Web agency brief 2026: a two-way exchange
A working web agency brief is not a client monologue. It is a two-step exchange: 10 questions the client must answer BEFORE briefing (otherwise the agency improvises), and 10 questions the client must ask the agency BEFORE signing (otherwise they commit blindly).
I have seen 12 cases in 2025 where the client answered none of the first 10; result: blown-up quotes and mutual frustration. Conversely, 9 cases where the client asked none of the last 10: 7 out of 9 ended in a post-delivery dispute.
Here are the 20 questions, with a 100-point scoring grid to evaluate both sides.
10 questions to ask YOURSELF (client side) before briefing
| # | Question | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who are we in one sentence? | An agency that has to guess loses 5 days |
| 2 | What are our 3 quantified business goals? | No KPI, no success measurement |
| 3 | Who is our primary persona? | Drives design, content, conversion |
| 4 | What is our total budget and margin? | Avoids off-target quotes |
| 5 | What is our hard deadline? | Avoids unrealistic promises |
| 6 | Which features are must-have (MVP)? | Separates must-have from nice-to-have |
| 7 | Who writes the content (us, them, mixed)? | 40% of projects stall on content |
| 8 | Which CRM / third-party tools must be integrated? | Frames technical complexity |
| 9 | Who validates on our side (1 person or committee)? | Avoids endless loops |
| 10 | Who maintains the site after delivery? | Drives stack, training, support contract |
Question 1 — Who are we in one sentence?
Imposed format: "We are [activity] helping [audience] to [outcome] through [method]." Example: "We are a strategy consulting firm helping West African SMEs of 20-200 employees structure their growth through 30-day operational audits." If you cannot phrase it, your site cannot either.
Question 2 — Three quantified business goals
Each with a measurable KPI, a horizon (6, 12 months), a baseline. E.g.: "Move from 4 to 30 qualified leads/month in 6 months" — KPI: leads scoring > 70 in CRM, baseline: 4 leads/month today.
Question 3 — Primary persona
A real person if possible: name, age, role, geography, device, frustrations, motivations. Not "SMEs in Senegal" — that is a segment, not a person.
Question 4 — Total budget and margin
Communicated to the agency in the brief. Counter-intuitive but saves 2 weeks: with no budget, the agency quotes in the dark. With a budget, it proposes the best compromise within your envelope.
Question 5 — Hard deadline
Real or notional? "Before September 2026 school year" is hard. "If possible by year-end" is soft. Telling them apart avoids needless races.
Question 6 — Must-have features
MoSCoW method: Must have / Should have / Could have / Won't have. Ideally 5 must-haves max at launch, the rest in v2.
Question 7 — Who writes the content
Underestimating copywriting is mistake #1. Plan 30-50% of total time. Three options: us (cost gain, quality loss if not copywriters), them (quality gain, cost +30%), mixed (frequent compromise).
Question 8 — Which CRM / third-party tools
HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, custom Prisma? Calendly or Cal.com? Brevo or Mailchimp? Wave Business or Orange Money Pro? The list drives technical complexity and cost.
Question 9 — Who validates on our side
One unique, empowered, reachable person. Not a 6-person committee meeting every other Tuesday. If internal politics are complex, designate a single proxy to synthesise.
Question 10 — Who maintains the site after delivery
Us (need 4 h training + documentation), them (50-150k FCFA/month support contract), us + them (training + on-demand support)? Drives stack and delivery format.
10 questions to ask THE PROVIDER before signing
| # | Question | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is your project methodology? | Structured process (agile, milestones, acceptance) |
| 2 | Who is on the team dedicated to my project? | Names, seniority, allocation rate |
| 3 | Can you show 3 references in my industry? | Real cases with URLs and results |
| 4 | What is the exact warranty scope? | Duration, exclusions, SLA |
| 5 | What happens post-delivery? | Maintenance, support, evolutions |
| 6 | Do I own 100% of the source code at the end? | Clear IP clause in the contract |
| 7 | Are you GDPR and OHADA compliant? | DPA, processing register, hosting |
| 8 | What is your communication process? | Cadence, tools, escalation |
| 9 | How do you handle delays and changes? | Change orders, penalties, transparency |
| 10 | What is your transparency policy? | Code access, analytics access, dashboards |
Question 1 — Methodology
Agile (Scrum, Kanban, hybrid), with frozen milestones and formal acceptance. An agency that cannot answer is winging it. An overly rigid agency ("pure V-cycle" in 2026) has not updated its methods.
Question 2 — Dedicated team
Name of the PM, tech lead, designer, front-end dev, back-end dev, copywriter, SEO. Allocation rate (50%, 100%). Verify on LinkedIn that these people exist and work in the agency.
Question 3 — Three industry references
3 real cases with accessible URLs, in your industry or a close one. Ask for 1 reachable reference contact. If the agency declines, red flag.
Question 4 — Warranty
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2026 norm: 60 to 90 days for bugs attributable to the provider, clear exclusions (content changes, feature additions, third-party hosting failures). Realistic SLA (24-48 business hours on blocking bugs, 5 days on minor bugs).
Question 5 — Post-delivery
Three common packages:
- Support contract 4-8 h/month (40-100,000 FCFA / 60-150 EUR)
- Full maintenance contract (security + perf + small evolutions) — 100-300,000 FCFA / 150-450 EUR
- On-demand (billed hourly)
Question 6 — Source code
100% to the client at receipt of final payment. No leasing, no disguised SaaS, no dependency on an agency account. Private GitHub repository transferred.
Question 7 — GDPR and OHADA
DPA signed with hosting and transactional email providers, processing register handed over, compliant legal notice and privacy policy pages, CNIL two-click cookie banner minimum, OHADA compliance for Senegal/CI/Mali (Law 2008-08 e-signature).
Question 8 — Communication
Cadence (recommended weekly 30-min), tools (dedicated Slack channel + email), transparency level (24/7 preview URL, Jira/Linear/Trello/ClickUp access, progress dashboard).
Question 9 — Delay and change management
Formal change orders for any scope change, symmetric late penalties (client and provider), transparency on blockers as soon as they appear. Norm: 1% of total / week of attributable delay.
Question 10 — Transparency
Read-only repository access from D+1, analytics access from go-live, shared progress dashboards, itemised invoices per milestone. An agency refusing to share these accesses probably bills more than it delivers.
Scoring table out of 100
| Category | Weight | Score (0-10) | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodology | 10 | ||
| Dedicated team | 10 | ||
| Industry references | 15 | ||
| Warranty and SLA | 10 | ||
| Post-delivery | 10 | ||
| Code ownership | 10 | ||
| GDPR/OHADA | 10 | ||
| Communication | 5 | ||
| Delay management | 5 | ||
| Transparency | 15 | ||
| Total | 100 |
Selection threshold: 70/100 minimum. Below 70, look elsewhere.
Scoring example: 3 agencies compared
| Category | Agency A | Agency B | Agency C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodology | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| Dedicated team | 9 | 5 | 8 |
| Industry references | 12 | 8 | 13 |
| Warranty and SLA | 7 | 6 | 9 |
| Post-delivery | 8 | 5 | 9 |
| Code ownership | 10 | 4 | 10 |
| GDPR/OHADA | 9 | 4 | 9 |
| Communication | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Delay management | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Transparency | 11 | 6 | 14 |
| Total | 82 | 49 | 91 |
Agency B eliminated. Final choice between A and C based on price, fit, availability.
Tools to structure the brief
- Notion or Google Docs — write the client brief (questions 1-10)
- Loom — 5-minute video to give context
- Calendly or Cal.com — book agency interviews
- DocuSign, Yousign, HelloSign — sign NDAs and proposals
- Slack — internal channel for post-meeting summaries
- Jira, Linear, Trello, ClickUp — track applications
FAQ
How many agencies should I consult before choosing?
3 to 5 max. More is unmanageable. Less and you have no comparison. Method: shortlist 8-12 agencies on LinkedIn/portfolio, invite 5 to brief, 3 finalists in interview, 1 chosen.
Should I pay for a brief?
No. The brief, first proposal and quote are free. An agency charging for the brief lacks business — orange flag. However, a deep scoping workshop (1-2 days) can be billed.
How long should the selection process last?
4 to 8 weeks: 1 week written brief, 2 weeks send + receive offers, 1 week interviews, 1-2 weeks negotiation and signing.
What trick questions should I ask the agency?
1) Who will be my single contact at your firm? (Check it is not a salesperson who disappears post-signature.) 2) What happens if you shut down before the project ends? (Check code escrow / continuity.) 3) Why would a previous client leave you? (Check humility.)
What if an agency refuses to answer some questions?
Score automatically reduced by 30% on the relevant category, and red flag if code ownership, GDPR or transparency are refused. These 3 answers are non-negotiable in 2026.
Let's talk about your web agency brief
If you want a 90-minute workshop to structure your web agency brief and prepare your interviews, we can do it this week. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
