What to have ready before you brief a developer.
You do not need a specification to start. These seven answers are enough for a first conversation that gets somewhere.
What you need built, in a sentence
A website that brings in quote requests, an app your team uses on site, a dashboard that replaces a spreadsheet. One sentence is enough; the detail comes in the conversation.
Who will use it
Customers, your staff or both, and on what: a phone out in the field or a laptop at a desk. It changes what gets built first.
When you need it
A real date and what happens on it: a launch, a busy season, an event. It decides what goes into the first version and what can wait.
A rough budget
Even a wide range helps. It lets us tell you plainly what fits, instead of guessing at what you had in mind.
What you already have
Your domain, the current site, the spreadsheet the team lives in, the systems you already pay for. Most projects connect to something that exists.
Who decides
The person who signs off, and the person with the answers day to day. One contact on each side keeps the work moving.
Examples you like
Two or three sites or apps you like, and what you like about each. It is quicker than describing a feeling.