How to Brief a Shopify Agency: The Exact Template That Gets Better Proposals
Most merchants send agencies a one-paragraph email and wonder why the proposals are vague. This guide gives you the exact brief template that gets specific, detailed proposals — section by section, with examples.
Zia Yusuf
You’ve found three Shopify agencies you like. You send them all the same email: “Hi, we need a new Shopify store. Can you send a proposal?” Then you wait. The proposals come back vague, wildly different in price, and impossible to compare. Sound familiar?
The problem isn’t the agencies. It’s the brief. A vague brief produces vague proposals. A detailed, structured brief forces agencies to give you specific timelines, clear pricing, and realistic commitments. The difference between a one-paragraph email and a proper project brief is the difference between a $15,000 quote that goes wrong and a $18,000 quote that delivers exactly what you need.
This guide walks you through every section of a great Shopify project brief — what to include, what to skip, and exactly how to write it so agencies take you seriously and respond with their best work.
💡 Pro Tip
Don’t want to build your brief from scratch? Our free Brief Generator walks you through every section and produces a downloadable PDF you can send to agencies in minutes.
Skip the blank page and create a professional brief in minutes.
Use the Free Brief Generator →Why Your Brief Matters More Than You Think
Your project brief is the single most important document in the entire agency hiring process. It’s not admin — it’s strategy. Here’s why:
- It determines proposal quality — agencies can only be as specific as your brief lets them be. Garbage in, garbage out
- It makes proposals comparable — when every agency responds to the same structured brief, you can compare apples to apples instead of guessing
- It protects your budget — the #1 cause of budget overruns is unclear scope. A detailed brief is your insurance policy against scope creep
- It signals professionalism — agencies prioritise clients who come prepared. A strong brief gets you their A-team, not their B-team
- It saves weeks of back-and-forth — every question an agency has to ask you is a day lost. Answer them upfront in the brief
The 5 Briefing Mistakes That Lead to Bad Proposals
Before we build the template, let’s look at what most merchants get wrong. If you’ve received disappointing proposals before, at least one of these is probably why:
1. The one-paragraph brief
“We need a new Shopify store for our clothing brand. We like clean, modern design. Budget is around $15K. Can you send a proposal?” This tells the agency almost nothing. They don’t know how many products you have, what integrations you need, whether you’re migrating from another platform, or what “clean and modern” means to you. The proposal they send back will be equally vague.
2. No budget range
Merchants often hide their budget, thinking they’ll get a better deal. The opposite happens. Without a budget range, agencies either quote conservatively (and you miss out on features you could afford) or aggressively (and you waste time on proposals you can’t fund). A budget range helps agencies design a solution that fits your reality.
3. Listing features without explaining goals
“We need a loyalty programme, a blog, and an Instagram feed on the homepage.” That’s a feature list, not a brief. A good agency needs to know WHY you want these things. The loyalty programme to increase repeat purchases? The blog for SEO? The Instagram feed for social proof? When agencies understand the goal, they can suggest better solutions than the ones you’ve assumed.
4. No timeline or deadline context
“We need this soon” is not a timeline. “We need to launch before Black Friday on 28 November, with a staging review by 1 November” is a timeline. Agencies need dates to plan resource allocation, and they need to know whether the deadline is flexible or hard.
5. Sending the brief to too many agencies
Sending your brief to 10 agencies seems efficient. It’s not. Good agencies can tell when they’re one of many, and they invest less effort in their response. Send your brief to 3–5 pre-vetted agencies maximum. Quality of engagement beats quantity of proposals every time.
The Complete Shopify Project Brief Template
Here’s the exact template, section by section. Every section includes what to write and a real example so you can adapt it to your project.
Section 1: About Your Business
Give the agency context about who you are. This helps them understand your market, your customers, and your scale. Include:
- Company name and what you sell
- Your website URL (or note that you’re launching for the first time)
- Industry and target market
- Monthly revenue range (even approximate helps)
- Current platform (if migrating)
- Team size and who’ll be involved in the project
Example: “Acme Goods is a DTC home goods brand selling premium kitchenware to design-conscious millennials. We’re currently on WooCommerce doing ~$40K/month in revenue. Our team is 5 people — the founder and marketing lead will be the main points of contact for this project.”
Section 2: Project Type and Scope
Be specific about what you’re asking the agency to do. Don’t assume they’ll fill in the gaps.
- What type of project is this? (New build, redesign, migration, Plus upgrade, headless, retainer)
- What’s in scope? (Design, development, content, SEO, training, ongoing support)
- What’s explicitly out of scope? (This is just as important — it prevents assumptions)
- Are there any technical constraints? (Must use specific apps, must integrate with specific systems)
Example: “We need a full migration from WooCommerce to Shopify, including custom theme design, product data migration (~800 SKUs), URL redirects, and integration with Klaviyo and our existing ERP (NetSuite). Photography and copywriting are handled in-house and out of scope.”
Section 3: Goals and Success Metrics
This is the most underrated section. Goals give the agency a north star for every decision they make.
- What are you trying to achieve with this project? (Not features — outcomes)
- How will you measure success? (Conversion rate, page speed, revenue, order volume)
- What’s the biggest problem you’re solving? (Slow site, poor mobile experience, platform limitations)
- What does “done” look like 3 months after launch?
Example: “Our primary goal is to increase mobile conversion rate from 1.2% to 2.0% within 3 months of launch. Secondary goals: reduce page load time below 2 seconds, and set up a foundation for international expansion (multi-currency) in Q3.”
Section 4: Design Preferences
“Clean and modern” means something different to every person. Be specific or — even better — show examples.
- 3–5 example websites you like (and what specifically you like about each one)
- Your preferred design style (minimal, bold, luxury, corporate)
- Do you have existing brand guidelines, a logo, and colour palette?
- Any design elements you specifically don’t want
- Is this a complete redesign or a refresh of the current look?
Example: “We love the simplicity of Allbirds (clean layout, strong product photography) and the storytelling approach of Patagonia (purpose-driven content woven into the shopping experience). We have full brand guidelines, logo, and colour palette ready to share. We don’t want anything that feels cluttered or promotional.”
Section 5: Technical Requirements
This section drives the biggest cost variations. Be thorough — missed integrations are the #1 source of mid-project budget surprises.
- List every integration (ERP, PIM, email, loyalty, reviews, subscriptions, shipping, accounting)
- Product catalog size (number of products and variants)
- Multi-language or multi-currency needs
- Custom functionality (product configurators, quote builders, B2B features)
- Shopify plan (are you on Plus, or planning to upgrade?)
- Third-party apps you currently use that must carry over
Example: “Integrations needed: NetSuite ERP (orders + inventory sync), Klaviyo (email + SMS), Judge.me (reviews), Recharge (subscriptions for ~200 SKUs). We have ~800 products with ~3,000 variants. No multi-language needed now, but multi-currency (USD + GBP + EUR) is required for launch. We’re on Shopify standard but open to upgrading to Plus if the agency recommends it.”
Section 6: Timeline and Budget
Be honest about both. Agencies can’t plan resources without knowing your timeline, and they can’t design the right solution without knowing your budget range.
- Target launch date (and whether it’s hard or flexible)
- Any milestone dates (staging review, content freeze, testing window)
- Budget range (not a single number — a range like $15,000–$25,000)
- Is the budget fixed, or can it flex if the scope warrants it?
- Are you open to phased delivery? (Launch core features first, add enhancements later)
Example: “We need to launch by 15 September 2026. This is a hard deadline — we have a major campaign launching on that date. Budget is $18,000–$28,000 for the initial build. We’re open to phasing non-critical features into a second phase if needed to hit the deadline. We’d also like to discuss an ongoing retainer for post-launch support.”
Section 7: Contact and Process
Tell the agency how you want to work and who they’ll be working with.
- Primary contact name, email, and phone
- Decision makers and who signs off on key milestones
- Preferred communication tools (Slack, email, Zoom)
- How you’d like to receive the proposal (format, level of detail)
- Your decision timeline (when will you choose an agency?)
- How many agencies you’re sending this brief to
Example: “Primary contact is Sarah Chen (sarah@acmegoods.com). The founder will sign off on design and the CTO on technical decisions. We prefer Slack for day-to-day and Zoom for weekly standups. We’re speaking to 3 agencies and will make a decision by 15 April.”
Our free Brief Generator walks you through all 7 sections and produces a polished PDF in minutes — no blank page required.
Create Your Brief Free →How to Use Your Brief to Get Better Proposals
A great brief is only half the battle. How you use it matters just as much:
- 1.Send it to 3–5 pre-vetted agencies, not 10. Quality over quantity. Use our directory to shortlist agencies that match your project type and budget range
- 2.Give agencies 7–10 business days to respond. Rushing proposals leads to generic templates, not thoughtful responses
- 3.Invite questions. Tell agencies they can ask clarifying questions before submitting. The ones who ask good questions are usually the ones who do the best work
- 4.Compare proposals against your brief, not against each other. Score each proposal on how well it addresses every section of your brief
- 5.Look for specificity. The best proposals will reference your goals by name, suggest solutions for your specific integrations, and include a timeline with named milestones — not generic project phases
What Good Agencies Look for in a Brief
We spoke to dozens of Shopify agencies about what makes them say “yes, we want this project.” Here’s what they consistently mentioned:
- Clear goals with measurable outcomes — not just a feature wishlist
- Realistic budget range — hiding the budget wastes everyone’s time
- Named decision makers — agencies want to know proposals won’t disappear into a committee
- Honesty about constraints — tight deadline? Fixed budget? Say so upfront
- Openness to expertise — the best clients brief the problem, not the solution, and let the agency recommend the approach
- A professional, structured document — it signals the client will be organised throughout the project
Brief Template Checklist
Before you send your brief, run through this checklist to make sure nothing’s missing:
- Company name, website, industry, and revenue context included
- Project type clearly stated (build, migration, redesign, etc.)
- Goals defined as outcomes, not just features
- Success metrics specified (conversion rate, speed, revenue targets)
- 3–5 design example websites included with notes on what you like
- Every integration listed with current provider names
- Product catalog size stated
- Multi-language and multi-currency needs clarified
- Target launch date with flexibility level noted
- Budget range included (not a single number)
- Primary contact and decision makers named
- Proposal deadline and decision timeline communicated
- Sent to no more than 5 agencies
Find Agencies to Send Your Brief To
Once your brief is ready, you need the right agencies to send it to. Browse our directory by specialisation and budget range to shortlist 3–5 that match your project:
- Store builds and custom development → /agencies?specialization=Store+Build
- Migrations (WooCommerce, Magento) → /agencies/migration
- Shopify Plus projects → /agencies/shopify-plus
- Design and CRO → /agencies?specialization=CRO
Or let us do the matching. Submit your brief through our free service and receive 3 curated agency recommendations within 24 hours.
Get Matched Free →Frequently Asked Questions
- How long should a Shopify project brief be?
- A good brief is 1–3 pages. Long enough to cover all 7 key sections (business context, project type, goals, design preferences, technical requirements, timeline, and budget) but short enough that agencies will actually read the whole thing. Our free Brief Generator produces a well-structured brief in the right length.
- Should I include my budget in the brief?
- Yes. Include a budget range (not a single number). Hiding your budget leads to proposals that are either too conservative or too expensive. A range like “$15,000–$25,000” helps agencies design a solution that fits your reality and makes proposals directly comparable.
- How many agencies should I send my brief to?
- 3–5 maximum. Sending to more dilutes agency effort — good agencies can tell when they’re one of many and invest less in their response. Pre-vet using our directory, then send your brief to a shortlist of well-matched agencies.
- What’s the difference between a brief and an RFP?
- A brief is a concise document outlining your project needs, goals, and constraints. An RFP (Request for Proposal) is a more formal document, often used by larger organisations, with structured evaluation criteria and compliance requirements. For most Shopify projects under $100,000, a structured brief is sufficient and preferred by agencies.
- How do I write a brief if I don’t know what I need?
- Focus on your goals and problems rather than specific features. Describe what you want to achieve (e.g., “increase conversion rate”) rather than how to achieve it (e.g., “add a loyalty programme”). Good agencies will recommend the right solutions based on your goals. Or use our free Brief Generator — it asks the right questions so you don’t have to figure out the structure yourself.
- Is there a free Shopify project brief template?
- Yes. Our free Shopify Project Brief Generator at /tools/brief-generator walks you through every section and produces a downloadable PDF brief in minutes. It covers business context, project type, goals, design preferences, technical requirements, timeline, budget, and contact details.