When organizations issue a website redesign RFP, they often focus on defining requirements, timelines, and procurement rules. While these are important, the structure and positioning of the RFP itself can have a major impact on the quality and quantity of responses received.
After reviewing hundreds of public-sector website RFPs, we've observed a clear pattern: the best projects tend to attract the strongest competition, while overly restrictive or unclear RFPs often receive fewer proposals and a less diverse range of vendors.
Why Good Vendors 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 they invest their 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.
Most experienced website vendors have refined their process over hundreds of projects. When an RFP leaves room for vendors to propose their best approach, organizations often receive more innovative and effective proposals.
How to Attract More High-Quality Responses
1. Disclose a Budget Range
One of the simplest ways to increase response rates 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 vendors determine whether the project is a fit and allows them to propose solutions that align with your available resources. Without a budget, many agencies assume the project may not be adequately funded and choose not to participate.
Also see our article The Right Budget for a Municipal Website.
2. Be CMS-Agnostic
Rather than specifying a particular content management system, focus on the outcomes you need.
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
This allows vendors to recommend the platform they believe is best suited to your organization's goals.
See our article about Content Management Systems (CMS) and other Common Website Project Terms.
3. Focus on Outcomes, Not Methodology
Most experienced website vendors have 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 proponents to recommend their approach. This often results in stronger proposals and more accurate project planning.
4. Allow Reasonable Timelines
Website redesigns involve more than design and development. Content review, stakeholder engagement, accessibility testing, integrations, training, and launch preparation all require time.
A realistic schedule generally attracts more qualified vendors and leads to better project outcomes. See our article on Website Timelines for additional guidance.
5. Make Evaluation Criteria Clear
Vendors want to understand how proposals will be evaluated.
Clear evaluation criteria help agencies tailor their submissions and reduce uncertainty during the proposal process.
6. Keep Proposal Requirements Proportionate
A 300-question technical questionnaire for a $30k project may discourage participation from highly qualified firms.
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. While these systems can be effective, they do not always reach every qualified vendor in the market.
Consider supplementing your posting with a direct email to the firm you want to respond.
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.
The goal of any RFP should be to attract the strongest possible field of qualified vendors. By focusing on outcomes, providing budget transparency, maintaining flexibility, and promoting opportunities broadly, organizations can 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.