# How to write a website RFP (free template) > A practical website RFP template: what to include, what to leave out, and how to get comparable quotes from studios instead of guesses. Canonical page: https://kyvrel.com/blog/website-rfp-template Published: 2025-05-27 · Updated: 2025-09-16 · 6 min read · Kyvrel A good website RFP template gives every studio the same facts, so the quotes you get back are comparable. It should state your goals, audience, page list, content owner, integrations, budget range and deadline in plain language. Skip the 40-page procurement form. Two to four pages, written honestly, will get you better proposals than a long document nobody reads closely. ## What is a website RFP, and do you need one? An RFP (request for proposal) is a short document you send to several studios before you pick one. It describes the project and asks each studio to reply with a price, a timeline and an approach. You do not need a formal RFP for every project. A one-page landing page can be briefed in a call. But once a site has more than a handful of pages, several decision-makers, or a fixed launch date, writing things down saves weeks. The main benefit is not the document itself. It is the thinking you do while writing it. Teams often discover that marketing wants a lead-generation site while sales wants a product catalog. Better to find that out before you sign a contract. An RFP also protects you from the most common complaints buyers have about agencies. Final costs drift above the quote. Scope changes are handled ad hoc. Nobody agreed who owns the code and the domain. Each of these is easier to prevent in writing than to argue about later. ## The 10 sections of a useful website RFP template Here is the structure we suggest. Each section has a short note on what a studio actually needs from you. ![Ten RFP sections arranged as a grid, from company background to selection criteria](https://kyvrel.com/blog/inline/website-rfp-template-1.png) ### 1. Company background Two or three paragraphs. What you sell, to whom, and where. Mention your size and markets. A studio pricing a site for a 12-person SaaS team in Berlin will plan differently than one for a 300-person manufacturer. ### 2. Goals and success measures State what the new site must change. "More demo requests from mid-market buyers" is useful. "A modern look" is not. If you track numbers today, share the current baseline. If you do not, say so. ### 3. Audience List your two or three main audiences and what each needs to find. Buyers, job candidates and investors read different pages. ### 4. Scope and page list This is the section studios use most for pricing. Give a page list, even a rough one. Mark which pages are templates (one layout reused, like blog posts or case studies) and which are unique. Also state the languages. Every extra locale adds design checks, content handling and QA time. ### 5. Content Who writes the copy? Who supplies photos? Is there a brand guide? Content is the most common reason projects slip, so be honest here. If you need copywriting, say so up front. ### 6. Technical requirements List the integrations: CRM, analytics, booking tools, payment, search. State where the site must be hosted, if that is decided. Say whether your team will edit content after launch and how often. ### 7. Constraints Accessibility targets, legal requirements, security reviews, brand rules. If you sell in the EU, mention accessibility now rather than at QA. ### 8. Timeline Give a target launch date and say whether it is fixed or flexible. A trade show is a fixed date. "Q3 sometime" is not. For a realistic picture of how long each stage takes, see our guide on [how long it takes to build a website](https://kyvrel.com/blog/how-long-to-build-a-website). ### 9. Budget range Share a range. Many buyers hide the budget, hoping for a lower quote. In practice, a missing budget makes studios guess the scope, and the quotes you get back cover different projects. ### 10. Selection criteria and process Say how you will choose: price, portfolio, team, process, references. Give the deadline for questions and for proposals. Name one contact person. ## A copy-ready template Paste this into your document editor and fill it in. Delete any line that does not apply. ``` WEBSITE RFP - [Company name] Contact: [name, role, email] · Proposals due: [date] 1. About us What we do, who we serve, markets, team size. 2. Goals Primary goal: [e.g. more qualified demo requests] Current baseline (if known): [e.g. leads per month] What is not working on the current site: [list] 3. Audiences [Audience 1]: what they need to find [Audience 2]: what they need to find 4. Scope Unique pages: [list] Template pages: [blog post, case study, job post] Languages: [en, de, ...] Out of scope: [e.g. app dashboard, brand redesign] 5. Content Copy written by: [us / you / mixed] Photos and video: [existing / new shoot / stock] Brand guide: [yes, link / no] 6. Technical Integrations: [CRM, analytics, booking, ...] Editing after launch: [who, how often] Hosting preference: [if any] 7. Constraints Accessibility target: [e.g. WCAG 2.1 AA] Legal / security reviews: [list] 8. Timeline Target launch: [date] · Fixed or flexible: [which] 9. Budget range [from - to, currency] 10. Please include in your proposal Fixed price or estimate, with what is included and excluded Timeline with milestones and sign-off points Who will work on the project, by name and role How change requests are priced Who owns the code, domain and accounts at the end Post-launch support options and their cost ``` ## What to ask every studio to include The last block of the template matters most. It forces proposals into the same shape, so you can lay them side by side. - **Included and excluded lists.** A price means little without them. Ask for both. - **Milestones with sign-off gates.** You approve design before build starts, and build before launch. - **Named team.** The people on the sales call should be the people building your site. Ask for names in the contract. - **Change-request pricing.** How a new page or feature is priced mid-project, and who approves it before work starts. - **Ownership.** Code, design files, domain, hosting and analytics accounts should end up in your name. - **Support costs.** Every recurring fee listed up front, including hosting, licenses and maintenance. ![Flow from sending the RFP to questions, proposals, shortlist calls and signed contract](https://kyvrel.com/blog/inline/website-rfp-template-2.png) ## Common mistakes that make quotes useless **Copying a procurement template.** Long legal sections about insurance and indemnity can come later. Studios need the project facts first. **Asking for a free design pitch.** Spec work rewards whoever guesses your taste fastest, not whoever plans the project best. Ask for process and past work instead. **Listing features without priorities.** Mark each item as must-have or nice-to-have. Otherwise every studio prices everything, and you compare inflated numbers. **Leaving content ownership vague.** If nobody owns the copy, the project waits for it. It is one of the most common reasons projects stall. **Sending it to 15 studios.** You will not have time to read 15 proposals properly. Three to five is enough. If the project is a redesign rather than a new site, add a short section on what must be kept: URLs that rank, forms that feed the CRM, content that legal approved. Our [website redesign checklist](https://kyvrel.com/blog/website-redesign-checklist) lists what to audit before you write that section. ## How to compare the proposals you get back Put the answers into one table: price, included items, excluded items, weeks, revision rounds, named team, ownership terms, support cost. Differences become visible fast. A low price with a long excluded list is not cheap. A high price that includes copywriting, CMS setup and analytics may be the better deal. Look at total cost to launch, plus the first year of running the site. Then hold short calls with your top two or three. Ask each to walk you through how they would run week one. Specific answers are a good sign. Vague ones are a warning. If you want a baseline before you send anything out, our page on [how much does a website cost](https://kyvrel.com/pricing) lists fixed prices per product and what each includes. ## Next step: send your brief to Kyvrel Our [corporate website development](https://kyvrel.com/products/corporate-website) package starts at $8,500 for 8 page templates, with 2 revision rounds and a typical timeline of 4-5 weeks. Every proposal we send lists what is included, what is not, and who will do the work. You own the code, the design files and every account at handover. Send us your RFP, or fill in the template above and paste it into the brief form. We reply with a fixed price and a milestone plan, not a range.