Half of the conflicts between the client and the studio aren’t about money or deadlines. They’re about the client saying, “We thought that was included in the price.” The technical specifications exist precisely to prevent such conversations. Below is the structure of the technical specifications we ask our clients to provide, along with an explanation of why each section is needed and examples of how to phrase them.
Why do we need a technical specification if we have a brief?
A brief is your requirements. Technical specifications (TS) are an agreement on the deliverables: exactly what will be done, to what extent, and the criteria by which you will accept the work. The brief is written by the client, while the TS are drafted by the contractor in collaboration with the client, and they become an appendix to the contract.
Practical benefits of the technical specifications for the customer:
- The price is no longer "approximate"—they calculate a specific amount.
- It's clear that this isn't part of the job—it's before payment, not after.
- There is an acceptance criterion: if it works as specified in the technical specifications, we accept it.
- If the studio closes, the next contractor will continue the work without conducting archaeological research.
Chapter 1. About the Business and the Problem
Not just a “company story,” but the factors that influence decisions regarding design and structure:
- What do you do, and how do you make a living?
- Who is the customer: B2B or B2C, an individual or a buyer; their age and city.
- The website's goal in numbers: "20 organic leads per month," not "a modern image."
- How customers are currently coming in and what needs to change.
- Who makes the decisions regarding the project on your end—one person, not a committee.
This last point saves weeks. Projects are most often stalled not because of complexity, but because of five approvers with conflicting opinions.
Chapter 2. Website Structure
A list of all pages with their nesting levels. Just a plain list, without any formatting:
- Home
- Services → page for each service (list the exact number)
- Portfolio → Case Study Page
- Blog → Article Page
- About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy
Here’s the first clarification regarding the price: “service page” ×3 and ×30 refer to different projects. Specify the exact number and agree right away on the price for each subsequent one.
Chapter 3. What's on Each Page
Paragraph by paragraph, in plain language. Example for a service page:
- Title and brief description with an "Order" button.
- What's included in the service—a list of 5–7 items.
- Workflow — 4 steps with icons.
- Prices — a table showing three rates.
- Questions and Answers — Expandable sections, 6 questions.
- Application form: name, phone number, comment.
This description serves as the technical specifications for the designer, the developer, and the copywriter. And it is this description that sets the limit: 6 blocks are not 15.
Chapter 4. Functionality
This is the most extensive section, and therefore the most detailed. Each feature is described using the "what the user does → what happens next" format.
Example:
Application form: The user enters their name and phone number, then clicks “Submit.” The data is stored in the admin panel, an email is sent to sales@, and a record is created in the CRM. The user sees the message “Thank you, we’ll call you within an hour.”
Features worth describing separately, if applicable: search, catalog filters, calculator, user account, payment, shipping, multilingual support, integrations with CRM, 1C, Google Analytics, chat widget, and recommendation blocks.
If it's not in the technical specifications, it's not in the project. This isn't bureaucracy; it's a way to keep honest track: each integration represents days of work.
Chapter 5. Content
The most common reason for missing deadlines isn't the development work—it's the missing text. Make this clear:
- Who writes the copy—you, the studio, or an outside copywriter? If it’s the studio, how many pages are included in the price?
- Who provides the photos? Are they stock photos or original shots? Who pays for the licenses?
- The deadline for submitting materials and what happens if it is missed. Standard condition: The project deadline is extended by the length of the delay.
- Who populates the website: the studio manually, via import from a spreadsheet, or you yourself after completing the training?
Chapter 6. Design
Taste cannot be described, so they document the boundaries and the process:
- Logo and brand colors—do we have them, or do we need to develop them?
- 3–5 reference websites with an explanation of exactly what you like: “layout,” “typography,” “calm colors,” rather than “it’s just nice overall.”
- How many mockups are included in the price, and how many rounds of revisions (usually 2)?
- Responsive: desktop, tablet, mobile—which layouts are being designed.
- Who approves the design and by when.
Chapter 7. Technical Requirements
- CMS: WordPress, a website builder, or a custom-built solution—and why. A comparison of the options in this article About Development Costs.
- Web hosting and domain: who owns them, who pays for them, and who has access to them.
- Browsers and devices we support.
- Speed targets: for example, a PageSpeed score of at least 80 for mobile. How to achieve them—in the article about website speed.
- Basic SEO: configuring meta tags, URLs, sitemaps, robots.txt, microdata, and setting up Search Console and analytics. See the checklist for a complete list. SEO for a New Website.
- Security and Backups: Backup Frequency, Storage Locations, and Who Performs the Restores.
- Administrator Panel Access: How Many Users and What Permissions They Have.
Chapter 8. Deadlines, Money, and Acceptance
- Stages with dates: structure → design → layout and programming → content creation → testing → launch.
- Payment in stages, rather than “100% up front” or “everything afterward.”
- Acceptance criteria: the website opens in the listed browsers, forms submit data, speed targets are met, and there are no errors in the console.
- Warranty period: typically 1–3 months for free corrections of errors. Be sure to specify what counts as an error and what counts as a new task.
- Transfer of Rights: Source files, access, and passwords will be transferred to you upon full payment.
Chapter 9. What Is Not Included in the Project
A five-line section that prevents most disputes. For example: promotion and advertising, blogging after launch, photo shoots, logo design, adding over 100 items to the catalog, and post-warranty support. All of this can be ordered separately—and that’s exactly how it should be stated in the document.
Common Mistakes in Technical Specifications
- "Modern, user-friendly, and effective" — not requirements, because they cannot be verified.
- "Just like our competitor's, only better" — In what way exactly is it better?
- A 60-page copy of someone else's technical specification — You're paying for features you don't need.
- No quantities — “service pages,” “multiple languages,” “a few products.”
- There is no section on content — and the project has been on hold for three months without any text.
How many pages should the technical specifications have?
For a landing page—2–3. For a corporate website—5–10. For an online store or service with a personal account — 15–30. If you were given a half-page “technical assignment” and immediately quoted a price, that price will almost certainly go up during the process.
You don't have to write the technical specifications yourself: a reputable studio will draft them based on your brief and your discussions, and you'll review and approve them. Here's what you should prepare before the first meeting — in Pre-development checklist. The questions you should ask the contractor before signing the contract are listed here: How to Choose a Contractor.
Need a technical specification for your project? Tell us about your requirements—we’ll outline the structure, describe the functionality, and provide an accurate estimate of the timeline and budget: Calculate the cost of the website.
We are drafting the technical specifications as part of the project — Turnkey Website Development It all starts with him.
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