Anything else must earn its place. Your client wants a clear view of the project, not a diary of your working week.
What a client progress report includes
A useful progress report answers the same practical questions every time. Use the sections to share progress with clients in a consistent order.
What finished
Start with outcomes, not activity. An outcome tells your client what is now different. Activity only tells them that you were busy.
"The revised pricing page is live" is an outcome. "Worked on pricing page revisions" is activity. The first sentence gives the client something they can see and judge. The second sounds like a timesheet without the useful detail.
Completed work can include a decision, a delivery, a fix, or a useful finding. If testing showed that the original plan would fail, say what you learned and how the plan changed. You do not need to pretend that every week ends with a launch.
Choose the two or three outcomes that affect the client. Internal cleanup belongs here only when it changes cost, timing, risk, or quality in a way the client can understand.
What comes next
Tell the client what you plan to do before the next update. Keep the list short enough to be credible.
Name the next useful result rather than every step required to produce it. "Next week I will send the first homepage draft for review" is better than a list of research, sketching, writing, and internal review. The client knows what to expect and when they can respond.
If timing is uncertain, explain the condition. You might say that you will start the report after the client approves the data fields. A condition is more honest than a date you cannot control.
What you need from the client
Ask for one clear action, name the person if several people are involved, and include a deadline. Explain the consequence of a late reply without making it sound like a threat. Read how to ask a client for feedback when preparing a review request.
"Please approve option B by 14 May so I can keep the 16 May handoff" gives the client a decision and a reason to make it. "Please share your thoughts soon" creates another email because nobody knows what counts as a useful reply.
Write "Nothing needed from you this week" when there is no request. The line reassures the client that they have not missed a task hidden in the rest of the update.
What changed
Report changes to scope, cost, dates, decisions, and risk. Include changes you made on the client's behalf, even when they seem sensible and small.
Clients are usually less troubled by a change than by discovering it late. If a date moved, give the new date and the reason in one or two sentences. Then explain what you are doing next. Long defenses make a clear update harder to trust.
A change section can also say "No changes this week." Keeping the heading makes you check the question rather than forgetting it during a good week.
A client update template
Use the same four headings each week:
Completed
State two or three outcomes in plain language.
Next
Name the result the client should expect before the next update.
Needed from you
Ask for a specific decision or item with a date, or say that nothing is needed.
Changes
List any movement in scope, timing, cost, decisions, or risk. Say that there were no changes when appropriate.
The headings do enough organizing. You do not need progress bars, colored labels, or a miniature management dashboard.
A complete example under 200 words
Completed
The revised signup form is live. It now asks for the company name once instead of twice, and the confirmation email uses the approved copy.
Next
I will finish the account screen and send it for review by 20 May.
Needed from you
Please approve the two welcome email options by 15 May. A reply after 15 May will move the account screen review past 20 May.
Changes
I moved the billing settings behind the account screen because users need an account before they can manage billing. The final delivery date and agreed cost have not changed.
The example is short, but it gives the client a result, a plan, an action, and a record of a decision. Nothing important is hidden inside a long explanation.
Keep the actual update short
Aim for fewer than 200 words. Attach detailed notes when a client needs them, but keep the project status update readable on its own.
Cut background the client already knows. Remove lists of tools, meetings, hours, and small tasks. Replace technical detail with its effect on timing, cost, quality, or the client's next decision.
Read the draft once before sending it. Check whether each sentence answers what finished, what comes next, what you need, or what changed. Move useful detail into the right section and delete the rest.
The full guide to weekly client updates covers timing and difficult weeks. The basic standard stays simple: four sections, under 200 words, sent on a fixed day.
If you want the same structure and a lasting page for each project, Friday gives you a focused place to write and send it.
Copy the four-block project note, or start with a three-sentence example when the week is simple.
The weekly status report generator turns those sections into a report you can copy. Your text stays in your browser.