How To Write A Website Redesign Rfp

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Key Takeaways

• A vague RFP produces vague proposals. The specificity of the document you send determines the quality of the responses you receive.
• An RFP is not a wish list. It is a scoping document. It tells agencies what you need, what you already know, and what you want them to solve.
• Including your budget range in the RFP produces more useful proposals than withholding it. Agencies price to scope, and scope requires a constraint.
• The RFP process works best when it narrows to two or three serious candidates rather than broadcasting to a dozen.

The quality of proposals you receive from website redesign agencies is directly determined by the quality of the RFP you send them.

An RFP that is vague, incomplete, or structured around "tell us what you would do" gets back responses that are creative presentations, not detailed plans. You end up comparing decks instead of comparing actual proposals.

Here is how to write an RFP that attracts the right agencies and produces proposals you can actually use to make a decision.

When to Write an RFP (and When Not To)

An RFP makes sense when:

• You are soliciting proposals from three or more agencies
• The project is significant enough to require formal comparison (typically $30,000+ in scope)
• Your organization has a procurement process that requires documented vendor comparison
• You have a complex or unusual project that benefits from seeing multiple approaches

An RFP is overkill when:

• You already have a preferred vendor based on referral or prior relationship
• The project is small and well-defined
• You want to move fast and do not have time for a formal process

For smaller projects or when you have a referral you trust, a direct brief and a proposal request is faster and produces comparable results without the administrative overhead.

What to Include in the RFP

A website redesign RFP should answer the agency's most important questions before they have to ask.

1. Company Background

One to two paragraphs describing what your company does, who you serve, your market position, and any relevant context about the business that would affect the redesign.

This is not a sales pitch. It is context. Agencies use this to calibrate whether the project is a fit and to inform their proposal.

2. Project Overview

A plain-English description of what you want to accomplish. This is the "why we are doing this" section.

Avoid describing the solution here. Describe the problem.

"Our current website generates significant organic traffic but has a conversion rate of 0.8% on our main service pages. The site was built in 2019 and does not reflect our current brand, service offering, or target audience. We need a redesigned site that improves conversion and can be maintained by a non-technical marketing team."

This tells agencies what they are solving, not just what they are building.

3. Scope of Work

The most important section of the RFP. Be as specific as you can.

Include:

• Number of pages to be redesigned (or an estimate range)
• Pages that are staying the same and are out of scope
• Platform: are you keeping the current CMS or migrating to a new one?
• Integrations that must function at launch: CRM, marketing automation, e-commerce, scheduling, payment processing
• Whether content (copy) is included in scope or provided by the client
• Whether photography or custom imagery is required
• Whether the project includes SEO strategy, or just SEO-safe implementation

What to say about what you do not know:

"We have not finalized the CMS platform decision. We welcome agency recommendations as part of the proposal."

This is more useful than leaving it blank. It tells agencies the question is open and invites them to address it.

4. SEO Requirements

If organic traffic is important to your business, say so explicitly and ask how the agency handles SEO during a redesign.

"Our current site generates approximately 8,000 organic sessions per month. SEO continuity is critical. We expect the selected agency to include a documented redirect map, meta data migration, staging SEO audit, and 30-day post-launch monitoring as part of the project scope. Please describe your SEO transfer process in your proposal."

This question separates agencies with real SEO processes from those who add "SEO-friendly" to their pitch without defining it.

5. Budget Range

Include a budget range. This is the most commonly omitted element in redesign RFPs, and it is the one that most distorts the proposals you receive.

Without a budget range, agencies either:

• Propose their highest-tier offering and hope you have the budget
• Ask clarifying questions before submitting, delaying the process
• Submit a mid-range proposal that may not match what you actually need

With a budget range, agencies propose the scope that fits your budget. You get comparable responses.

You do not need to disclose your exact budget. A range works: "Our budget for this project is between $35,000 and $55,000."

6. Timeline

State your target launch date and whether it is firm or flexible.

If the date is firm (driven by an event, a product launch, or a fiscal year deadline), say so clearly. Agencies need to assess whether they can staff the project to meet it.

If the date is flexible, say that too. It gives agencies room to propose a more thoughtful approach without rushing.

7. Evaluation Criteria

Tell agencies how you will evaluate proposals. This is both fair to them and useful to you because it forces you to decide in advance what matters most.

Example evaluation criteria:

• Agency's demonstrated process for managing redesign projects (30%)
• SEO transfer methodology (25%)
• Portfolio relevance to this project's scope and industry (20%)
• Proposed timeline and project structure (15%)
• Total investment relative to scope (10%)

Agencies that know your criteria write to them. You get better signal.

8. Proposal Format Instructions

Tell agencies exactly what you want in their response.

"Please structure your proposal to include: (1) understanding of our objectives, (2) proposed scope and deliverables, (3) project timeline with phases and milestones, (4) your SEO approach, (5) team members who will work on the project, (6) pricing with payment schedule, (7) two to three relevant case studies, and (8) three client references we may contact."

When proposals follow the same format, comparison becomes straightforward.

9. Submission Instructions

• Deadline for proposal submission
• Contact person for questions (and a deadline for questions to be submitted)
• How to submit (email, portal, shared drive)
• Whether you plan to conduct finalist interviews

What Not to Include in an RFP

Do not include a design brief. An RFP solicits proposals for how the agency will approach the project. The design brief comes after you have selected the agency and they begin discovery.

Do not describe the visual direction. You will constrain the agency's thinking before they have done their research. Let them propose an approach to the design problem.

Do not include internal politics. If you have stakeholders with conflicting opinions about the redesign, that context is important to share with the selected agency during discovery. It is not useful to the proposal process.

RFP vs. Brief: The Right Tool for the Right Situation

Most redesign projects that go through a full RFP process are $30,000 or larger. Smaller projects are usually better served by a direct brief and a single proposal from a vetted vendor.

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After the Proposals Arrive

Receiving proposals does not end the process. It begins the evaluation.

Review every proposal against your stated criteria before letting any individual response color your impression of the others. Score each one on the criteria you defined.

Run finalist interviews with the top two or three. Ask the same questions of each. Then check references before making a final decision.

For how the proposal evaluation connects to the full vendor selection process, the website redesign company selection process covers the criteria and comparison framework in detail.

LOW/CODE Agency is a leading AI product team for SMBs and startups. We respond to well-structured RFPs with specific proposals that address every criterion directly. That specificity tells you more about how we work than any portfolio could.

For teams preparing to write a proposal from the agency side, the website redesign proposal writing guide covers how agencies structure proposals that win the right projects.

Website projects start at $10,000+. Let's talk