How to Write a Website RFP: A Guide for Wisconsin Municipalities & Organizations
Key takeaways
- A good website RFP describes outcomes and required services, not a specific design.
- Ask every vendor the same questions about accessibility, hosting, training, and support so bids are comparable.
- Require examples of similar work; a vendor who has built for government or industry can show it.
- Score total cost of ownership across several years, not just the build price.
What belongs in a website RFP?
An effective request for proposals covers eight things: who you are and who the site serves, what the current site does poorly, required features, content migration expectations, accessibility requirements, hosting and security expectations, training and support after launch, and how proposals will be scored. Keep it under ten pages; a focused RFP attracts focused bids.
Which requirements separate serious vendors from template shops?
Ask how they meet WCAG accessibility, where the site is hosted and by whom, who owns the site and content when the contract ends, what happens when you need a change at 4 p.m. on a Friday, and which comparable organizations they have built for. Vague answers to any of these predict a rough project.
- Accessibility approach, tested how, to which WCAG level
- Hosting location, backups, and security update responsibility
- Full ownership of domain, site, and content by your organization
- Named support contact and realistic response times
- Live examples of comparable work, like our client portfolio
How should proposals be scored?
Weight qualifications and fit above sticker price. A common split: forty percent relevant experience and references, twenty five percent approach and accessibility, twenty percent total five-year cost including hosting and support, fifteen percent timeline and training. The cheapest build often carries the highest lifetime cost.
What do vendors wish every RFP included?
A content honesty statement. Say plainly who is writing and gathering content, how many pages and documents exist today, and who approves things. Content is the number one cause of website delays, and bids swing widely on those assumptions. Being clear up front is how you get a number that holds; it is also why our municipal cost guide puts content migration near the top of the price drivers.
What does a workable RFP timeline look like?
A calm sequence beats a rushed one: two weeks to draft and approve the RFP, three to four weeks for vendors to respond with a written question period in the middle, one week to score and shortlist, demos with two or three finalists, then award and a kickoff four to six weeks out so content gathering can start. Publishing answers to all vendor questions keeps the process fair and the bids aligned. Total, about a quarter from draft to kickoff, which fits neatly into a municipal budget cycle.
What red flags should reviewers watch for in proposals?
Watch for proprietary platforms you cannot leave without rebuilding, hosting bundled so tightly you never own your own site, accessibility promised as a plugin rather than built work, support priced hourly with no response commitment, and portfolios full of industries nothing like yours. A trustworthy proposal names who does the work, shows comparable projects like our Town of Chilton build, and reads like the vendor already understands your organization.
- Platform lock-in and unclear ownership
- Accessibility as an afterthought
- No named support contact or response times
- No comparable work to show
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to take the lowest bid?
Usually not for professional services; most Wisconsin municipal purchasing policies let you weigh qualifications. Check your own policy and score what actually matters.
How long should vendors get to respond?
Three to four weeks is respectful and gets you thoughtful proposals. One-week turnarounds mostly collect boilerplate.
Should we require a demo?
Ask finalists to walk through one comparable live site and show its editor. Ten minutes in a real dashboard tells you more than any slide deck.
Can Fox Valley Web Design respond to our RFP?
Yes. We regularly propose on municipal, industrial, and organizational projects across Wisconsin, and we are happy to review a draft RFP and point out anything that will muddy your bids.
Send us your RFP, or let us help you write it
Whether you are a village board, a school district, or a manufacturer formalizing a redesign, we will respond with a clear, flat-rate proposal. Start here or see how we build on our website design page.