers as assured outcomes.
• Analytics: Say whether you need website analytics and which decisions the information should help you make. For example, you may want to understand which service pages lead to enquiries or where visitors stop in an enquiry journey. Ask what information will be available and who in your business will review it.
• Maintenance and support: Describe the support you expect after launch, including how you want routine content changes, technical maintenance and problems to be handled. Ask the supplier to set out what is included, what is not, and how any additional work would be agreed.
• Ownership: Ask the supplier to explain what your business will own or be able to access when the work is complete, including website content, relevant files, accounts and any configuration needed to run the site. Make clear if staff need to take over updates or if you expect the supplier to continue managing them.
• Proposal detail: Request a proposed scope, assumptions, your responsibilities, supplier responsibilities, dependencies and exclusions. Ask the supplier to identify work that would be scoped separately and explain the basis for it, so you can compare proposals on what they actually cover.

These details help prevent gaps between the site you commission and the people, content and support needed to keep it useful. If some arrangements are undecided, mark them as decisions to resolve with the supplier rather than leaving them out of the brief.

Turn your notes into a supplier-ready brief

Bring your notes together in a short brief that explains the business need, not a predetermined technical solution. Send the same core brief to each supplier so you can compare their proposals against the same requirements.

• Business and audience: Describe what the business does, who the website needs to serve and what those visitors should be able to do.
• Goals and services: State the main outcomes you want, the services to include, where you operate and any important service boundaries.
• Priority journeys: Identify the key tasks visitors need to complete, from finding a relevant service to making an enquiry and receiving a response. Explain who handles each enquiry after it arrives.
• Content and evidence: List the information, images and supporting evidence you can provide, who will review them, and any content that still needs to be prepared.
• Forms and follow-up: Describe the information a form should collect, where submissions should go, who will act on them and what follow-up is needed.
• Systems and outcomes: Name the systems already used and describe what, if anything, needs to happen between them and the website. Explain the business outcome rather than prescribing a technical connection.
• Accessibility and ongoing needs: Record your requirements for accessibility, content updates, ownership, analytics, search and ongoing support.
• Proposal questions: Ask what is included, what your business must supply, how forms and any integrations will work, how content and ownership are handled, and what support is proposed.

A straightforward website may be enough if you mainly need to explain services, answer common questions and direct enquiries into a process your team can already manage. If the requirement involves coordinating complex operational work or connecting several systems, ask suppliers to scope that need separately. A website brief can identify the issue without deciding the software or architecture in advance.

Describe your own business model and workflows rather than assuming a solar installer’s enquiry route will fit a consultancy, recycling business or waste collection firm. If you are ready to approach suppliers, use the checklist to request a project quote and compare what each proposal covers against your priorities.