Website requirements document template: the signed version of the plan

What's a website requirements document template?

A website requirements document template is a reusable outline with a fixed set of sections, so every client's requirements are written the same way. It's longer and more formal than a one-page list: it has a version number, an owner and a sign-off block.

Sections that make it the formal version:

Give each version a number and a date. When something changes after sign-off, write the change in, raise the version, and get a new signature.

The summary, page list, features, content and out of scope parts work the same way as in the shorter template. For the shorter list of what the site must do, see the website requirements template.

What goes in a website design requirements document?

A website design requirements document records the look and layout rules the design has to follow, before anyone opens a design tool. It turns "make it look modern" into choices a designer can check their work against.

Points to write down include:

• the logo files, brand colors and fonts the client already uses, and where to find them
• sites the client likes, with a note on what they like about each one
• sites the client doesn't like, and why
• the layout each main page needs, such as where the contact details sit
• how the site should work on a phone, page by page if it matters
• photo style, and whether the client is supplying photos or needs them found
• any rules from a brand guide that the design must follow

For each item, ask the client to choose one answer where they can. "Blue or green" is easier to design to than "either is fine."

What are user requirements for a website?

User requirements say what each kind of visitor needs to do on the site, written from that visitor's side. They keep the build focused on people, not features, and they give you a way to test the finished site.

One way to write them is one line per need:

"As a (kind of visitor), I want to (do something) so that (reason)."

Examples for a local service business:

• As a new customer, I want to see prices or a price range so that I know whether to call.
• As a returning customer, I want to book online so that I don't have to phone.
• As a job seeker, I want to find open roles so that I can apply.
• As the office manager, I want to edit opening hours myself so that the site stays right.

Steps to gather them:

1. List every kind of person who will use the site, including the client's own staff.
2. Ask the client what each one comes to the site to do.
3. Write one line per need in the format above.
4. Mark each line as must have or nice to have.
5. Add the must haves to the document's Users section, and test each one before launch.