Why Most Web Projects Fail at the Briefing Stage (and What You Can Do About It)

The unwritten rule of all web projects

If you ask around, you’ve probably already heard stories like this: A company hires a web design agency. The budget gets increased. The timeline slips. In the end, they end up with a website that sort of works but doesn’t impress anyone. Sometimes there are unresolved disputes. Often, this is followed by a second attempt with a different agency.

What many people don't realize is that these projects almost never fail because of the agency's lack of skill. They fail right at the start . More specifically, during the briefing.

The briefing is the moment when the client and the service provider lay the groundwork for their collaboration. What are the goals? What is the content? Who is responsible? What is a realistic timeline? If these questions are answered too early, too superficially, or not at all, failure is inevitable.

In this article, we'll show you the most common briefing mistakes we've encountered over 19 years of web project experience and how to avoid them. Whether you're planning your first project or have already commissioned several websites, the following tips will save you money, stress, and time.

What a Briefing Actually Needs to Achieve

Before we get to the mistakes, let’s clarify what a good briefing actually is. A briefing isn’t just the document you send to the agency at the beginning. A briefing is the process of building a shared understanding between the client and the service provider.

A good briefing answers four key questions:

1. Why are we doing this? What is the business rationale behind the web project? More inquiries? Better conversion rates? A more modern brand image? Employee recruitment? Without a clear "why," every subsequent design decision becomes open to debate.

2. Who are the users? Who should be visiting the website? What do these people want? What are their problems? A website for IT decision-makers looks different from one for end customers. Without a clear target audience, the agency is shooting in the dark.

3. What are the criteria for success? When is the project considered a success? More traffic? More leads? Faster loading times? A better ranking on Google? If no one defines what success means, then no one can deliver it.

4. What are the framework conditions? Budget, timeline, technical specifications, legal requirements, and stakeholders involved. These factors shape every decision in the project. If they are unclear, there are constant discussions.

If these four questions are thoroughly answered before the project begins, you have an 80% chance that your web project will be successful. If they aren't answered, you're setting yourself up for the next set of mistakes.

The 7 Most Common Briefing Mistakes

Mistake 1: The briefing comes too late

Many clients think, “I’ll tell the agency what I want, and then they’ll get to work.” This line of thinking is the main cause of failed projects.

A good briefing isn't created before working with the agency—it's created together with the agency. If you already know what you want, you don't need an agency—you need someone to execute it. A real agency helps you understand what you truly need. That's often different from what you thought you wanted.

What you should do: Before starting the project, set aside at least 1–2 weeks for a joint concept briefing. It may feel like a waste of time at first, but it’s the most important investment in the entire project.

Mistake 2: You describe solutions instead of problems

"We need a modern website with animations, a blog, a newsletter sign-up feature, multilingual support, and a section for white papers."

That's not a briefing. It's a wish list. And it doesn't say anything about what you actually want to achieve.

Better wording: “We want to receive 50 qualified inquiries per month instead of the current 8. Our target audience consists of technical decision-makers at medium-sized industrial companies. We need ways for these people to find us, understand who we are, and contact us reliably.”

This might result in a website with a blog, or perhaps a different concept. That’s determined by the strategy, not the wish list.

What you should do: Describe the problems and goals. Let the solution emerge from the collaborative planning phase.

Mistake 3: No one has the final say

You may have coordinated a website with your marketing team, your CEO, the sales manager, and the IT manager. Four people with four opinions. Three design proposals. And suddenly, in Week 4, you’re still debating the color of the button.

That's the most common reason why web projects fall behind schedule. Not because the agency is slow, but because no one is making decisions.

Successful projects have a clear decision-making structure:

• One person has the final say. In cases of disagreement, that person makes the decision.

• Feedback is consolidated. The agency doesn't receive five different opinions, but rather a consolidated response.

• Stakeholders are involved early on. Anyone who suddenly wakes up in Week 6 and wants to change everything will make the project more expensive.

What you should do: Before the project begins, designate a project manager on your end. This person will gather internal feedback and communicate with the agency. They have the authority to make decisions without involving the entire executive team every time.

Mistake 4: Content Is Underestimated

Here's the inconvenient part: text and images are the most common cause of project delays. In 80% of all web projects, content is still missing on the day of the scheduled launch.

The problem: Clients think they can write the text "on the side." In reality, good website writing is a discipline in its own right. And it never works when done on the side.

Three options:

Option A: Write the content yourself. Realistically, plan on 4–8 hours per subpage. For 10 pages, that’s 40–80 hours of work, spread out over several weeks. If you can manage that, great. If not, go straight to Option B or C.

Option B: Work with the agency to develop copy. Many studios offer copywriting services, often in collaboration with you through a briefing session. This costs 50–150 euros per page, but it’s the fastest way to get high-quality copy.

Option C: Hire an external copywriter. If you need high-quality copy, it’s worth hiring a professional copywriter. Expect to pay 100–300 euros per page, depending on the complexity.

What you should do: Clarify the content details during the initial briefing phase. Who is writing what, and by when? Who is providing the images? This clarity prevents 80% of all project delays.

Mistake 5: The budget isn't communicated honestly

Many clients hold back on their budget because they fear the agency will otherwise use up every last bit of it. The opposite is true.

Without a budget, the agency has to guess. It comes up with a solution that might work. The result: You either get a proposal that’s too expensive (and you have to turn it down) or one that’s too cheap (and doesn’t deliver what you need). Both sides have wasted time.

A better approach: Be upfront with the provider about your budget. “We have a budget of 8,000 to 12,000 euros. What can we realistically expect for that amount?” A reputable agency will answer honestly. If the budget isn’t enough, they’ll say so. If there’s room for more, they’ll suggest sensible additions.

What you should do: Be transparent about your budget. In return, insist on a fixed price before signing the contract. That way, you'll know where you stand.

Mistake 6: No one defines what is not part of the project

Web projects chronically suffer from “scope creep”—the gradual expansion of the project’s scope during implementation. “Can’t we add a booking feature?” “Don’t we need an English version?” “What about a members-only area?”

Each of these additions sounds reasonable. But each one costs time and money. If no one defines in advance what is not part of the project, the original budget will be exceeded.

What you should do: In the briefing, clarify not only what is included in the project, but also what is intentionally outside the scope. Example: “Multilingual support is not part of the project for now. If it is added later, that will be a separate project.”

It may seem strict at first, but it protects everyone involved from frustration.

Mistake 7: Success Is Not Measured

Three months after going live: Was the web project worth it? In 90% of cases, no one knows for sure. People tend to respond with things like, “It looks more modern,” or “I’ve gotten a few more inquiries.”

That's not enough.

A good briefing defines measurable success criteria before the project begins:

• Number of inquiries per month

• Conversion Rate from Visitor to Inquiry

• Ranking on Google for relevant search terms

• Load Time, Core Web Vitals

• Time on Site and Bounce Rate

These metrics are measured before the project begins and compared 3, 6, and 12 months after go-live.

What you should do: Insist that success criteria be included in the briefing. An agency that isn't willing or able to do this is usually not the right one.

The Briefing Checklist for Your Next Web Project

To help you put these insights into practice right away, here’s a concise checklist. Before you sign a contract with an agency, you should have the following points clarified:

Strategy:

• Business rationale for the web project defined

• Target audience clearly defined

• Success Criteria Defined

• Current performance metrics documented as a starting point

Organization:

• Project manager designated by the client

• Decision-Making and Approval Process Defined

• Stakeholders are informed and involved

• A realistic timeframe for feedback has been scheduled

Contents:

• Clarification of Responsibility for Texts (Self, Agency, External Writer)

• Responsibility for Images and Videos Clarified

• Delivery Dates for Content Agreed Upon

• Access to existing brand materials is ensured

Contractual Information:

• Fixed price agreed upon before the contract is signed

• Scope (what's included, what's not) set forth in writing

• Ownership Issues Resolved (Code, Design, Access)

• Maintenance and Support After Go-Live Have Been Arranged

If you go through this list and can check off all the items, you'll have a much better chance of success than most web projects.

What a good agency does at this stage

A reputable agency will insist on a thorough briefing. It won't just take your word for it; it will ask questions. It will sometimes challenge you. It will suggest solutions you didn't expect.

That’s not a sign of poor consulting—it’s a sign of good consulting. An agency that rubber-stamps everything and gets started right away is usually not the one that will lead your project to success. It’s the one that will rush through your project without really understanding it.

At reputable agencies, the briefing phase lasts 1–2 weeks and concludes with a clear concept that both sides sign off on. Only then does the actual implementation begin. This may seem slow at first, but it’s the fastest way to a successful project.

Conclusion: The briefing is the most important phase

If there's just one thing you should take away from this article, it's this: Invest more time in the briefing than you intuitively think is necessary. What you neglect in the first phase of the project will cost you ten times as much in the later phases.

Successful web projects aren't recognized by a hectic start, but by a calm, thorough beginning. Anyone who takes the time to define clear goals, involve the right people, and establish realistic parameters has already gotten the hardest part out of the way.

The rest is a matter of craftsmanship. And you'll find the right studio for it once you have the right foundation.

Related: 5 Common Mistakes in Website Relaunches—and How to Avoid Them and The Difference Between Redesign, Relaunch, Rebranding, and Refactoring

Do you have a web project in mind?

We take our time during the briefing phase. In a 30-minute initial consultation, we work with you to determine what you really need, define initial goals, and propose a practical project framework. No sales pitch, no pressure to buy, no hidden costs.

About the Author: Marschfahrt Studio is a web design studio based in Cologne. Since 2019, we have been helping companies with web projects that are designed to do more than just look good. Our team has a combined total of over 40 years of experience in web design and marketing.