Before you begin your next web design project, you need a Web Design Brief.

What is a brief? A website design brief is an essential document outlining the various details about your intended website.

Why do you need one? A home builder always has a very detailed set of plans from which to work. A brief is the web developer's equivalent of a set of building plans. It is a prerequisite to all web development projects to ensure that both you and your web developer are on the same page.

The Basic Components of a Website Design Brief

1. YOUR COMPANY

Give the developer an understanding of who you are, what your company does, where you are heading, and how your brand should be portrayed.

What do you do?
What are your products and services?
What is your Unique Selling Point?
What is the size of your business?
What is your vision?
Where do you want to be in 3 – 5 years time?
How do you want to be perceived in the marketplace?
Who are your ideal customers?
Who are your top 3 competitors?
What 10 words can you use to describe your company?


Source: Stop! Before You Begin Your Next Web Design Project

2. YOUR WEBSITE

Explain why you need a new website, and describe what a successful website looks like to you.

Why do you need a new website?
What do you like about your old website?
What don’t you like about your old website?
Describe your ideal website
How many sections/pages will it have & what will they contain?
What features and functions do you require (examples below)
Search box
Sliders
Google maps
Blog
Ecommerce
Gallery
Forms
Membership
Integrations to existing systems
How will you measure the success of the website?

Domain & Hosting
Will you need a domain name for your website(For example, mycompanyname.com)?
Do you need web hosting? Web hosting is the service needed to put your website online.

Source: Stop! Before You Begin Your Next Web Design Project

3. YOUR USERS

Web design Briefs - Know Your Users
Provide details about who your website visitors are, so that the design, features and functionality can be tailored accordingly to your target audience.

Who will be using the website?
Public, trade, staff
Age group
Language requirements
Mobile/desktop browser requirements
Male/ female

Why are they visiting your website?
Research
Information
Entertainment
News
Look up pricing
Download
Make a purchase
Get contact details

Source: Stop! Before You Begin Your Next Web Design Project

4. YOUR DESIGN

Web Design Briefs - Design
Describe how your new website should look, the impression you want to give, and any brand and style guidelines that need to be met.

What impression do you want your design to give? – e.g.
Masculine vs feminine
Traditional vs contemporary
Professional vs personal
Serious vs friendly
Strong vs soft
Exclusive vs inclusive

Websites you like & what you like about them
Your brand colours, fonts, icons & any style guidelines
Example images or materials


Source: Stop! Before You Begin Your Next Web Design Project

5. YOUR BUDGET & TIMELINE

Providing your planned budget and timeframes will help your web developer manage your expectations of what can be done.

How much do you have to spend on the website?
When are you looking to get started?
Do you have a deadline for the website to be completed?


Source: Stop! Before You Begin Your Next Web Design Project

By answering all of these questions you have written a great design brief. To write the ultimate one, however, you can provide a sketch of page layout, of headings, of how you want pages to interact with each other, of where you want certain images placed etc.


Source: Stop! Before You Begin Your Next Web Design Project

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Thanks for sharing such knowledge. They're very important in relating with your clients too.
Also I think developers should read "Web Design for Developers" by Brian P. Hogan to have more ideas of interacting with clients. I found it useful and it improved my design aptitude a little.