Website RFP Checklist: What to Include Before Asking Agencies for a Quote

A useful website RFP explains the organization, the change it needs, the people the website serves, the known requirements and the constraints agencies must respect. It should give suppliers enough context to propose a responsible approach without pretending that every solution has already been decided.

Website RFP checklist

Include these 12 sections:

1. Organization and project background
2. Business objectives and success measures
3. Priority audiences and user needs
4. Existing website and known problems
5. Scope and required capabilities
6. Content, languages and migration
7. Brand and design requirements
8. Technology and integrations
9. SEO, analytics and accessibility
10. Hosting, security and maintenance
11. Timeline, budget and governance
12. Proposal format and evaluation criteria

1. Organization and project background

Describe what the organization does, where it operates and why the project is happening now. Mention relevant strategic changes, launches, mergers, rebrands or operational needs. Agencies make better recommendations when they understand the event behind the request.

2. Business objectives and success measures

Replace “we need a modern website” with outcomes. Examples include increasing qualified enquiries, generating direct bookings, making public information easier to find, reducing support requests or improving publishing speed.

List the metrics currently available and what success should look like 3–12 months after launch.

3. Priority audiences and user needs

Identify the main audiences, their context and priority tasks. Avoid long fictional personas when simple evidence is available from search queries, sales conversations, support tickets and analytics.

4. Existing website and known problems

Share the URL, analytics access if appropriate, current CMS, hosting, traffic patterns and known technical limitations. Explain what should be retained as well as what is failing.

5. Scope and required capabilities

Separate confirmed requirements from possible ideas. List page types and capabilities such as search, filters, booking, ecommerce, accounts, dashboards, forms, downloads or event publishing. Ask agencies to challenge assumptions where a simpler solution may work.

6. Content, languages and migration

State who will audit, write, approve, translate and upload content. Provide an approximate inventory of pages, documents, images and data. Content scope is one of the largest causes of inaccurate estimates.

7. Brand and design requirements

Attach existing brand guidelines and accessibility requirements. Explain desired attributes in plain language—clear, institutional, energetic, premium—then provide examples with reasons rather than visual instructions.

8. Technology and integrations

List systems that must connect with the website: CRM, inventory, booking, payments, identity, email, analytics or internal APIs. Include technical contacts and documentation where available.

Do not mandate a framework unless there is an organizational reason. Ask suppliers to recommend architecture and explain ownership, maintenance and risks.

9. SEO, analytics and accessibility

Request an SEO migration plan, metadata controls, structured data, canonical URLs, sitemap, redirects and internal-link considerations. Define conversion events and reporting needs. For accessibility, specify a target such as WCAG 2.2.

10. Hosting, security and maintenance

Describe data sensitivity, expected traffic, availability needs, environments, backups, monitoring and support. Ask who owns domains, hosting and deployment access.

11. Timeline, budget and governance

Share a realistic budget range. It helps agencies propose the right scale instead of guessing. Identify the project lead, final decision maker, stakeholders, procurement steps and immovable launch events.

12. Proposal and evaluation requirements

Request the proposed approach, team, relevant work, timeline, detailed scope, assumptions, exclusions, commercial structure and support model. Tell suppliers how proposals will be scored.

What not to include in a website RFP

Avoid an exhaustive feature list copied from another site, speculative traffic promises, a fixed solution without context and an unrealistic timeline that ignores content. Do not ask for unpaid speculative design as the main selection method; it tests presentation under uncertainty rather than the real working relationship.

If you are preparing a brief, Bizzful can help with discovery before delivery or respond with a connected web strategy and development scope.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a website RFP be?

Most website RFPs can be clear in 5–12 pages plus appendices. Complexity matters more than length. Use concise requirements and attach content inventories, brand documents or technical references separately.

Should a website RFP include a budget?

Yes. A budget range helps agencies recommend an appropriate solution and prevents both sides from investing in an impossible match. Suppliers should still explain how scope and assumptions affect the final cost.

How much time should agencies receive to respond?

Allow approximately two to four weeks for a considered response, with a shared question period. Complex public procurement may require more time. Very short deadlines often produce generic proposals and hidden assumptions.