As an experienced website vendor, Upanup is sometimes asked by municipalities why we didn't respond to their RFP. After reviewing hundreds of public-sector website RFPs, we've noticed a few factors that affect our decision to respond.
When organizations issue a website redesign RFP, they often focus on defining requirements, timelines, and procurement rules. While these are important, we consider the structure and positioning of the RFP itself when determining whether to submit a proposal. These factors also affect the general quality and quantity of responses received.
We've found that the projects more likely to receive a proposal from us tend to be transparent about budget, flexible about implementation approach, and realistic about timelines. On the other hand, when an RFP is overly restrictive or unclear, we may have difficulty determining whether we're the right fit for the project.
Why Vendors Like Upanup Sometimes Don't Respond
Many organizations assume that if an RFP is publicly posted, all qualified vendors will submit a proposal. In reality, experienced website agencies are selective about where we invest our proposal efforts.
Some common reasons we may decline to respond include:
- No budget is disclosed. For context, we've seen website redesign budgets range from $5,000 to $400,000+. If you have a hard ceiling, disclose it in the RFP so vendors can provide apples-to-apples responses.
- There are highly prescriptive technical requirements that effectively mandate a specific vendor, platform, or implementation approach.
- The timeline is unusually compressed for the scope, or does not allow enough time for vendor planning, reviews, or engagement.
- The requirements dictate methodology rather than desired outcomes.
- The evaluation criteria heavily favours local presence.
- An excessive proposal process or requirements that create a significant burden relative to the project value.
- The RFP notification didn't reach the vendor.
Upanup has refined our process over hundreds of projects. When an RFP leaves room for us to propose our best approach, this allows us to provide more innovative and effective proposals.
How to Attract More High-Quality Responses
1. Disclose a Budget Range
One of the simplest ways to encourage a proposal response is to provide a realistic budget range. Be clear if your budget also includes the first year (post-launch) of ongoing services.
Budget transparency helps us determine whether the project is a fit and allows us to propose solutions that align with your available resources. Without a stated budget, we may wonder whether the project is adequately funded and choose not to participate.
Also see our article The Right Budget for a Municipal Website.
2. Be Open to Various Platforms
Upanup specializes in municipal web solutions using the Drupal CMS. If RFPs are interested in the Drupal CMS, or open to various CMS options, this encourages us to propose our solution, with an approach tailored to your organization's goals.
For example, instead of requiring a specific platform, describe requirements such as:
- Ease of content management
- Accessibility compliance
- Security requirements
- Workflow approvals
- Integration needs
- Scalability
See our article about Content Management Systems (CMS) and other Common Website Project Terms.
3. Focus on Outcomes, Not Methodology
Over the years, Upanup has established processes for discovery, information architecture, content migration, accessibility testing, quality assurance, and launch planning.
Instead of prescribing every project step, consider outlining your objectives and allowing us to recommend an approach to meet them. This way, we can provide a stronger proposal with more accurate project planning, and apply learnings from previous similar projects.
4. Allow Reasonable Timelines
Website redesigns involve more than design and development. From past projects, we know that allowing time for early planning and decision-making sets an important foundation for a smooth process. Throughout the project, content review, stakeholder engagement, accessibility testing, integrations, training, and launch preparation all require time.
A realistic project schedule makes us more likely to respond and leads to better project outcomes. See our article on Website Timelines for additional guidance.
5. Make Evaluation Criteria Clear
As a vendor responding to an RFP, we want to understand how our proposal will be evaluated, in order to focus on your priorities.
Clear evaluation criteria help us tailor our submissions and reduce uncertainty during the proposal process.
6. Keep Proposal Requirements Proportionate
When reviewing an RFP, we consider the effort required to prepare a proposal relative to the size and scope of the opportunity. A 300-question technical questionnaire for a $30k project may discourage participation.
Focus on the information necessary to evaluate the project rather than requiring excessive documentation.
7. Promote the Opportunity Beyond Bid Platforms
Many organizations rely exclusively on third-party procurement platforms. These systems can be effective, but they do not always reach every qualified vendor. While we monitor public procurement platforms, opportunities can still be missed due to notification settings, platform limitations, or the volume of postings.
Consider supplementing your posting with a direct email.
Don't Assume Vendors Saw Your RFP
Even highly qualified vendors who are on all of the RFP notification systems can miss opportunities. Procurement platforms vary widely in visibility, notification systems, and vendor participation.
If you're planning a website redesign and want to ensure Upanup is aware of the opportunity, feel free to contact us directly at contact@upanup.com. We are happy to review upcoming opportunities and provide preliminary feedback on project scope, budget expectations, timelines, or procurement strategy.
Overall, if your organization wants Upanup to respond to your RFP, we recommend focusing on outcomes, providing budget transparency, maintaining flexibility, and promoting opportunities broadly. This approach can also significantly improve both the quality and quantity of proposals received.
Writing the RFP
Also, see our article on writing the RFP itself: How to Write an RFP for Municipal Website Projects.