E-commerce Website Brief Template
Scope a Shopify, WooCommerce, or headless e-commerce build without surprises. This brief template forces the questions that decide whether the project ships on time and on budget — catalogue size, payment rails, fulfilment, and migration realities.
Best for: Agencies and freelancers quoting an online store build, replatforming an existing shop, or running discovery before sending a proposal.
Why this brief matters
- A 200 SKU store and a 20,000 SKU store look identical in a Figma file — and price 10x apart.
- Payment, tax and shipping rules vary by country and dramatically change the integration scope.
- Migration from an existing platform (data, redirects, SEO) is where most e-commerce projects bleed budget.
- Conversion goals (AOV, CR, LTV) should set the design system — not the other way around.
What every e-commerce brief must cover
1. Catalogue & merchandising
Product count today vs. in 12 months, variants, bundles, configurable products, B2B price lists, and how merchandising decisions are made (manual collections vs. rule-based).
2. Platform & integrations
Shopify, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or headless (Next.js + a commerce engine). ERP, PIM, 3PL, accounting, email/SMS, reviews, loyalty, and tax engines all belong here.
3. Payments, shipping, tax
Accepted methods (cards, Klarna, Apple Pay, PayPal), local schemes, multi-currency, shipping zones, carrier rates, customs, and tax handling per region.
4. Migration, SEO & redirects
Existing URL structure, top-traffic pages, 301 mapping, product/category data export, review imports, and how organic rankings will be protected at cutover.
5. Conversion targets & analytics
Current conversion rate, AOV, traffic mix, channel attribution, GA4/server-side events, and the one number that defines success post-launch.
Sample questions to ask the client
Drop these straight into your discovery call or intake form.
- Q1.How many SKUs and variants do you sell today, and where will you be in 12 months?
- Q2.Which platform are you on now, and what specifically isn't working?
- Q3.Which payment methods are non-negotiable for your customers?
- Q4.Which countries do you ship to, and what tax/customs rules apply?
- Q5.Which apps or back-office systems must the new site integrate with (ERP, 3PL, accounting, email)?
- Q6.What is your current conversion rate, AOV, and primary traffic source?
- Q7.What checkout style do you need — single page, accelerated, B2B quote-to-cart?
- Q8.What does success look like 90 days after launch — revenue, CR, AOV, returns rate?
- Q9.Do you need wholesale, subscriptions, or memberships at launch or later?
- Q10.Who owns content, product photography, and copy — you or the agency?
Common pitfalls
- ×Quoting a Shopify build without confirming the app stack (apps quietly add £200–£2,000/mo).
- ×Skipping a redirect map — a launch can wipe out 20–60% of organic traffic overnight.
- ×Not pricing photography, product copy, or data clean-up as their own line items.
- ×Treating B2B and DTC as the same project — they almost never are.
KPIs to align on
- ✓Conversion rate
- ✓AOV
- ✓Revenue per visitor
- ✓Add-to-cart rate
- ✓Returning customer rate
Frequently asked questions
What should an e-commerce website brief include?
Catalogue size and complexity, platform choice, payment and shipping rules, third-party integrations, migration and SEO plan, conversion targets, and a clear definition of MVP scope. Anything else is a nice-to-have until those are answered.
Shopify, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce, or headless?
Shopify suits 90% of DTC stores under £10M GMV. Plus makes sense above that or when you need B2B and DTC on one platform. WooCommerce works when WordPress is non-negotiable. Headless is for teams who already have a developer in-house — agencies should rarely propose it unless asked.
How long does a typical e-commerce build take?
A focused Shopify build with ~200 SKUs and 2–3 custom sections: 6–10 weeks. A Plus replatform with migrations, B2B and custom checkout: 4–6 months. Headless: budget 6+ months and a permanent dev team.
What's the biggest cost agencies underestimate?
Data — product imports, variant clean-up, image processing, and 301 redirects. It's usually 15–25% of the project effort and rarely shows up in initial quotes.
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