Online store project brief: free Word and PDF template for an e-commerce website, with a filled-in example
Template + filled-in example
Editable Word file
No sign-up, no email
Free download
For a shop, a craftsperson or a producer preparing their online store. The Word file is yours to fill in and edit, the PDF shows the same document filled in from start to finish.
Free to use, to adapt to your project and to send to any provider.
About the template
An online store project brief in nine parts, ready to fill in, and the same document filled in for a fine food shop in Rennes, France. It is meant for shops, craftspeople and producers who want to sell online and get quotes they can compare. The store’s pages, the features sorted by priority, payment, delivery and the terms of sale are already covered. It also states that the store, the customer file and the domain name stay in your name.
Template prepared by Léo Guillaume, independent developer near Rennes, France. These are the questions I ask before pricing an online store.
Updated on
What the template contains
A template to fill in and a complete example
The Word file follows the nine parts, with a grey instruction under each heading to replace with your text. The PDF is the same document filled in, to show the level of detail expected.
The template to fill in
Word, editable in Word, LibreOffice, Google Docs or Pages
About the business and the project, new store or redesign
Goals, each with its measure, and target customers
The nine usual pages of an online store, to cross out or complete
Ten features to sort into essential or nice to have, from card payment to the link with your till
Product descriptions and photos, technical and legal requirements (secure payment, terms of sale, withdrawal)
Budget, timeline, maintenance and what each quote must include
The filled-in example
PDF, Épicerie fine Lemoine in Rennes (fictional business)
A fine food shop of 2 to 10 people creating its online store, for private customers in France
Three goals with their measure: sell every day, sell beyond Rennes, offer in-store pickup
Nine usual pages, including the customer account and the terms of sale
Four essential features (catalogue, card payment, stock, delivery and pickup) and two nice-to-haves (promo codes, customer accounts)
Product descriptions and photos supplied by the shop, laid out by the provider
A budget of €1,500 to €5,000, a launch within six months, maintenance priced separately
Project brief example
The filled-in example, to read here
The online store of a fine food shop in Rennes, as the generator writes it from five answers.
Project brief · Online store
Online store for Épicerie fine Lemoine
Business:
Épicerie fine Lemoine, Rennes
Version:
1, dated 2 November 2026
Contents
1. About the business
2. The project
3. Goals and target audience
4. The store pages
5. Features
6. Product pages and visual identity
7. Technical and legal requirements
8. Budget, timeline and maintenance
9. What each quote must include
1. About the business
Épicerie fine Lemoine, in Rennes.
Fine food shop: Breton products, hampers and gift boxes.
Team: 2 to 10 people.
2. The project
Creation of an online store (e-commerce), to sell the business’s products every day.
Project type: online store.
3. Goals and target audience
Sell online, every day. Measured by: online revenue per month.
Sell beyond Rennes. Measured by: orders delivered outside the local area.
Offer in-store pickup. Measured by: orders picked up in store.
Target customers: private customers, in France.
4. The store pages
Home
Catalogue and categories
Product page
Cart and checkout
Customer account
Delivery and returns
Terms and conditions of sale
Contact
Legal notice and privacy, in the footer
9 page types, to be adjusted with the provider.
5. Features
Catalogue and product pagesEssential
Card paymentEssential
Stock trackingEssential
Delivery and pickupEssential
Promo codesNice to have
Customer accountsNice to have
6. Product pages and visual identity
Product pages and photos provided by Épicerie fine Lemoine, laid out by the provider.
Logo and colours: to be provided if they exist, otherwise to be included in the quote.
7. Technical and legal requirements
Easy to read on phone, tablet and computer.
Secure payment through an established payment provider (3-D Secure).
Terms and conditions of sale, right of withdrawal and consumer mediator shown on the store.
Legal notice, privacy policy and cookie management.
Domain name, store and customer list in the name of Épicerie fine Lemoine.
8. Budget, timeline and maintenance
Planned budget
from €1,500 to €5,000
Launch
within 6 months
Maintenance
priced separately (updates, backups, small improvements)
9. What each quote must include
A detailed quote, item by item, to compare the replies with each other.
A schedule with the sign-off dates.
Two or three similar projects already delivered.
The price of maintenance, per month or per year.
Confirmation that the store, the customer list and the domain name belong to Épicerie fine Lemoine.
This is the part that sets the price. Start from this plan, cross out what does not apply to you, add one page per product category.
Plan of an online store: the home page, then the catalogue with one page per category, gift boxes, the basket and checkout, the customer account and the contact page; in the footer, the terms of sale, delivery and returns, the legal notice, privacy and cookies.
Home
Catalogue
Biscuits and caramels
Tinned seafood
Ciders and drinks
Gift boxes
Basket and checkout
Customer account
Contact
In the footer: terms of sale, delivery and returns, legal notice, privacy and cookies
One page per category
Each category has its page, each product its own page: a search for “salted butter caramel” finds a page that talks about it.
What reassures before buying
Shipping costs, delivery times, returns and payment methods: customers look for them before paying. Give them a page, linked from the basket.
The rest in the footer
The terms of sale, the legal notice and the privacy policy are mandatory in France. With the delivery and returns page, they go at the bottom of every page, not in the menu.
How to fill it in
Fill in the template in four steps
Replace each grey instruction with your text, and delete what does not apply to you. Keep the order of the parts: it is the order in which a provider reads it.
01
Step 1
Start with the business and the goals
Five lines about you and your products, three goals with their measure. The rest of the document follows from them.
02
Step 2
List the pages, then sort the features
Keep the usual structure and add one page per product category. Then sort the features: catalogue, payment, stock and delivery first, the rest can wait.
03
Step 3
Say who prepares the product pages
Descriptions, photos, prices, weights for shipping costs: who takes care of them, and for how many products.
04
Step 4
Give a budget and a date
A range and a launch date, then the same document to two or three providers.
What French law requires
Four obligations to write into the project brief
In France, they apply to any online store that sells to private customers, whatever its size. The template already includes them, so that they are priced from the first quote.
Before the order
Information and terms of sale
Product features, the total price including VAT, the delivery date or time and the terms of sale are on the site before the order. The final button reads “Commande avec obligation de paiement” (order with obligation to pay).
A private customer who buys at a distance has 14 days to withdraw, without giving a reason, and the site must tell them so. A few products are excluded, such as food that perishes quickly.
Nine parts: the business, the project, the goals and target customers, the store’s pages, the features, the product descriptions and photos, the technical and legal requirements, the budget and timeline, and what each quote must include. The template follows them in this order, with payment, delivery and the terms of sale already covered.
How many products and which pages should I plan for?
Give the number of products at launch, the number of categories, and whether a product comes in several versions (weight, flavour, size): that is what changes the work on the catalogue. For the pages, the template lists the home page, the catalogue with one page per category, the product pages, the basket and checkout, the customer account, delivery and returns, the terms of sale and the contact page, plus the legal notice and the privacy policy in the footer.
How much does an online store cost?
At Dibodev, an online store is custom-built, from €1,500. The price depends on your project brief: number of products, payment, delivery, customer accounts. The website price barometer compares the prices published by 20 French providers, from the one-page website to the online store.
Should I choose the platform in the project brief?
Not necessarily. Describe what the store must do: Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop or custom development are technical choices that each provider proposes and justifies in their quote. If you already have a platform, or want a particular one, write it in the brief.
Payment, delivery, returns: what should I specify?
The payment methods accepted, the delivery options (carrier, in-store pickup), the shipping costs and how a return is handled. The template already includes secure payment through a recognised provider (3-D Secure), a delivery and returns page, and the display of the right of withdrawal.
Is the template really free?
Yes. The Word template and the PDF example download with no sign-up and no email, and you can send the document to any provider, not only to me.
The other templates
A project other than an online store?
Word + PDF example
Showcase website project brief
Home, services, past work, contact: the template for tradespeople, shops and the self-employed.
Send it to me: I read it myself and reply within 24 hours, with a price or with my questions. If an off-the-shelf solution is enough for you, I will tell you.
