The best small-charity briefs we see share one habit: they ask suppliers direct questions and score the answers. It works because vague proposals cannot survive specific questions. Here are the ten we would put in every charity's brief, with what a good answer sounds like, and what should worry you.
1. What platform will you build on, and why is it right for us specifically? A good answer mentions your team, your content and your budget, and names trade-offs. A worrying answer is the same paragraph they send everyone, or a platform that happens to be the only one they sell.
2. How will accessibility be evidenced, not just promised? Good: named standard (WCAG 2.2 AA), testing described, results shared, a published accessibility statement. Worrying: "our themes are fully accessible". Themes are not accessible; finished websites are, and only testing shows it.
3. What exactly do we own at handover? Good: full admin access, hosting in your name or transferable, domain in your control, documentation included. Worrying: hesitation, or a monthly fee that turns out to be rent. Our website ownership audit lists the five accounts this covers.
4. What are all the recurring costs, as a yearly total? Good: one number, itemised: hosting, domain, any licences with justification. Worrying: "just hosting", vaguely. We have written about which ongoing costs are real and which are avoidable; the honest yearly figure for a small site is modest, and knowable in advance.
5. Who will actually do the work? Good: named people, and what each does. Worrying: an impressive team page and silence about whether your project reaches them. Agencies subcontract more than charities assume; you are allowed to ask.
6. What happens in the first three months after launch? Good: a defined warranty period, what it covers, and what support looks like afterwards, priced. Worrying: the relationship ends at the invoice. Launch is when real users start finding real problems.
7. How will our staff update the site, and what training is included? Good: a demonstration of the editing experience, training hours in the price, and documentation you keep. Worrying: an editor so complex the honest answer is "you'll call us". That call costs money forever.
8. What happens to our existing content, addresses and search rankings? Good, if you have a site already: a migration plan with every old address redirected and rankings monitored. Worrying: "we'll start fresh". Starting fresh throws away years of Google trust; we cover why in our tender guide.
9. What is a realistic timeline, and what do you need from us by when? Good: milestones plus a list of your homework, because content from your side is the usual bottleneck. Worrying: a fast promise with no mention of what they need from you. That timeline fails on schedule.
10. Can we speak to two charity clients from the last two years? Good: names and contact details, offered without flinching. Worrying: logos instead of people. Then actually call: ask what went wrong during the project and how the supplier handled it. Every project has a wrong; the handling is the reference.
How to use these
Put the ten questions in your brief and ask every supplier to answer them in order. Score the answers against the same criteria, with the same people scoring each proposal. The point is comparability: three proposals in three formats cannot be compared, but three sets of answers to the same ten questions can. For a small project, this plus a page of context is a complete brief; our guide on briefing a web agency when you have no time covers the context page.
And notice what the questions do to the market. Suppliers who cut corners decline to answer this much specificity, which is the cheapest filter you will ever run.
We answer all ten for every charity that asks, including the recurring-costs number in writing. If you are choosing a supplier and want our answers, book a free 20-minute call.
