What should a project brief form ask?

The outcome they want, what is in and out of scope, the budget range and the deadline. Scope and budget are where almost every difficult project goes wrong, and both are easier to ask about now than later.

Should I ask for a budget in a brief?

Yes, as a range rather than a number. Clients worry that naming a figure means spending all of it; a range gets you an honest answer and stops you writing proposals nobody can buy.

How do I stop scope creep with a brief form?

Ask what is out of scope as its own question. It is uncomfortable to answer and it is the single most useful line in the document when something is added three months later.

Can clients save a brief and come back to it?

Yes. Save and resume gives them a private link back to their part-finished brief, which matters when the answers need input from several people.

Is this project brief form template free?

Yes. Use it, publish it and collect answers on the free plan with no card. Paid plans add things like payments, scheduling, removing our badge and your own domain, but none of them are needed to run this form.

Do I need an account to use it?

You need one to edit and publish, because the form has to live somewhere and the answers have to come back to you. Signing up takes about a minute and does not ask for a card. The people filling your form in never need an account.

Can I change the questions?

All of them. The template is a starting point, not a fixed form: add, remove, reword and reorder anything, change the look, and use logic so people only see the questions that apply to them.

Can I put it on my own website?

Yes. Embed it in a page you already have, or share the link. On a paid plan you can serve it from your own domain so the address says your name rather than ours.

Where do the answers go?

Into your dashboard, where you can read, search and export them as CSV. You can also have each response emailed to you, pushed to another tool with a webhook, or sent to a connected integration.

How long does this form take to fill in?

About 4.5 minutes as it stands, across 10 questions. Every question you cut brings that down, and shorter forms get finished more often.

Orders & requests

Project brief

Goals before deliverables, audience before design, and a budget question that isn't optional. Every question here exists because leaving it out costs a round of revisions.

Use this template Browse all templates

Questions: 10
Takes about: 4.5 min
Style: One page
Scoring: None

Free, no card. It lands in your workspace as an editable draft.

Worth knowing

The welcome screen and the intro text above the first question carry example turnaround times, policies and promises. Rewrite them as yours before you publish — they are the part respondents take literally.

What's in it

Tell us about the project
Welcome screen
The questions that matter most What the project is actually for, in your own words · Who i…
Rich text
The basics
Page break
1
Company or project name*
Short text
2
Your name*
Short text
3
Your email address*
Email
The brief
Page break
4
What are you trying to achieve?*
Long text
5
Who's it for?*
Long text
6
What do you think you need?
Long text
7
What already exists?
A logo · Brand guidelines · Copy · Photography · +1
Multiple choice
8
Budget range
Under $5,000 · $5,000–$20,000 · $20,000–$50,000 · Over $50,000
Multiple choice
9
Is there a deadline?
Date
10
Anything you like the look of
File upload
Brief received
Ending

How to use this template

Open it as a draft
Press "Use this template" and it lands in your workspace as an editable form with all 10 questions already in it. No card, and nothing is published until you say so.
Cut what you do not need
Every question you remove is one fewer reason to abandon the form. It takes about 4.5 minutes to fill in as it stands, and that is the number worth protecting.
Add from the question bank
Pick what you are missing from the questions below. Drag any of them in, change the wording, and use conditional logic so people only see the ones that apply to them.
Share it, or put it on your own site
Publish to get a link, or embed it in a page you already have. Answers arrive in your dashboard, and you can send them on to anywhere else with a webhook or an integration.

32 project brief form questions to choose from

A project brief is the document that decides whether the quote is right and whether the project goes well. Most of the risk sits in two questions: the budget and what success looks like.

Ask about budget. The reluctance to ask is why so many proposals are written for projects nobody could afford.

The client

What is your company name?
What do you do?
Who is the main contact for this project?
What is their email and phone number?
Who else will be involved?
Who signs things off?
What is your website?
How did you hear about us?

The project

What are you trying to achieve?
What is the problem you are solving?
Why now?
What have you already tried?
What exists today that we would be replacing or building on?
Who is this for? Describe the audience.
What does success look like in six months?
How will you measure it?

Scope and constraints

What is definitely in scope?
What is definitely out of scope?
Are there technical requirements or systems we must work with?
Are there brand guidelines to follow?
Are there legal or compliance requirements?
Is there anything that absolutely must not change?
Are there examples you like? Links, please.
Are there examples you dislike, and why?

Budget and timing

What is your budget range?
Is that approved, or still being agreed?
What is driving the timeline?
When would you want to start?
When does it need to be finished?
Is the deadline fixed or flexible?
How do you prefer to work? (Fixed price, day rate, retainer)
Is there anything that would make this project difficult?

Start from this template See all templates

Project Brief form questions, answered

What should a project brief form ask?: The outcome they want, what is in and out of scope, the budget range and the deadline. Scope and budget are where almost every difficult project goes wrong, and both are easier to ask about now than later.
Should I ask for a budget in a brief?: Yes, as a range rather than a number. Clients worry that naming a figure means spending all of it; a range gets you an honest answer and stops you writing proposals nobody can buy.
How do I stop scope creep with a brief form?: Ask what is out of scope as its own question. It is uncomfortable to answer and it is the single most useful line in the document when something is added three months later.
Can clients save a brief and come back to it?: Yes. Save and resume gives them a private link back to their part-finished brief, which matters when the answers need input from several people.
Is this project brief form template free?: Yes. Use it, publish it and collect answers on the free plan with no card. Paid plans add things like payments, scheduling, removing our badge and your own domain, but none of them are needed to run this form.
Do I need an account to use it?: You need one to edit and publish, because the form has to live somewhere and the answers have to come back to you. Signing up takes about a minute and does not ask for a card. The people filling your form in never need an account.
Can I change the questions?: All of them. The template is a starting point, not a fixed form: add, remove, reword and reorder anything, change the look, and use logic so people only see the questions that apply to them.
Can I put it on my own website?: Yes. Embed it in a page you already have, or share the link. On a paid plan you can serve it from your own domain so the address says your name rather than ours.
Where do the answers go?: Into your dashboard, where you can read, search and export them as CSV. You can also have each response emailed to you, pushed to another tool with a webhook, or sent to a connected integration.
How long does this form take to fill in?: About 4.5 minutes as it stands, across 10 questions. Every question you cut brings that down, and shorter forms get finished more often.

Project brief

Worth knowing

What's in it

How to use this template

Open it as a draft

Cut what you do not need

Add from the question bank

Share it, or put it on your own site

32 project brief form questions to choose from

The client

The project

Scope and constraints

Budget and timing

Project Brief form questions, answered

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