1. About us
Organization: [name], [industry], [locations], [size]
What we do and who our customers are: [two or three sentences]
Current website: [URL], launched [year], built on [platform]
Project contact: [name, title, email]. Please send all questions to this person.
2. Why we are doing this
Problems with the current site: [e.g. few inquiries, cannot edit without a developer, slow on mobile, not accessible]
What success looks like 12 months after launch: [e.g. 2x qualified inquiries, marketing team publishes pages without IT]
How we will measure it: [analytics goals, form submissions, calls, bookings]
3. Audience
Primary audience: [who, what they need to do on the site]
Secondary audiences: [e.g. job candidates, referral partners, investors]
Top 3 tasks visitors must be able to complete: [1] [2] [3]
4. Scope
Discovery and research: stakeholder interviews, analytics review, competitor review
Information architecture and sitemap: approximately [N] pages, [N] unique page templates
Unique templates drive cost far more than page count. Ask agencies to price by template.
Visual design: [new brand / existing brand guidelines provided]
Copywriting: [agency writes / we provide / mix]; [N] pages
Content migration: [N] existing pages or posts to move, with or without edits
Development on [platform preference, or 'agency to recommend']
Integrations: [CRM, booking system, payment, email platform, chat]
SEO carry-over: URL redirect map, metadata, structured data, no loss of indexed pages
Accessibility target: WCAG 2.2 Level AA
Analytics and consent: GA4 or equivalent, consent management where required
Training and documentation for [N] editors
Post-launch support: [N] days of warranty, then optional maintenance plan
5. Technical requirements
Hosting: [we host / agency recommends and manages]
Performance: passes Core Web Vitals on mobile for key templates
Security: SSL, automated backups, update process, [SSO/2FA for editors]
Compliance: [e.g. HIPAA for patient forms, ADA/WCAG, state privacy laws]
Ownership: we own the code, content, design files and domain at the end of the project
6. Budget and timeline
Budget range: $[low] to $[high], excluding [e.g. ongoing hosting]
Target launch: [date]; hard deadline, if any, and why: [event, contract end]
RFP timeline: questions due [date] · answers shared with all bidders [date] · proposals due [date] · finalist calls [date] · decision [date]
7. What to include in your proposal
Your understanding of our goals, in your own words
Proposed approach and what you would change about this RFP
Cost broken into discovery, design, content, development, integrations and support
Assumptions behind the price, and hourly rate for changes outside scope
Timeline with milestones and what you need from us at each
The team who will actually do the work, with roles
Two or three comparable projects, with live URLs and a client reference
8. How we will evaluate
Understanding of our goals and audience: [30]%
Relevant experience and references: [25]%
Approach and process: [20]%
Cost and value: [15]%
Team fit and communication: [10]%