Write a website redesign brief (or RFP)

  • rfp
  • website-redesign
  • planning
  • hiring

Updated

A good website redesign brief fits on two or three pages and tells designers what the site is for, who it's for, what it needs to do, what content exists, and your budget and deadline. Send the same brief to every designer you're considering, and you'll get quotes you can actually compare. Public bodies often call the same document an RFP (request for proposals) and add their own procurement rules.

What to include

1. About you

Two or three sentences on your organization, what you do, and who you serve. Link to your current site.

2. Why you're redesigning

What isn't working now, in plain terms: hard to use on phones, few inquiries, hard to update, out of date. See Signs your website needs a redesign.

3. Goals and how you'll measure them

For example: more contact form inquiries, more online bookings, fewer phone calls asking basic questions, staff able to update the site themselves. A number helps ("double monthly inquiries") but isn't required.

4. Audiences

Who visits and what they need to find or do. Two to four groups is usual: customers, donors, job seekers, members, press.

5. Pages and features

  • The main sections and roughly how many pages.
  • Features that need more than a page: online store, event listings or tickets, bookings, donations, staff directory, locations map, member login, document library, newsletter signup, multiple languages.
  • Systems it has to connect to: CRM, email marketing, payment processor, booking system.

6. Content

Who writes new content and who moves old content across. Say roughly how many pages and posts exist today, and whether you have photography and a brand guide.

7. Technical and legal requirements

  • Accessibility: for example, "meets WCAG 2.1 AA". State and local governments, including public colleges, must meet it under the DOJ's Title II rule, including for sites a vendor builds for them. See The DOJ's Title II web accessibility rule.
  • Platform: WordPress or another platform, or "your recommendation".
  • SEO: keep current search traffic with redirects. See Keep your SEO when you redesign.
  • Privacy: analytics, cookies, and any consent needs. See Do I need a cookie banner?
  • Hosting and maintenance: whether you want them included.

8. Budget

Give a range. Designers can then propose what fits, instead of guessing. See How much does a website redesign cost?

9. Timeline

Your launch date and why, if it's fixed (an event, a fiscal year, a rebrand), plus the date you'll decide.

10. What you want back

Ask each designer for:

  • A short approach and timeline
  • What's included and what costs extra, line by line
  • Ongoing costs after launch
  • Two or three comparable sites they've built, and references
  • Who will work on the project

11. How you'll decide

Who makes the decision and what matters most: price, experience in your sector, approach, or ongoing support.

Tips

  • Name your must-haves and your nice-to-haves separately. It keeps quotes from ballooning.
  • Leave the design ideas loose. Describe problems and goals rather than prescribing layouts.
  • Send the brief to three to five designers. More makes comparing harder.
  • Pair it with Questions to ask before hiring a web designer for the follow-up calls.

If you're unsure what your site actually needs, many studios will talk through a draft brief before you send it out, which usually makes the quotes sharper.