lemuriaOS
positioningresearchb2bb2c

Website Discovery Brief

Extract brand context, audience intent, competitive positioning, and visual preferences into a structured brief that drives every downstream design and copy decision.

Context

Every failed website traces back to a weak brief. This skill captures the minimum viable context needed to make confident design and copy decisions without the back-and-forth that kills project timelines. Run this before any visual or copy work begins.

Procedure

  1. Collect raw inputs: stakeholder answers, existing assets, competitor URLs, and analytics snapshots (bounce rate, top pages, conversion rate).
  2. Define the primary audience segment using the ICP-JTBD format: who they are, what triggers their visit, what outcome they need.
  3. Audit 3-5 competitor sites for positioning gaps — what they claim vs. what they fail to prove.
  4. Map the site goal hierarchy: primary conversion (e.g., demo request), secondary (email capture), tertiary (content engagement).
  5. Extract brand voice descriptors by asking: "If the brand were a person at a dinner party, how would they speak?" Capture 3-5 adjectives with counter-examples.
  6. List every required page with a one-sentence purpose statement and the user job it serves.
  7. Define 3 measurable success criteria with baselines and 90-day targets.

Output Format

# Website Discovery Brief

## Brand Snapshot
- Company: [name]
- One-line positioning: [what you do + for whom + why it matters]
- Voice descriptors: [adjective 1], [adjective 2], [adjective 3]
- Voice anti-descriptors: [what the brand is NOT]
- Existing assets: [logo, colors, fonts, imagery — or "none"]

## Audience
- Primary segment: [who]
- Trigger event: [what brings them to the site]
- Desired outcome: [what success looks like for the visitor]
- Objections: [top 3 reasons they might leave without converting]

## Competitive Landscape
| Competitor | Positioning Claim | Proof Gap | Our Opportunity |
|------------|------------------|-----------|-----------------|
| [url]      | [claim]          | [gap]     | [opportunity]   |

## Site Map
| Page | Purpose | User Job | Priority |
|------|---------|----------|----------|
| /    | ...     | ...      | P0       |

## Goal Hierarchy
1. Primary conversion: [action] — target: [number] per [period]
2. Secondary: [action] — target: [number]
3. Tertiary: [action] — target: [number]

## Success Criteria
| Metric | Baseline | 90-Day Target |
|--------|----------|---------------|
| ...    | ...      | ...           |

## Open Questions
- [ ] [assumption that needs client confirmation]

QA Rubric (scored)

  • Audience specificity (0-5): segment is targetable, not "everyone."
  • Competitive insight (0-5): gaps identified with evidence, not just URLs listed.
  • Goal measurability (0-5): every KPI has a number and timeframe.
  • Completeness (0-5): no section left blank or filled with placeholders.
  • Actionability (0-5): a designer could start work immediately from this brief.

Examples (good/bad)

  • Good: "Series B dev-tools company targeting engineering managers who evaluate during quarterly planning cycles. Voice: precise, calm, peer-level. Anti-voice: salesy, hyperbolic. Primary conversion: book a technical demo — baseline 12/mo, target 40/mo."
  • Bad: "Tech company that wants a modern website. Target: developers. Goal: more leads."

Variants

  • Rapid mode: 15-minute intake using a pre-filled template with checkbox options for voice, audience, and goals.
  • Enterprise mode: multi-stakeholder synthesis with weighted scoring for conflicting priorities and a RACI chart for approvals.