A PRACTICAL GUIDE / WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
What to prepare before commissioning a business website in Ethiopia.
A useful website brief starts with your business, your customers and what they need to do. You do not need to choose a technology or write a finished specification before speaking to a studio. Bring the information below to make the first conversation more productive.
01 / THE BRIEF
Start with one clear business purpose.
Describe what the website should help your business do. Introducing a company, presenting products, attracting service enquiries and delivering a learning experience lead to different page and feature decisions. Prioritise the most important visitor action before assembling a long feature list.
- What does your business offer, and to whom?
- What should a visitor understand after one minute?
- Should they call, send an enquiry, browse products or complete another task?
02 / THE BRIEF
Describe the people who will use it.
Write down your main customer groups, where they are based and the questions they ask before buying. For a business serving customers in Ethiopia, decide which languages the audience needs and who can review each version. Plan understandable mobile content as well as the desktop presentation.
- Name the priority audience rather than trying to address everyone.
- List their common questions and practical barriers.
- Identify the languages and contact channels they actually use.
03 / THE BRIEF
Outline the pages and journeys.
Start with the content that helps a visitor make a decision: what you offer, relevant work, who you are and how to contact you. A service page should explain its own offering clearly. Separate a visitor’s route through the site from the internal process your team may need to manage.
- List your services, product categories or other main content areas.
- Identify which pages need their own enquiry or next step.
- Mark anything that requires an account, request, booking or business workflow.
04 / THE BRIEF
Gather accurate words, images and evidence.
Collect your logo, brand assets, business description, service information and approved project images. Confirm the public email address and phone number. Use photographs and case-study material you have permission to publish, and agree who will write, translate and approve the content.
- Supply existing assets in their best available quality.
- Label project work with the correct client, scope and credits.
- Keep passwords, customer records and other private information out of the brief.
05 / THE BRIEF
Separate essentials from later ideas.
Explain each feature in terms of a task. “Customers need to request a quote for these items” gives a clearer starting point than naming a platform or asking for every feature a competitor has. Requirements such as forms, catalogues, payments or integrations need their own scoping discussion; none should be assumed to be included.
- Write down the task, the user and the information involved.
- Identify the essential first-release features.
- Keep useful future ideas in a separate list.
06 / THE BRIEF
Discuss the domain, hosting and responsibility.
You can start the briefing before buying a domain. Before launch, agree the preferred website address, who owns and manages it, where the site will run and how access will be handed over. If you already have a website, identify important pages and account arrangements so a move can be planned properly.
- Bring an existing domain name or a shortlist if you have one.
- Identify who currently manages your website and hosting.
- Agree responsibility for renewals, account access and future updates.
07 / THE BRIEF
Share your constraints and agree the scope.
A useful budget conversation connects the desired work with the available resources. Page count, design needs, content preparation and functionality all affect the scope. Explain any launch date and why it matters. Ask for clear deliverables, responsibilities and review points before committing to a project.
- State a budget range and the priorities it needs to cover.
- Explain deadlines and any dependencies on content or approvals.
- Agree what is included, what is excluded and how changes are handled.
08 / THE BRIEF
Plan launch checks and handover.
Agree how the work will be reviewed before launch and what you need to use it afterwards. Check the content, mobile experience, navigation and enquiry routes. Discuss search visibility, ownership verification and the sitemap as part of launch planning. Publishing a site does not mean Google has already indexed it.
- Nominate the person who approves the final content and functionality.
- Agree what documentation, access or explanation will be handed over.
- Clarify any maintenance or support arrangement separately.
PUT IT INTO WORDS
Your first brief can be this simple.
“Our business offers [services or products] to [audience]. We need a website to help visitors [main action]. Our essential pages and features are [list]. We have [available content] and need help with [gaps]. Our target date is [date] and our budget range is [range].”
Use this as a starting point. Leave unknown details open for discussion rather than guessing technical requirements.
For example, our Tabor Orthodox website work includes a homepage, course and shop experience. Camera Kiray illustrates a product with discovery and rental-shop workflows. These different journeys call for different briefs.