How to brief a web agency: 10 questions to ask before you sign

Why the commercial brief is underestimated

When an SME in French-speaking Switzerland consults several agencies for a web project, it usually focuses on price and timeline, which is not enough. A good initial brief must also assess the method, the team, the guarantees and the agency’s ability to keep its commitments.

Without a structured brief, many projects go off the rails: a junior team assigned when a senior salesperson made the sale, no method at all, no guaranteed timeline, disputes over the scope 3 months after the start. All these problems could have been identified in 1 well-run briefing meeting.

The 10 questions below filter out 90% of problematic agencies.

Question 1: Who will be my single point of contact during the project?

Why: to avoid the bait-and-switch, where an experienced salesperson sells and a junior delivers.

Good answer: a specific name, with their role, their experience, and a commitment that they will be your single point of contact from the brief to the launch.

Bad answer: “it depends on the project”, “our team”, “we’ll see”.

Question 2: What is your standard method, in 5 steps?

Why: a structured agency has a repeatable process. An agency that improvises works case by case and goes off track.

Good answer: a precise outline (scoping, design, development, testing, launch) with timelines and deliverables for each phase.

Bad answer: “we adapt to each client”, without being able to describe the structural steps.

Question 3: What is the deadline, and how is it tracked?

Why: a serious agency commits to a deadline. Another agency will say “8 weeks” during the sales pitch, then deliver in 6 months with no consequences.

Good answer: a deadline written into the contract, broken into dated steps, with regular check-ins to follow progress.

Bad answer: “we’ll do what we can”, with no contractual commitment.

At Voren, each step has its date in the quote, and a weekly check-in shows where the site stands.

Question 4: Can you show me 3 real client projects with figures?

Why: an invented or recycled portfolio is easy to detect once you ask for figures.

Good answer: 3 real projects with context, constraints, deliverables and results (traffic, conversions, ROI where measured).

Bad answer: a generic portfolio with no figures, or client cases you cannot verify.

Question 5: What tech stack do you use, and why?

Why: a serious agency can explain its technical choices, while an opportunistic agency uses the stack that suits its own margins.

Good answer: a clear justification (Astro for editorial performance, Next.js for interactivity, a headless CMS for long-term flexibility).

Bad answer: “we use WordPress because everyone uses it” or “we adapt to your needs”, without being able to justify their choices.

Question 6: Who owns the rights to the code and design delivered?

Why: some agencies keep the rights to the code, forcing you to pay for a licence or locking you in for life.

Good answer: all rights are transferred to the client on delivery. You own your site.

Bad answer: “the intellectual property stays with the agency” or “usage rights under licence”.

Question 7: What does maintenance cost after delivery?

Why: the total cost exceeds the initial cost of the site, because maintenance and changes add up over 5 to 10 years.

Good answer: a clear price list with several maintenance packages and documented prices for standard changes.

Bad answer: “we’ll see after delivery” or vague pricing that is only revealed after signing.

Question 8: How do you handle scope creep (changes during the project)?

Why: every project has scope changes. How they are handled determines whether the project derails or holds.

Good answer: any scope change > 4 hours of work triggers a written amendment showing the impact on price and timeline, so “small additions” cannot pile up.

Bad answer: “we’ll absorb it” (a marketing lie, it will end in conflict) or “everything is extra” (an aggressively transactional relationship).

Question 9: What guarantee do you give on performance (Lighthouse)?

Why: a slow site in 2026 is a site that does not rank and does not convert. The agency must commit to a minimum level of performance.

Good answer: a target mobile Lighthouse score > 90 at launch, measured and written into the contract.

Bad answer: “we’ll do what we can”, “it depends on your content”, no quantified commitment.

At Voren, the delivery standard is Lighthouse > 95 on all business website packages, measured at go-live.

Question 10: How do you measure the project’s success 3 and 6 months after launch?

Why: a good provider measures its results. A bad provider abandons you after the final invoice.

Good answer: a Lighthouse audit 3 months later, SEO traffic measured 6 months later, a comparison with the initial objectives, and corrective recommendations if there is a gap.

Bad answer: “after launch, measuring is up to you” or no follow-up mechanism planned.

How to structure the briefing meeting

A full briefing meeting lasts 1.5 to 2 hours. A typical agenda:

0 to 15 min: your project (you present, the agency listens)

• Business context
• Target customers
• Goals of the site (traffic, leads, sales, image)
• Constraints (budget range, preferred timeline, internal team available)

15 to 30 min: agency presentation (the agency presents)

• Method
• Tech stack
• Relevant client cases
• Assigned team

30 to 60 min: Q&A (you ask the 10 questions above)

60 to 90 min: clarifying the scope

• A precise list of what is included
• A precise list of what is not
• Identifying the ambiguous points to clarify in the quote

After the meeting, the agency sends you a quote within 48 to 72 hours. If it takes longer, that is a sign of a process that is not running smoothly.

Mistakes to avoid on the client side

Mistake 1 · Vague briefs. “We want a modern, beautiful website” helps nobody. The more precise the brief, the better the quote.

Mistake 2 · Comparing on price alone. An agency at CHF 8,000 and one at CHF 25,000 generally do not deliver the same thing. Compare them on the 10 criteria above.

Mistake 3 · Consulting too many agencies. 3 to 5 at most. Beyond that, you waste time, and the agencies sense that you are shopping around at length, so they invest less.

Mistake 4 · Not having a budget in mind. A brief without a budget leads to quotes that vary by a factor of 10. Giving a range (“between CHF 15,000 and 25,000”) lets the agencies calibrate.

Mistake 5 · Choosing on instinct. Human feeling counts, but it must not replace the factual assessment on the 10 questions.

The Voren format

At Voren, the brief always follows the same format, 30 minutes by video call:

• You explain your project (10 min)
• We present our method, stack and team (10 min)
• We answer all your questions (10 min)
• A costed quote sent within 48 hours

The presentation sticks to facts, with client cases close to your context and precise commitments. Price, timeline, scope and guarantees are all written into the quote and the contract.

Going further

Request a free brief: 30 minutes by video call, a quote within 48 hours, with no commitment.

See all our services: the scope of each service, in detail.

See our business website service: details of the 4 packages, method, guarantees.